Laudir Soares de Oliveira obit

Chicago Percussionist Laudir de Oliveira Dies

 

He was not on the list.

The Brazilian percussionist Laudir de Oliveira, best known for his work with the band Chicago, has died. Details are not available at the present time but a string of posts on his Facebook page note that he passed away today (Sept. 17). De Oliveira was 77.

Born January 6, 1940, in Rio de Janeiro, Laudir Soares de Oliveira began working as a percussionist in his country in the 1960s, appearing on recordings by musicians such as Sérgio Mendes and Marcos Valle. After relocating to the United States in 1968, he came to the attention of producers and musicians in the rock world, and played on Joe Cocker’s self-titled debut album, supplying the percussion on the single “Feelin’ Alright.”

In 1973, according to a section of de Oliveira’s Wikipedia page, he came to the attention of Chicago, who invited him to contribute to the album that became Chicago VI.

On Sept. 18, Chicago shared Best Classic Bands’ story on their Facebook page and wrote: “We are saddened to learn that former Chicago percussionist Laudir de Oliveira has passed away. We’re grateful for the tremendous contributions he made to the music of Chicago and the enormous talent he shared with us, and with so many others. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Rest in Peace.”

The Wikipedia article quotes Chicago members Robert Lamm and James Pankow as saying, “Laudir was an incredible percussionist. He was an incredible player. He came out of Sérgio Mendes. At first we experimented with using percussion in the studio, and we liked the way the percussion held the tempos together so much that we decided to keep the percussion aspect part of the band…Terry Kath in particular felt the need for a percussionist to keep the grooves, the tempo steady.”