In 1941, Henri Salvador announced his famous South American tour with Ray Ventura in Cannes.
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 conservation.
Unique piece.
Original text in French, translated into Portuguese.
I have good news for you. Mr. Ray Ventura has offered to do a tour with his orchestra in Spain and Portugal, and possibly South America, all on very advantageous terms. Furthermore, the fact that he could come later to join you has made me decide to accept, despite one condition that bothers me greatly: it is absolutely impossible for Mr. Ventura to take André with him.
At the age of fifteen, Henri Salvador (1917-2008) was captivated by 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, led him to choose his instrument: the guitar. Henri and his older brother, André, practiced day and night until they achieved their goal: joining an orchestra. The Salvador brothers played in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Paris, and Nice, where they met Ray Ventura (1908-1979), a great French composer and jazz musician, who would choose Henri for a major Brazilian tour.
Twenty years later, Dans mon île is a huge hit in Brazil: it is even said that this song inspired the first bossa nova compositions, being a delightful mix of jazz and samba.
When he returned to Brazil in 2006, Henry was received like a king. He placed his handprints on the mythical sidewalk of Toca do Vinícius and sang a duet with Gilberto Gil, then Minister of Culture, who awarded him the Order of Merit and lamented, two years later, the passing 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 their collection. This particular letter, written during World War II, shows the beginning of the artist's career when he was invited by the renowned Ray Ventura for a tour in South America and Brazil; a very important tour for the history of the artist and Bossa Nova.
