Founded by Nó Em Pingo D'água's Mário Seve with percussion master Marcos Suzano (Lenine's collaborator), the Aquarela Carioca militates in a non-commercial sector, having no definition regarding specific genres. They perform instrumental music that is influenced by choro (soon almost abandoned), rock, samba, jazz, Indian, and classical music. They released their first album Aquarela Carioca in 1989, a year in which they performed at the Free Jazz Festival (Rio and São Paulo). The CDs Contos (1991) and Idioma (1996) followed. In 1993, the group accompanied Ney Matogrosso in the show As Aparências Enganam in a live performance which was recorded and released as a CD.