Antonio Cerqueira

Antonio Cerqueira came from Salgueiro, a village in northeastern Brazil, where he grew up hearing forró and baião. Those rhythms stayed with him when he started writing songs. In 1966, he put out his first album, 'Saudade do Meu Sertão,' and the title track caught on with people who recognized its feeling for rural life.

He kept writing for decades, and some of his songs became familiar parts of the Brazilian sound. You can hear that in pieces like 'Esteja Com Você' or 'Meu Bom Jesus', simple, melodic tunes that feel grounded. He worked with musicians like guitarist Roberto Correa and accordionist João de Aquino, and sometimes with other artists including Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.

Cerqueira died in 2014. What's left is a stack of recordings and songs that still turn up here and there, the kind of music that doesn't shout but settles in.