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Severino Dias de Oliveira

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) - Severino Dias de Oliveira, the white-maned accordionist and composer known as Sivuca, died Thursday. He was 76.

Sivuca died of throat cancer, hospital officials said.

Rooted in the accordion-driven "forro" style of Brazil's northeast, Sivuca played with a wide range of musicians around the world, including jazz star Toots Thielmans and South African singer Miriam Makeba. He was widely credited with arranging her most famous recording, "Pata Pata."

Sivuca was born to a farm family in Itabaiana. An albino who had to avoid the sun, he was allowed to spend less time on farm chores and more working on his music.

He began playing accordion at fairs and parties at age 9, and at 15 he began playing on the radio in the northeastern city of Recife.

He recorded his first record in 1950, which included the hit "Adeus Maria Fulo."

Sivuca later moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he worked in radio and television, and lived in Lisbon and Paris for a number of years before moving in 1964 to New York City, where he played with Makeba, playing guitar, until 1969.

He also worked with Thielmans, Airto Moreira and Hermeto Pascoal and later played with several Scandinavian jazz musicians.

Edited December 17, 2006 by alocispepraluger102