Photo: ALR / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Paulinho da Costa is the kind of musician I admire most: the one whose name you only notice in the liner notes, yet whose hands quietly shape the warmth of a record. Coming up through samba in Rio and then crossing into the American scene alongside Sérgio Mendes, he became one of the most-recorded percussionists in popular music without ever needing the spotlight. To me that is the truest mark of mastery. He raises a track's pulse with a single shaker, and I find real dignity in his choice to serve the song rather than himself. A craftsman, plain and simple.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Paulinho da Costa
- Name (Japanese)
- パウリーニョ・ダ・コスタ
- Reading
- ぱうりーにょ・だ・こすた
- Born
- May 31, 1948 (age 78)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Rat
- Origin
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- percussionist / jazz musician / musician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Paulinho da Costa born?
Born May 31, 1948 (age 78).
Where is Paulinho da Costa from?
Paulinho da Costa is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
What does Paulinho da Costa do?
Paulinho da Costa works as percussionist, jazz musician, musician.
Percussionist — see all → · Jazz musician — see all → · More people from Brazil →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-24
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.