Naná Vasconcelos, a Brazilian percussionist whose stylistic daring and freewheeling experimentalism made him a sought-after collaborator with artists as varied as the Argentine jazz saxophonist Gato Barbieri and the Talking Heads, died on Wednesday in Recife, Brazil. He was 71.

His death was announced on the website of the guitarist Pat Metheny, with whom he worked for many years. The Associated Press said the cause was lung cancer.

Mr. Vasconcelos became prominent in Brazil in the 1960s as a master of the berimbau, a bow with a steel string and resonating gourd that is played by striking the string with a baton. Mr. Barbieri heard him playing with the singer and songwriter Milton Nascimento and invited him to join his band on a European tour in 1970 that began with the Montreux Jazz Festival.

The exposure made Mr. Vasconcelos an international star. A protean, adventurous performer, he advanced constantly into new territory and unexpected collaborations.