- Mário Reis — Ao Meu Rio
(1965) Elenco ME-22 - Sylvia Telles, Lúcio Alves, Roberto Menescal — Bossa Session
(1964) Elenco ME-13 - Lennie Dale, Bossa Três — Um Show de Bossa
(1965) Elenco ME-12 - Lúcio Alves — Balançamba
(1963) Elenco ME-2 - Sylvia Telles — Bossa, Balanço, Balada
(1963) Elenco ME-5 - Sérgio Pôrto, Aracy de Almeida, Billy Blanco, Roberto Menescal, Oscar Castro Neves — Sérgio Pôrto – Aracy de Almeida – Billy Blanco No Zum Zum
(1966) Elenco ME-34 - Lennie Dale, Trio 3-D — A 3a Dimensão de Lennie Dale
(1966) Elenco ME-36 - Nana Caymmi — Nâna
(1965) Elenco ME-25 - Vinícius de Moraes, Sylvia Telles, Lúcio Alves, Baden Powell, Jimmy Pratt, Odette Lara, Roberto Menescal — Première
(1963) Elenco ME-6 - Agostinho dos Santos — Agostinho dos Santos
(1966) Elenco ME-26 - Vinícius de Moraes, Odette Lara — Vincius & Odette Lara
(1963) Elenco ME-1 - Antônio Carlos Jobim — Antônio Carlos Jobim
(1964) Elenco ME-9 - Nara Leão — Nara
(1963) Elenco ME-10 - Sérgio Ricardo — Um Sr. Talento
(1964) Elenco ME-7 - Lennie Dale, Sambalanço Trio — Lennie Dale e O Sambalanço Trio
(1965) Elenco ME-21
This double page spread from the book is one of two featuring the famous artwork of Elenco. (The other one is featured in article → No. 29.)
The founder of the label, Aloysio de Oliveira (1914–1995) was a trained dentist, though he never worked as one. Instead, he took up a career as a singer and composer and most notably as a producer. After spending some years in the US in the 1940s working for Walt Disney, he went back to Brazil to become the artistic director with the major label Odeon in 1956. With Odeon, he was responsible to launch João Gilberto’s 1959 debut album Chega de Saudade, considered as the debut of bossa nova. After Odeon, Aloysio de Oliveira spent a short stint at Philips and supported the famous ‘Bossa Nova at Carnegie Hall’ concert, before he finally founded his own independent record label Elenco in 1963. In its five years of existence, before the brand was sold to Polygram, Elenco became legendary for its records as well as for its cover art.
The artwork for Nâna is by Eddie Moyna with illustration by J.C. Mello Menezes.
Oliveira’s ambition with Elenco was to join the biggest names of bossa nova and Elenco actually became one of the most influential labels with a list of highly skilled musicians who recorded great albums, supported with high quality recording techniques by engineer Norman Sternberg. Elenco means ‘cast’ and the cast was impressive, including artists such as Sylvia Telles, Vinícius de Moraes, Quarteto em Cy, Baden Powell, Lennie Dale, Sérgio Ricardo, Aracy de Almeida, Mário Reis, Tamba Trio, Roberto Menescal and Cyro Monteiro.
The artwork for Sérgio Pôrto – Aracy de Almeida – Billy Blanco no Zum Zum is by Estúdio ID.
Playlist Elenco Pt.1:
1. Folha de Papel (Sérgio Ricardo) from the album Um Sr. Talento (1964) by Sérgio Ricardo
2. Negro (Roberto Menescal – Ronaldo Bôscoli) from the album Balançamba (1963) by Lúcio Alves
3. Carinhoso (Pixinguinha – João de Barro) from the album A 3a Dimensão de Lennie Dale (1966) by Lennie Dale & Sambalanço Trio
4. Último Canto (Francis Hime – Ruy Guerra) from the album Agostinho dos Santos (1966) by Agostinho dos Santos
5. Insensatez (Antônio Carlos Jobim – Vinícius de Moraes) from the album Antônio Carlos Jobim (1963) by Antônio Carlos Jobim
6. Luz Negra (Nelson Cavaquinho – Amâncio Cardoso) from the album Nara (1964) by Nara Leão
7. Samba em Prelúdio (Baden Powell – Vinícius de Moraes) from the album Vinícius & Odette Lara (1963) by Vinícius de Moraes & Odette Lara
The covers of Elenco are highly distinctive and instantly recognizable. The artwork is mostly based on a photograph or drawing in black and white with red dots as accentuated contrast and expressive font types. Elenco’s visual approach was to capture the music into a graphical translation. This was accomplished consistently on almost every single and album release. The most prominent cover designers at Elenco were César G. Villela and Eddie Moyna, most frequently using photographs by Francisco Perreira.
The artwork for Lennie Dale e O Sambalanço Trio is by Eddie Moyna with photographs by Francisco Pereira.
The artwork for Bossa, Balanço, Balada is by César G. Villela with photographs by Francisco Pereira.
The artwork for Vinícius & Odette Lara is by César G. Villela with photographs by Francisco Pereira.
The artwork for Ao Meu Rio is by Eddie Moyna with illustration by J.C. Mello Menezes.
The artwork for Antônio Carlos Jobim is by César G. Villela with photograph by Francisco Pereira.
The artwork for A 3a Dimensão de Lennie Dale is by César G. Villela with photograph by Paulo Lorgus.
The artwork for Agostinho dos Santos is by Eddie Moyna with illustration by J.C. Mello Menezes.
The artwork for Bossa Session is by César G. Villela with photographs by Francisco Pereira.
The artwork for Um Show de Bossa is by César G. Villela with photographs by Francisco Pereira.
The artwork for Nara is by César G. Villela with photographs by Francisco Pereira.
The artwork for Um Sr. Talento is by César G. Villela with photographs by Francisco Pereira.
The artwork for Balançamba is by César G. Villela with photographs by Francisco Pereira.
Brazilliance 