Having had a noted participation in the Carioca group of musicians that skillfully promoted the melding of jazz with samba, Durval Ferreira had his compositions recorded with success by Cannonball Adderley and Stan Getz (Clouds), Manfredo Fest (Tristeza de Nós Dois), Tamba Trio (Batida Diferente, which was re-recorded several times by different artists in Brazil and abroad), Sexteto Bossa Rio (Tristeza de Nós Dois), Os Gatos (Nuvem), Walter Wanderley, Elis Regina, Agostinho dos Santos (Avião), Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Mann, and many others. He also had hits with Chuva (written with Pedro Camargo), Samba Novo (with Newton Chaves), Diagonal (with Maurício Einhorn), and Moça Flor (with Lula Freire).

After learning from his mother, a mandolinist, the rudiments of the guitar, Ferreira followed his apprenticeship as a self-taught musician. He then approached the Carioca nightlife of '50s musicians like Luís Eça, Johnny Alf, Tom Jobim, João Donato, and Maurício Einhorn, who became his partner. Ferreira's first recorded song was Sambop (with Maurício Einhorn) by Claudette Soares, included on her LP Nova Geração em Ritmo de Samba (1958). His first public performance was at the historic Festival de Bossa Nova at the Liceu Franco Brasileiro (when bossa nova was still in its amateur period). In that period, he formed his own group, which accompanied Leny Andrade (who had hits with Ferreira's compositions Batida Diferente, written with Einhorn, and Estamos Aí, with Einhorn/Regina Werneck). In 1962, he joined Ed Lincoln's group and Sérgio Mendes' Sexteto Bossa Rio, with which he performed at the Bossa Nova Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York, NY. Also in the U.S., Ferreira recorded with Cannonball Adderley (Cannonball Adderley Collection, Vol. 2: Bossa Nova). Also during the '60s, he performed with the Tamba Trio and was a member of Eumir Deodato's Os Gatos, recording interesting albums with them. Ferreira was also a member of the jury at the III and IV Festival Internacional da Canção (International Song Festival, Rio de Janeiro). As a producer, he worked with Philips and CID. ~ Alvaro Neder, Rovi