Widely known pianist, composer, and orchestra director J. Aimberê wrote, among many others, Quilômetro 2, included in the first album recorded by Orlando Silva for RCA Victor (1935). His prolific works comprise a large number of pieces in many different genres, from canções and sambas to operettas and burlettas.

He started his piano studies very early, and at 18 took his teacher's place at the High Life Cinema in São Paulo, SP. In the same year, he moved to Vitória, ES, to direct a cinema orchestra at the Teatro Melponeme. After an arson consumed the theater, he began to write songs, among them the toada Jabuticaba (recorded by Gastão Formenti in 1929) and the samba Gosto muito de ti (recorded by Dora Brasil in 1930). He wrote several musical scripts for revues like +Onde Está o Gato? (1927) and, in the following year, the burletta +Noite de Reis (with J. Soares). In 1929, he wrote the samba A Jura Que Me Fizeste (with João Jório), recorded by Arnaldo Pescuma, and the march Paulicéia. In the same year, he had his biggest revue success with +Mineiro Com Botas, with collaboration by Martinez Grau, J. Tomás, and others (lyrics by Marques Porto and Luís Peixoto). Also in 1929, he wrote the revue +Vai Haver o Diabo with Lamartine Babo and Martinez Grau (lyrics by Alfredo Breda and Jerônimo de Castilho). In 1931, he moved to Rio, hired as conductor for the Roulien Company. Then he worked, also as conductor, for the Genésio Arruda Company in the show +Moinho de Jeca, which included several of his compositions. In that year, Otília Amorim recorded his sambas Nego bamba and Eu sou feliz. In 1932, he wrote the operetta +Uma falação de caboclo with Pixinguinha and De Chocolat, among others (libretto by De Chocolat/Duque). In the same year, he worked as a conductor for Companhia Brasileira de Revistas. Two years later, he wrote the music for Viriato Correia's comedy +Coisinha Boa (with Joubert de Carvalho). In 1936, he composed +Ganhou Mas Não Leva, a revue with lyrics by Otávio Rangel and Milton Amaral, and the operetta +Sinhô do Bonfim (libretto by Paulo Orlando). In the next year, he was hired as a conductor by the Alda Garrido company, and in 1938 wrote the operetta +Brasil Caboclo (lyrics by Vicente Marchelli, José Luiz Calazans, and Humberto Miranda). In the next year, two revues had his songs: +A Vida Assim é Melhor (with Pixinguinha, lyrics by Paulo Orlando and De Chocolat) and +O Que é Que a Baiana Tem?, with lyrics by Henrique Fernandes. He also wrote the songs for the operettas +Tutu Marambaia (1939) and +Os Fidalgos da Casa Mourisca (1940). With the Companhia Teatral Casa de Caboclo (created by Duque in 1932), he performed internationally. ~ Alvaro Neder, Rovi