Brazilian Music..

mogadishu, I'm so happy when I see someone else is interested in the beautiful music of Brasil.

Here is some information to help you get started in you new journey.

Let me know if I can help you out any further.

Brazilian music is typified by its intense and exuberant mixing of styles, from the European/African/Native American blends that brought about the original sambas of the early Twentieth Century, to the electronica and hip-hop records of today. Here is an attempt to sort out some of those styles, and the artists who make them popular.

Axe - A contemporary Afro-Bahian pop style, incorporating samba, rock, soul and other musical influences.

Batucada - Intense, polyrhythmic percussion. Batucada is a style which emphasizes Brazilian culture's African heritage.

Bossa Nova - My favorite. See more information below. - A suave, romantic style which started in the 1950s, replacing samba as the national music. Typically, bossa nova (which means "new way" in Portuguese) is very mellow and laid-back, and very, very cool. In the early 1960s, bossa nova rhythms became popular with jazz and pop musicians in the U.S. and Europe.

Bossa Nova Jazz - In the early 1960s, bossa nova rhythms became popular with jazz and pop musicians in the U.S. and Europe. Brazilians, too, have long had an affinity for jazz, and usually mix it around with plenty of local influences.

Capoeira - A style of martial arts developed by Brazilian slaves in the 1700s. Capoeira was developed surreptiously, with practitioners pretending that they were taking parts in dances, when in fact they were practicing their kicks and blows. Thus, there is also a whole style of capoeira music which goes along with the martial arts culture.

Choro - An improvisational instrumental style from the late 19th and early half of the 20th Century. Similar to New Orleans trad jazz, choro was closely connected with the early development of samba, and is typically played by a small ensemble -- over the years the instrumentation has expanded to include more instruments, such as clarinet and mandolin... Early stars of the genre include flautist Pixinguinha, mandolin player Jacob do Bandolim, and guitarist Garoto.

Forro - Upbeat, catchy dance music from the Northeast of Brazil. Usually features an accordion, and syncopated rhythms similar to samba. In some ways, forro is analagous to mariachi in Mexico, or cumbia music in Columbia: although a few artists (such as Luiz Gonzaga and Jackson do Pandeiro) are well-known, national stars, thousands of others have recorded for small, regional labels and much of forro is relatively informal and localized.

Frevo - An early popular Northeastern caranval style which features a march-like quality. Like choro, frevo is closely related to the samba, and has grown and adapted into a more modern sound. Frevo is most popular in Pernambuco state, especially in Recife.

Lambada - A dance style whose popularity peaked in the late 1980s, when the group Kaoma had an international hit. Heavily influenced by Caribbean music -- particulary the merengue -- Lambada is typically more aggressive and hard-driving than samba or pagode, and tremendously more boring

Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB) - Pretty much a catch-all phrase for any Brazilian pop which comes after bossa nova. The Tropicalia movement (see below) used to be what people meant when they were talking about MPB, but now it's almost an absurdly far-reaching phrase that musical poseurs use when they want to sound cool.

Non-Brazilian Lusophone Music - Brazil wasn't the only place the Portuguese colonized. Check out some of these recommendations from Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola, and other areas in the Portuguese-speaking world.

Rock Music - In the late '50s, rock'n'roll took hold in Brazil, with teenpop and surf bands popping up across the country. The Jovem Guarda TV show became the focal point for Brazilian roquieros, though the more radical psychedelic pop of the tropicalia scene soon supplanted the earlier, cutsier sound. In the 1970s, as tropicalia morphed into MPB, North American-style hard rock and AOR came into style.

Samba and Pagode - Samba's syncopated, smooth dance style was invented in the late 1800s as part of Brazil's carnaval celebrations. Carnaval sambas were typically performed by large percussion ensembles, and were an expression of Brazil's West African heritage. Later on, in the 1920s and '30s, samba became increasingly complex, as writers such as Ary Barroso transformed it into a pop style, blending African rhythms with European melodies. Out of fashion during the bossa nova craze of the late 1950s and early '60s, samba had a resurgence of popularity in the 1970s, typified by popular singers such as Clara Nunes, Beth Carvalho and Alcione, who labelled their new style pagode. Over the years, pagode has become a catch-all phrase for many styles of pop music widely heard throughout Brazil.

Soul and Funk - Surprisingly, hardcore funk and soul were slow to take root in the Brazilian mainstream... There were a few highly-prized albums in the 1970s, but it wasn't until the '80s and the whole axe phenomenon and the bloco afros of Olodum and Timblada that funk music rose above the haze of glossy MPB pop.

Tropicalia - A late-'60s/early-'70s musical movement that combined North American rock, blues, jazz, pop kitsch and psychedelic music with Brazilian and other latin american styles. In part, tropicalia was a reaction to the perceived stodginess of bossa nova music, which had been the dominant pop style since the late 1950s. In turn, the major tropicalia stars became the musical status quo from the 1970s onward, and younger musicians alternately rebelled against the hegemony of the tropicalistas, or enjoyed working with them.

Bossa Nova:

A suave, romantic style which started in the 1950s, bossa nova supplanted samba as the national music during much of the following decade. Typically, bossa nova (which means "new way" in Portuguese) is very mellow and laid-back, and very, very cool. The style was introduced to Brazilians through the stunning early work of guitarist Joao Gilberto, and to the rest of the world through the French film, Black Orpheus. In the early 1960s, bossa nova rhythms sparked a musical craze, led by jazz musicians in the U.S. and Europe. Still one of the dominant musical styles in Brazil, bossa nova remains one of the world's great musical treasures.

Major Bossa Nova Stars

Astrud Gilberto
Joao Gilberto
Antonio Carlos Jobim
Joyce
Nara Leao
Carlos Lyra
Baden Powell
Marcos Valle
Vinicius de Moraes

Recommended Records:

Antonio Carlos Jobim/Luis Bonfa "BLACK ORPHEUS" (Soundtrack) (Fontana, 1959)
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The soundtrack to the winner of the 1959 Cannes Festival, this record was the first major incursion of bossa nova into the minds and hearts of North America and Europe. Apparently Brazilians didn't care much for cultural imperialism inherent in the romanticized French view of life in the favela slums, but this album did put Jobim and Bonfa in the global spotlight, along with Vinicius de Moraes, who wrote the original play that this was based on. Although the album is largely made up of samba de enredo percussive tracks, Jobim's non-Joao Gilberto bossa and Luis Bonfa's acoustic guitar work made quite a splash. Bonfa's "Manha de Carnaval" was an big international hit, and although the bossa nova sound is still a little unformed here, it makes for lovely listening.

Luiz Bonfa "Plays And Sings Bossa Nova" (Verve, 1963)
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An outstanding early record which almost (but not quite) makes up for all the crap he recorded later. Seriously, though, this record has some of the most solid and emotionally resonant bossa nova playing Bonfa ever laid down on wax. The original LP was divided in two parts -- Side One was basically Bonfa playing a stripped down, richly melodic acoustic set; Side Two featured larger orchestral arrangements, but even these are pretty nice. Credit goes, in no small part, to Verve producer Creed Taylor, who oversaw many of the best early jazz-bossa crossover albums.

Gal Costa/Caetano Veloso "Domingo" (Polygram, 1967)
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On their dual debut, these future tropicalia rebels pay homage to beautiful bossa nova balladry, clearly under the spell of Joao Gilberto. Even though the style was a bit dated already, this album is still quite lovely, with gentle percussion, lush strings and breezy flutes. Considering her later more brazen style, Costa's blase Astrud Gilberto-ish vocals stand out as a tame anomaly, though they are completely enjoyable. Veloso sounds tentative and unsure, not yet possessed of the cool confidence which pervades his later work. A lovely glimpse at their early personas, and a very sweet record.

Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto/Astrud Gilberto "Getz/Gilberto" (Verve, 1963)
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THE classic jazz-bossa nova crossover album, against which all others are measured. Almost shockingly intimate, with every tremble of the saxophone reed intact, this collaboration between Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto contains complete take of the #1 hit, "The Girl from Ipanema," which is the version most folks in the States are familiar with, and which helped make Astrud Gilberto a household name worldwide. Her hubby Joao's guitar work and whispery vocals are the ultimate in melodic cool. Tom Jobim plays piano, in one of his sweetest performances, and percussion by Milton Banana is a study in economy. There are zillions of pressings and reissues of this album; the latest CD version, from 1997, features 20-bit mastering and sounds pretty damn nice.

Gilberto Gil "Louvacao" (Philips, 1967)
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Perhaps his most conventional, most bossa nova flavored, album, and also one of his dreamiest and best. Although many of these early songs were also recorded by reigning pop stars of the time (such as Elis Regina), Gil's versions are superior, and many of the songs on this album wind up on his various best-ofs. Gil's gentle voice and deft acoustic guitar work mesh well with the studio back-up -- strings, flute and percussion -- and his presence is so strongly felt that it's clear this is an artist who will rise above the musical conventions of his time. Although the liner notes aren't clear, I suspect that the accordeon on "Viramundo" is by the forro great, Dominguinhos... this one's a real winner.

Joao Gilberto "The Legendary Joao Gilberto" (World Pacific, 1990)
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GOOD LORD! Why is this CD out of print?? This is the Holy Grail of bossa nova, containing Gilberto's first EPs, including his historic recording of "Chega de Saudade", the Jobim song that started it all. The domestic U.S. version of the incredible O Mito retrospective, this single CD collection is just plain stunning. It's unfathomable why Capitol has allowed this to lapse out of print, but if you want to check out Joao Gilberto, this disc is the place to start. Currently the only version of this in print would appear to be the French edition, called 38 Titres De Bossa Nova. Write your Senators to complain.

Joao Gilberto "Brasil" (Warner, 1981)
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MPB luminaries Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Maria Bethania pitch in on this rapturously reserved bossa nova album, which marked Gilberto's return to Brazil after several years abroad. Very listenable and highly recommended. It's much to his credit that Gilberto was able to calm these tropicalia stars down and get such fine, understated performances out of them at a time when MPB in general was becoming overwrought and either cheesily or frantically overproduced.

Tom Jobim/Elis Regina "Elis E Tom" (Verve, 1974)
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A stunning collaboration between Jobim and legendary MPB-jazz vocalist, Elis Regina. Features the definitive version of Jobim's "Aguas de Marco", and some of the nicest, most tasteful music of his career. One of those sublime, perfect, magic albums that has a life of its own; for my money, it's the best album either one of them recorded. Why couldn't more of his albums approached this level of greatness?

Nara Leao "Dez Anos Depois" (Philips, 1971)
A 2-LP collection of the same-old bossa nova classics, EXCEPT that Leao manages somehow to place a very distinctive stamp on them all. Perhaps is has something to do with the sessions recorded in France -- a euro-chanson sensibility, perhaps? At any rate, the spare arrangements and distinctive acoustic guitar accompaniment by Tuca make this one of the best latter-day bossa nova records out there. If perhaps you've ever wearied of hearing the same damn Jobim songs over and over, give this album a try... it may make the classics seems fresh again!

Carlos Lyra "Carlos Lyra" (Philips, 1960)
Carlos Lyra "Bossa Nova" (Philips, 1961)
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Early on, the whispery, suave singer-songwriter Carlos Lyra gave Joao Gilberto a run for his money in the cool department. The production on these albms may have been cornier than it needed to be -- Lyra's coolness tends to get lost on the poppier and more ornate numbers, but not always. Some touches, like the woodwinds and reeds, are distracting, though not disasterous. Lyra sounds a lot like the young Chico Buarque (or is that putting the cart before the horse?) -- cool, reserved, but intimate and kinda sexy. These two albums have been reissued in Japan on a single CD -- Bossa Nova is my favorite, with similar terrain but a little more accomplished and relaxed, and less corny. Includes plenty of great Lyra compositions, especially "Coisa Mais Linda," "Voce E Eu," "Caminho do Adeus," "Maria Niguem," and "O Bem do Amor". Quite nice.

Carlos Lyra/Paul Winter "The Sound Of Ipanema" (Columbia, 1964)
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Great album! Yankee jazzman Paul Winter's saxophone accompaniment here is understated, though a bit staid. What makes this record so sweet, though, is Lyra's gorgeous guitar and intimate vocals, as well as all the great songs he wrote. Sergio Mendes and Milton Banana sit in on piano and drums, respectively, and though Winter is slightly less swinging than the "authentic" bossa musicians, this is quite a nice little record. Sadly, it's also out of print, except as a super-pricey Japanese import.

Vinicius De Moraes/Odette Lara "Vinicius + Odette Lara" (Elenco/Polygram, 1963)
Bossa nova with a playful edge. Poet/songwriter Vinicius de Moraes, sort of a bossa Beatnik, is teamed up with actress Odette Lara, who acquits herself quite well in the role of Brazil's Brigitte Bardot. Vinicius' vocals are whisper-y, conversational and penetrating, and Lara's are appropriately lush and sultry -- on duets, their voices don't always mesh, but since they mostly trade off on the songs, it doesn't matter much. Features the tune, "Berimbau", which is credited with helping re-popularize the twangy folk instrument of the same name. Strong arrangements and solid delivery make this one worth checking out.

I love this stuff! Can you tell?

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