Fábio Zonatto

Fábio Zonatto came up in São Paulo in the late 1980s, working with producer Cid Moreira on his self-titled debut album in 1988. The record showed his range as a singer and pianist, but it was the following year's single "Insensatez" that really defined things for him.

That song, a slow, moody ballad, got some radio stations to pull it at first over what they called explicit themes. It didn't stop the track from becoming his most recognized piece, though. You can hear that same direct, unguarded quality in other songs like "João e Maria(De todo o dia)" and "Meus dias."

His writing often turned inward, which sometimes stirred conversation. He kept recording through personal difficulties, and that plain-spoken, sometimes troubled perspective stayed at the center of his music.