Handwritten letter from Henri Salvador (1941)

In 1941, Henri Salvador announces, in Cannes, his famous tour of South America with Ray Ventura.

Handwritten letter from Henri Salvador to his mother. In French. One page, front and back. 23.3 cm x 18.1 cm. Cannes, 1941. Good condition. Single piece.

Original text in French, translated into Portuguese

I have good news for you. Mr. Ray Ventura offered to tour with his orchestra in Spain and Portugal and possibly South America and all on very advantageous terms. In addition, the fact that I can come later to join you has decided to accept me despite a condition that bothers me a lot: it is absolutely impossible for Mr. Ventura takes Andre with him.

At the age of fifteen, Henri Salvador (1917-2008) fell in love with the jazz of masters Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and decided on a musical career. A love at first sight for the music of Django Reinhardt, heard on the radio, made him choose his instrument: the guitar. Henri and his older brother, André, train day and night until they reach their goal: joining an orchestra. The Salvador brothers play in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Paris and Nice, where they meet Ray Ventura (1908-1979), a great French composer and jazz musician, who will choose Henri for a big Brazilian tour.

Twenty years later, Dans mon île is a huge success in Brazil: it is even said that this song inspired the first bossa nova compositions, being a delicious mix of jazz and samba.

When he returned to Brazil in 2006, Henry was welcomed like a king. He put the imprint of his hands on the mythical sidewalk of Toca do Vinícius and sang in a duet with Gilberto Gil, then Minister of Culture, who awarded him the Order of Merit and lamented, two years later, the disappearance of "one of the main creators of bossa nova".

For those who love music in general and Bossa Nova in particular, Henri Salvador is one of the great names to have in your collection. This letter in particular, in the midst of World War II, shows the beginning of the artist's career when he was called by the renowned Ray Ventura to tour South America and Brazil; very important tour for the history of the artist and Bossa Nova.