Biography
Luiz Floriano Bonfá (also credited as Luis Bonfa) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer. Born in Rio de Janeiro on 17 October 1922, he died there on 12 January 2001. He studied guitar from the age of eleven and began his professional career in the 1940s, performing on radio and with vocal groups.
Bonfá is best known for his contributions to the soundtrack of the film Black Orpheus (1959, also known as Orfeu Negro), for which he composed pieces including "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba de Orfeu". He had earlier collaborated with Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes on the stage play Orfeu da Conceição that inspired the film. He wrote music for approximately two dozen films, among them The Gentle Rain (1966) and Prisoner of Rio (1988).
As a performer and composer, Bonfá worked in the samba-canção style and was active in the development of bossa nova. He recorded numerous albums as a leader and sideman, and collaborated with musicians including Stan Getz and Toots Thielemans.
