Brazilian Producer Tom Capone Dies in Motorcycle Crash

Tom Capone, Brazilian music producer, was killed in a motorcycle crash in Los
Angeles on Thursday, September 2, hours after leaving the Latin Grammy Awards,
where he had been nominated for five Grammys. He was 38

Capone, whose real name was Luís Antônio Ferreira Gonçalves, was known as a
producer for many top names in Brazilian music. He got his start in the music
business playing guitar for a band called Peter Perfeito in the 1980s. He later
opened his own studio and began producing full time.A resident of Rio de Janeiro, Capone worked with major Brazilian artists
including Paralamas do Sucesso, Legião Urbana, and Cassia Eller. He produced
recordings for rock acts like Raimundos, Skank, and O Rappa as well as for more
traditional Brazilian artists like Milton Nascimento, Marisa Monte, and
Carlinhos Brown. He was best known for his work on Maria Rita, the self-titled
debut album by the daughter of Brazilian superstar Elis Regina.

Bill Bragin, an arts presenter (Joe’s Pub in New York city) had this comment: “Capone worked on so many of my favorite Brazilian albums – Chico Science & Nacao Zumbi’s CSNZ, Lenine’s Nao Pressao, Carlinhos’ Brown’s Omelete Man, Pedro Luis’ Astronauta Tupy….whatever discography I could find on the web below…In addition to all these great fusionists, the list also includes key MPB artists like Milton Nascimento and Gilberto Gil, as well as regional traditional artists like Jackson do Pandeiro.

I had a chance to meet Tom Capone a few times – when we had Pedro Luis & A Parede at SummerStage in the last 90’s and at Abril Pro Rock in Recife the following year, and he was a nice guy, huge music fan, and an amazing talent.”

[Part of the obituary courtesy of the

Folk Alliance].