Bruno & Marrone

by Evan C. GutierrezBrazilian sertaneja duo Bruno & Marrone had been performing for a solid decade before their work was recognized on a large scale. Bruno was born Vinicius Felix de Miranda in 1969, the son of a business man in Goiânia. He had played bars and parties solo for ten years before meeting his collaborator, José Roberto Ferreira (Marrone). Having searched for a suitable partner without success, Bruno approached friends and sertaneja stars Leandro y Leonardo for help. The next night he and Marrone were introduced by their well-connected mutual friends. Marrone was born in 1964 and also brought up in Goiânia, his early days split between farm labor and practicing the concertina, his chosen instrument. The duo's debut record, Bruno & Marrone, Vol. 1, was released by Warner Continental in 1995. Their follow-up project, Bruno & Marrone, Vol. 2, was released a year later. The pair's romantic style and exhaustive touring slowly won them credibility and recognition, building a solid fan base in the sertaneja world. Thanks in part to constant performance, the prolific duo generated huge amounts of original material. Warner Continental kept up with the artists' rapidly growing catalog of songs, releasing at least one record each year from 1995 to 2006. Their swelling fan base went from filling bars and small clubs to arenas and stadiums in later years. In 2006 Bruno & Marrone returned to record a live in-concert album and DVD in their native Goiânia. The project -- the duo's 14th CD and third concert DVD -- was released by Sony BMG.