Moraes Moreira, an exuberantly prolific Brazilian songwriter who fused the regional traditions of his home state, Bahia, with an ever-changing array of styles in a career that stretched from the late 1960s through the 2010s, died on April 13 at his home in Rio de Janeiro. He was 72.

His son Davi Moraes said the cause was a heart attack.

Mr. Moreira was the main composer in Os Novos Baianos (the New Bahians), whose early 1970s albums were both hits and cultural milestones in Brazil. Most of their songs had music by Mr. Moreira and lyrics by Luiz Galvão.

In 2007, Rolling Stone Brasil named Os Novos Baianos’s 1972 album, “Acabou Chorare” (“The Crying Is Over”) — which mixed, among other things, bossa nova, samba, rock and the vintage Brazilian style called choro — the most important album in the history of Brazilian music.

Mr. Moreira moved on to a solo career that would encompass dozens of albums over four decades. His songs were also recorded by many leading Brazilian pop singers, yielding No. 1 hits in Brazil for Gal Costa, Simone, Ney Matogrosso and others.