PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Brazilian music composer Moacir Santos has died at a Pasadena, Calif., assisted living facility at the age of 80.
The influential but under-recognized arranger and composer died last Sunday at the facility from complications related to a stroke he had a few years ago, the Los Angeles Times said.
"He was a musician's musician whose work was very under-recorded," KCRW-FM's "Cafe LA" host Tom Schnabel said of Santos. "His work was far less known than the compositions of Antonio Carlos Jobim because he didn't write for the voice."
Santos rose from poverty in Brazil to the peak of his popularity in the mid-60s when he released the well-received album "Coisas," which blended numerous musical genres together with the sound of his native country.
The Times said that Santos is survived by his wife, Cleonice, a son, Maocir Santos Jr., and three grandchildren.
