Various Artists - Brazil! (18 Brazilian Classics) (2001)

LINER NOTES

Music, like football, is a national obsession in Brazil and it can be heard everywhere. The African percussive heritage is always discernible but there are many wonderful melodies that float above the complex rhythmic base.
Brazil is a huge country and has many musical styles and a single CD one can only scratch the surface. This album concentrates on samba, bossa nova, tropicalia and MPB that all originate in Rio de Janeiro and the surrounding regions but are the styles that are best known outside Brazil.

Samba is the noisy, exuberant music of Brazilian carnival with its massive percussion section and African style call and response vocals. From this street tradition came samba-canQao, literally samba song, which slowed down and adapted the Samba rhythm with guitar and percussion as accompaniment.
In Rio in the late 1950s, bossa nova (new wave) developed in the beach neighbourhood of Ipanema and the Copa cobana clubs and grew into an international craze. The Samba rhythms were reduced to a sophisticated simplicity with added jazz influenced harmonies and syncopation.

Tropicalia was part of a short-lived 1960s eclectic arts movement and used a rich palette of rock, samba, bossa nova, Brazilian urban and folk styles and electronic instruments. Many tropicalia artists became leading lights in the subsequent MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) style which is the general term applied to the diverse mix of styles, both Brazilian and international, that continues to be popular.


The album kicks-off with the Tamba Trio version of Mas Que Nada which was a hit in 1963 but was used to great effect during the 1998 Football World Cup in the Nike TV advertisement. The Tamba Trio where named after a type of drum and comprised pianist Luzinho Eca, bassist Bebeto (Adalberto Castilho) and drummer Halcio Milito. They where one of the most talented Bossa Nova groups of the 60s and, apart from being gifted instrumentalists they also produced wonderful harmony vocals.

The instrumental group Bossa Tres were also active in the 60s and consisted of Luis Carlos Vinhas (piano); Sebastian Neto (bass); Edison Machado (drums & percussion).

The quartet MPB4 consists of Aquiles (Rique Reis), Magro (Antonio Jose Wagabi Filho), Multinho (Lima dos Santos Filho) and Ruy (Alexandre Faria). They have been together since 1965 and are still one of the most popular vocal groups of Brazil.

Gilberto Gil continues to experiment with different styles, blending international pop with Brazilian urban and folkloric styles. Both he and exuberant female vocalist Gal Costa first came to prominence as part of the tropicalia movement

There are many contrasting female vocalists featured on the album. Nara Leao (1942 - 1989) was a singer with a cool gentle style and was at the heart of bossa nova’s beginnings in Rio. Elis Regina (1945 - 1982) had an extrovert passionate singing style and was a big star who also hosted TV shows. Versatile bossa vocalist Claudette Soares is also featured, performing a version of Baden Poweirs Feitinha Pro Poeta.

Baden Powell co-wrote more than fifty songs with celebrated lyricist Vinicius De Moraes and here he performs Consolacao with Mauricio Einhorn’s jazz harmonica. Guitarist and vocalist Edu Lobo is another renowned composer who has a great gift for melody and skilfully combines Brazilian folk styles with bossa harmony.

The album closes with a different, contrasting version of Mas Que Nada; this time performed by its composer, the acclaimed, rhythmically creative musician Jorge Ben. A rough translation from part of the lyrics of Mas Que Nada seems to sum up this collection: "A samba as great as this, you’re not going to want me to get to the end".

Mike Hingston, 2001





01. Tamba Trio - Mas Que Nada [2:42]
02. Elis Regina - Tereza Sabe Sambar [3:27]
03. Jorge Ben - Ponta De Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma) [3:45]
04. Gilberto Gil - Roda [2:41]
05. Meirellas E Os Copa 5 - Solo [1:43]
06. Edu Lobo - Upa Neguinho [2:19]
07. Gilberto Gil - Queremos Guerra [3:02]
08. Claudette Soares - Feltinha Pro Poeta [2:03]
09. Cal Costa - Tuareg [3:25]
10. Elis Regina - Casa Forte [2:49]
11. Tamba Trio - Tamba [2:42]
12. MPB 4 - Cravo E Canela [2:12]
13. Wandalea - Mane Joao [4:12]
14. Nara Leao - Cacara [1:52]
15. Bossa Tres - Imprevisto [3:22]
16. Baden Powell And Mauricio Einhorn - Consolacao [7:42]
17. Robertinho Silva - Falange Dos Tambores [2:46]
18. Jorge Ben - Mas Que Nada [3:02]




CD Co-Ordinated by Alex Leslie

Label: Spectrum Music
Released: 2001
Catalogue: 544 450-2







Codec: Flac
Compression Level: 6
Quality: High


CD-rip by alekow (EAC and Flac)
Covers Included (600dpi)







Enjoy, Seed and Share