Monday, November 25, 2002
Out on the town with Gallotti
The king of the rodas shows off his samba.
l to r: Sandrinho, Walter Alfaiate, Gallotti & Pedro Miranda
(photo: Bruno Veiga)
Remember when you heard Leon Redbone sing “Lulu’s Back in Town” for the first time? That old-geezer voice emanating from a young throat was startling. Gallotti is startling in the same way. This young man is not afraid to use a hefty measure of gravel and vibrato on a repertoire of samba oldies while playing the cavaquinho. Not only can he sound like an old geezer, but he does a mean old woman, too. I’ve never heard anyone come so close to singing like Clementina de Jesus (in the “O Que É Que Eu Dou” medley he is Clementina). In fact, as bizarrely improbable as it might sound, Gallotti is a sort of Paulinho da Viola and Clementina rolled into one, effortlessly navigating through all the interpretative shades and nuances that span these two extreme models.
With all of the above going for him, is it a surprise that Gallotti is the king of the rodas de samba? His enormous charisma comes shining through in the debut disc O Samba das Rodas, an especially delightful collection of vintage tunes that will set your foot tapping and your hips swaying. If O Samba É Minha Nobreza is a roda de samba at home, O Samba das Rodas is a roda de samba in a carioca bar, (subdued) background buzz and all. Only the smoke is missing, and I, for one, am happier without it.
Responsible for the expert arrangements were Cláudio Jorge (there he is in a white shirt, standing behind Pedro Miranda) and Luís Filipe de Lima, who play guitar and 7-string guitar, respectively. Gallotti surrendered the cavaquinho to Wanderson Martins. Eduardo Neves is in charge of the flute, Rui Alvim of the clarinet, and the large array of percussion instruments is wielded by the heavyweights Ovidio Brito, Gordinho, Marcelinho Moreira, and Tunico Ferreira. The singing gets a strong boost from a large chorus of the best and the brightest on the samba scene, including Cristina Buarque, Ari Bispo, and Teresa Cristina. Walter Alfaiate makes a guest appearance in “Oito Mulheres,” where he and Gallotti exchange lighthearted opinions on women.
Pop open a beer and settle back to enjoy this gem. If you develop the yen to sing along, you’ll find all the lyrics in the CD booklet. The disc comes from that selective hothouse of samba, Carioca Discos, whose previous releases were Os Meninos do Rio with Elton Medeiros, Dona Ivone Lara, Monarco et al., and Cláudio Jorge's Coisa de Chefe. Gallotti is in very good company. Gallotti is very good company.
Gallotti: O Samba das Rodas
(Carioca Discos CD 003; 2002) 55:21 min.
01. Morrendo de Saudades (Wilson Moreira/Nei Lopes)
Não É Assim (Paulinho da Viola)
02. Cem Mil-Réis (Vadico/Noel Rosa)
Sem Tostão (Noel Rosa/Arthur Costa)
O Orvalho Vem Caindo (Noel Rosa/Kid Pepe)
03. Cabritada Mal-Sucedida (Geraldo Pereira)
O Couro do Falecido (Monsueto/Jorge de Castro)
Cabrito Dá Bode (Gallotti/Magrinho/Fabio Bareto)
04. Pedro do Pedregulho (Geraldo Pereira)
Unha de Gato (Elton Medeiros)
05. Só prá Chatear (Príncipe Pretinho)
Tá Maluca (Wilson Batista/Germano Augusto)
06. Nega Dina (Zé Ketti)
A Banca do Distinto (Billy Blanco)
07. O que É que Eu Dou (Dorival Caymmi/Antonio Almeida)
Dinheiro Não Há (Alvarenga/Benedito Lacerda)
Se Essa Mulher Fosse Minha (Haroldo Torres/Geraldo Gomes)
08. 1296 Mulheres (Zé Trindade/Moreira da Silva)
Oito Mulheres (José Batista)
09. Tia Eulália na Xiba (Cláudio Jorge/Nei Lopes)
10. Chegou a Bonitona (Geraldo Pereira/José Batista)
Pisei num Despacho (Geraldo Pereira/Elpidio Viana)
Você Está Sumindo (Geraldo Pereira/Jorge de Castro)
11. Folhas Secas (Nelson Cavaquinho/Guilherme de Brito)
Cuidado com a Outra (Nelson Cavaquinho/A. Tomás Jr.)
12. Linda Guanabara (Paulo da Portela)
Quem Espera Sempre Alcança (Paulo da Portela/Hermínio Bello de Carvalho)
Pam-Pam-Pam (Paulo da Portela)
13. Maioria sem Nenhum (Elton Medeiros/Mauro Duarte)
14. Se Você Jurar (Ismael Silva/Nilton Bastos/Francisco Alves)
Quebrei a Jura (Haroldo Lobo/Milton de Oliveira)
Nem É Bom Falar (Ismael Silva/Nilton Bastos/Francisco Alves)
__________________________
16:18
 
Monday, November 18, 2002
The Boeuf chronicles, Pt. 28
Nazareth brings up the rear.
Two Ernesto Nazareth fans in Rio de Janeiro:
Artur Rubinstein & Darius Milhaud, 1918
Recalling his time in Rio de Janeiro, Darius Milhaud wrote:
At the entrance of movie theatres (it was of course at the time of silent films) there always was a small orchestra playing. One of the most famous composers of popular music at that time, Nazareth, author of numerous songs and dances which were extremely successful in many carnavals, used to play the piano in front of the picture house of the Avenida Rio Branco. I used to remain hours listening to him. And it was only after many months that I felt these rhythms penetrate clearly into me.
Nazareth was the Brazilian popular composer who most impressed Milhaud. It is suitable, therefore, that the final tune quoted in Le Boeuf sur le Toit should have been composed by him.
Cavaquinho player (detail from
“Chorinho” by Portinari)
Tune No. 28: “Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho” (1915)
Among Nazareth’s compositions, the polka “Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho” ranks second only to “Odeon” in number of recordings. It is also the most recorded tune among the 28 quoted in Le Boeuf. Alexandre Dias, who keeps track of all Nazareth compositions, listed 62 recordings of “Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho” (since then he found 40 additional recordings) in a comprehensive text written in September 2001, from which the following tidbits are extracted.
Why would a pianist title one of his pieces “Gotcha, Cavaquinho”? According to Nazareth biographer Luiz Antônio de Almeida, the composer was imitating the sound of the cavaquinho in the left-hand accompaniment and that of a flute in the melody played by the right hand.
Nazareth never intended “Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho” to be played as rapidly as it is executed by most musicians. In a video included in the CD-ROM Ernesto Nazareth, Rei do Choro, the composer Francisco Mignone reminisced:
met Nazareth more or less in 1917. It was at Eduardo Souto’s music store. Ernesto Nazareth had been hired to play on the piano pieces that the customers wanted to buy. [...] And he played everything slowly, attempting always to play cantabile. [...] he said, “All my music is mangled. They play so fast. ‘Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho’ is a disaster. It’s nice and slow, the left hand playing arpeggios, giving the impression of a cavaquinho.” He played everything slowly and very clearly, with a well-refined technique.
Alexandre Dias attributes the rapid playing to the tune’s structure, which offers an irresistible opportunity for musicians who want to show off their virtuosity. Like “Ameno Resedá” and unlike all of Nazareth’s other tunes, “Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho” is almost entirely composed of eighth-notes in the right hand; the interpreter immediately sees the possibility of playing it rapidly, owing to its regularity. As an additional culprit, Dias cites an “Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho” speed-playing contest promoted by Rede Globo in the 1970s.
It’s interesting to note that Nazareth was already complaining of the speed in 1917, while in a 1926 edition of the score published by Irmãos Vitale, the “celebre chôro” (no longer called a polka for reasons of fashion) comes with the recommendation “Muito proprio para serenatas.”
Ernesto Nazareth
“Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho” is the last tune in Le Boeuf sur le Toit, although it isn’t the final one to be heard:
Recapitulation
Rondo 13
1. “São Paulo Futuro” (section A) + “Galhofeira”
2. “São Paulo Futuro” (section B)
Rondo 14
1. “Sou Batuta”
2. “Tango Brasileiro” (section A)
Coda
Rondo 15 + “Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho”
1. “Tango Brasileiro” (section A)
Played by the flutes and obscured by the brass of the rondo theme, “Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho” is quite inaudible in most orchestral versions. Therefore we’ll dispense with Louis de Froment’s recording and listen instead to the piano four-hands rendition by Stephen Coombs & Artur Pizarro. 
As a special treat, we have an excerpt from the original tune played by Nazareth himself in a recording (Odeon 10718-A) he made on 10 September 1930.
Along the years, the tune gained four versions of lyrics. The first, written by Baldomán and included in the sheet music, was never recorded. The second version, by Darci de Oliveira & Benedito Lacerda, was recorded by Ademilde Fonseca in 1943. Not satisfied with either of the two, Nara Leão wrote a third, which she recorded on the 1969 album Coisas do Mundo. In 2001, Paulinho Garcia wrote lyrics for section A, which he recorded with flutists Altamiro Carrilho and Julie Koidin on the CD Juntos.
See all four sets of lyrics here.
__________________________
17:57
Sunday, November 17, 2002
Immortal Afro-Sambas
Clara Sandroni & Marcos Sacramento’s
take on the classic suite.
Baden Powell
When talking of the Afro-Sambas of Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes, I use the word ‘suite’ advisedly. Are they, in fact, a suite or even a cycle? Four albums have been recorded with this repertoire, including two by Baden Powell himself, and in no two discs are the songs arranged in the same order, nor is the song list identical.
Accounts of the history and the components of this legendary body of songs are both fuzzy and contradictory. Ruy Castro claims that all the Afro-Sambas were composed in 1962 and ’63—before Baden had ever set foot in Bahia—and that the creation took place during a three-month alcoholic binge in Vinicius’ apartment and later in the Rio clinic where he checked himself in for drying out.
In another camp, Paulo Bellinati, Ricardo Cravo Albin’s Dicionário da MPB, and the Enciclopédia Musical Brasileira maintain that the Afro-Sambas were born after Baden’s visit to Bahia. And then there are Jairo Severiano and Zuza Homem de Mello, who quote Elis Regina’s recollection that the lyrics of “Canto de Ossanha” were completed during rehearsal for her mid-’60s TV show O Fino da Bossa.
According to Tárik de Souza, the Afro-Sambas are the eight songs recorded by the authors with Quarteto em Cy in 1966—“Canto de Ossanha,” “Canto de Xangô,” “Bocochê,” “Canto de Iemanjá,” “Tempo de Amor,” “Canto do Caboclo Pedra Preta,” “Tristeza e Solidão,” and “Lamento de Exu”—plus three more: “Berimbau,” “Samba da Benção,” and “"Consolação.”
The Enciclopédia Musical Brasileira and several other sources mention yet another Afro-Samba, “Samba de Oxóssi,” which appears never to have been recorded unless under a different title. “Samba em Prelúdio,” “Formosa,” and “Apelo” have also been cited here and there as being part of the cycle.
Baden himelf must have had a rather fluid vision of what constitutes an Afro-Samba, for he included “Labareda” and variations on “Berimbau” in his 1990 remake album with Quarteto em Cy. In the Afro-Sambas CD Bellinati recorded in 1995 with Mônica Salmaso—a disc that purports to contain all the Afro-Sambas—the guitarist/arranger added not only “Labareda” and “Berimbau” but also “Consolação.” By way of an extra tribute, Bellinati incorporated his own “Cordão de Ouro” in a medley with “Berimbau” to honor Besouro Mangangá, aka Cordão de Ouro, the legendary Bahian capoeirista also honored by Baden in “Lapinha.”
Complicating the matter even further is the frequent ascribing of Baden’s inspiration to an orientation from Vinicius, who played him an LP of sambas de roda and pontos de macumba recorded in Bahian terreiros. How does that sit vis-a-vis this quotation, attributed to Vinicius himself?:
Before “Berimbau” and “Samba da Bênção,” Baden had already chosen me to write “Canto do Caboclo Pedra Preta.” That song was composed “right there and then”—that is, music and lyrics for the second part searching for a meaning for the original caboclo’s chant. From that same period is “Canto de Yemanjá,” in which—it is my opinion—Baden reached a beauty rarely attained. [...] Baden’s musical antennae to Bahia and, in a final stretch, to Africa, allowed him to put together this new syncretism, adding a “carioca” taste, within the spirit of modern samba, to the Afro-Brazilian candomblé, giving it a more universal dimension.
Clara Sandroni
Perhaps it’s just as well that Clara Sandroni and Marcos Sacramento did not title their new disc Afro-Sambas. In naming it Saravá, Baden Powell! they allude to the nature of the songs without confusing the matter even further. Their version includes all the songs of the 1966 album minus the lyric-less “Lamento de Exu.” Like Baden and Bellinati they added “Berimbau,” but chose to omit “Labareda.” Again like Bellinati, Sandroni and Sacramento included “Consolação.” And they’ve expanded the territory with “Formosa” and “Tem Dó”—Baden/Vinicius tunes that have never been part of the cycle but work very well within its framework—as well as two later songs from the Baden/Paulo Cesar Pinheiro partnership, “Lapinha” and “É de Lei.”
Marcos Sacramento
The release of Saravá, Baden Powell! is a good excuse for a marathon Afro-Sambas session. Listening to the four albums in succession reveals the vast differences in interpretation among them. The original disc, arranged and conducted by Guerra Peixe, is seminal and exuberant but also messy, threatening to collapse into pandemonium at any moment. In his 1990 recording, Baden instilled discipline and increased the guitar’s role. The only “real” singers in the first two albums were the backup vocalists, Quarteto em Cy.
Both of the newer discs feature professional vocalists and are highly accomplished on all technical counts. Mônica Salmaso & Bellinati’s voice/guitar production is a gossamer web, the song taken out of its African context and mounted on the pedestal of recital art. Saravá, Baden Powell!, on the other hand, hews closer to Baden’s concept, finding common ground between discipline and heritage, rhythm and high art.
Playing the guitar is Mauricio Carrilho, also responsible for the arrangements and musical direction in the studio. His presence gives Sacramento’s solos, “Formosa,” “Deixa,” and “Lapinha,” that welcome sound we haven’t heard since A Modernidade da Tradição. The accompaniment is suitably Africanized by means of the atabaques, agogô, djambe, ganzá, caixa, surdo, pandeiro, tamborim, and berimbau wielded by percussionists Carlos Negreiros, Marcos Suzano, and Zero.
Sandroni and Sacramento have been singing together for a long time. She made a guest appearance on his group Cão Sem Dono’s 1986 eponymous album. The pair began performing the Afro-Sambas in 1995 and have since honed their duo skills in four CDs with Lira Carioca. By now, their collaborations sound effortless, which is just the kind of sound Baden Powell would have wished for his Afro-Sambas.
Clara Sandroni & Marcos Sacramento: Saravá, Baden Powell!
(Biscoito Fino BF 523; 2002) 52:20 min.
01. Bocoché (Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes)
02. Tem Dó (Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes)
03. Canto de Pedra Preta (Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes)
04. Tristeza e Solidão (Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes)
05. Formosa (Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes)
06. Tempo de Amor (Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes)
07. Canto de Iemanjá (Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes)
08. Canto de Ossanha (Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes)
09. Lapinha (Baden Powell/Paulo Cesar Pinheiro)
10. Berimbau (Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes)
11. Canto de Xangô (Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes)
12. Consolação (Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes)
13. É de Lei (Baden Powell/Paulo Cesar Pinheiro)
__________________________
15:05
Saturday, November 09, 2002
The Boeuf chronicles, Pt. 27
Tupinambá’s curtain call.
Marcelo Tupinambá
In the course of this series, we visited Marcelo Tupinambá six times (not counting the introductory article), for each of the previous occurrences of a tune of his in Le Boeuf sur le Toit. On four of those occasions, we also had a fleeting encounter with the lyricist Arlindo Leal. As Tupinambá bows out with his seventh tune, we should devote a few words to Leal. After all, having co-authored five works that figure in Le Boeuf, he is second only to Tupinambá on the most-quoted list.
Arlindo Leal was born in São Paulo in 1871, and nobody seems to know when or where he died. In an appendix to the book Marcelo Tupinambá—Obra Musical de Fernando Lobo by Benedicto Pires de Almeida, Leal is described as one of the most active theatrical authors during the 1910s and ’20s, as well as being a journalist, poet, and contributor to regional literature. In 1903 he co-founded a newspaper called Vida Paulista, of which one copy of the first issue is preserved in the rare books section of the Mário de Andrade Library.
Leal’s theatrical output included comedies, operettas, revues, and burlesques. He was particularly interested in regionalism at a time when country life in the south was absorbing an influx of sertanejo customs and expressions imported from the north and northwest. His theatrical productions were equally successful in Rio de Janeiro as in São Paulo. In the early ’20s he co-authored several carnaval songs with the famous guitarist Américo Jacomino (Canhoto).
Songs by Marcelo Tupinambá & Arlindo Leal
01. Acugelê! Acubabá!* (tanguinho)
02. Ai... Ai... (tanguinho)
03. Ao Som da Viola (tango)
04. Baubuleta* (modinha)
05. Chão Parado (tango)
06. Chorão (tango)
07. Caboclo do Norte (tango)
08. Deixa Está (tanguinho)
09. Finório (tango-sertanejo)
10. Maricota, Sai da Chuva (tanguinho)
11. Meiga (valsa)
12. Por Ti (valsa)
13. Que Sodade (tanguinho [cena sertaneja])
14. Ruana (tango)
15. Sou Batuta* (tango)
16. Toada (tanguinho)
17. Tristeza de Caboclo (tanguinho [toada])
18. Trigueira (tanguinho)
19. Viola Cantadeira (tanguinho [canção sertaneja])
* Leal signed these as José Eloy.
Advertising bill listing 15 Tupinambá compositions
(including “Sou Batuta”) performed by Os Danilos
Tune No. 27: “Sou Batuta” (1919)
The tanguinho “Sou Batuta” was published by Campassi & Camin’s CEMB (Casa Editora Musical Brasileira) in the same year as the monster hit “Tristeza de Caboclo.” The piano-score cover lists both tanguinhos among 25 tunes in the Repertorio Sertanejo dos Celebres Duettistas “Os Danilos” (many of the others were also composed by Tupinambá). On the same score cover, “Sou Batuta” is advertised as “Sucesso da Orchestra Andreozzi de Rio de Janeiro.”
The Funarte 78-rpm disc database at Fundação Joaquim Nabuco shows no recordings by Os Danilos and none of “Sou Batuta,” but it does list six Tupinambá tunes recorded by Orchestra Andreozzi: the tanguinhos “Tietê,” “A Vida É Essa,” “Sertanejinha,” and “Toada”; the waltz “Alma em Flor”; and the sertaneja “Ruana”—all on the Odeon label.
“Sou Batuta” begins at 14:49 min. into Louis de Froment’s recording of Le Boeuf sur le Toit. The only known recording of the original tune was made by the Bloco Artístico band. Here is an excerpt, courtesy of Roberto de Azevedo.
It’s regrettable that no sung version exists, as the lyrics contain all the liveliness missing from Bloco Artístico’s plodding rendition. The singer brags of his prowess at dancing the maxixe.
Sou Batuta....
Tanguinho
Letra de José Eloy
Musica de Marcello Tupynambá
Um maxixe, bem dançado,
O prazer sabe excitar,
Quem o dança apaixonado
Fica logo palpitar...
Maxixando bem a geito
Ou' uma dama appetitosa
Eu a junto contra o peito
E minh'alma inteira gosa
Sou batuta, sou batuta,
Sou batuta no dançar
Eu não sou nenhum recruta
Quando quero maxixar!
Sou batuta, sou batuta,
Sou batuta no quebrar
Sem pretenho bôa conducta
Maxixando c'o meu par
Quando eu ouço, entusiasmado,
Um maxixe alguem tocar,
Fico logo enfeitiçado
Com vontage de quebrar...
E, quando eu entro na dança
Só se ouve, só se escuta;
?Quebra, requebra, não cança
Que tu és mesmo batuta!?
Sou batuta, sou batuta,
Sou batuta no dançar etc.
__________________________
18:59
Friday, November 08, 2002
A national treasure called Hermínio
Hermínio Bello de Carvalho hands
Brazil two more golden roses.
Hermínio Bello de Carvalho
One would have to think long and hard before coming up with the name of anyone who’s done as much for Brazilian music in the past 37 years as the inimitable Hermínio Bello de Carvalho. Writer, poet, producer, director, cultural agitator and preservationist, talent scout and magic-wand waver, Hermínio seems to have always been there at crucial moments in MPB history, putting his finger on the pulse of things and his signature on major milestones.
Hermínio’s list of accomplishments is practically endless. He’s lyricist to the choicest assemblage of composers—melodies by Pixinguinha, João Pernambuco, Cartola, Jacob do Bandolim, Paulinho da Viola, Elton Medeiros, Sueli Costa, Maurício Tapajós, João de Aquino, Guinga, and Villa-Lobos have been embellished with his verse. A talent spotter extraordinaire, he’s guaranteed a place in heaven just for the discovery of Clementina de Jesus. Some of the most important shows and albums ever to be launched in Brazil—Rosa de Ouro; Elizeth Cardoso with Jacob do Bandolim, Zimbo Trio & Época de Ouro; Gente da Antiga; Som Pixinguinha; Valzinho, Doce Veneno; Ary Amoroso; Mangueira, Sambas de Terreiro e Outros Sambas; and Clementina’s centenary 8-CD box are but a few of over 100 such productions—had Hermínio as their conceptual father and midwife. For thirteen years he directed the musical division of Funarte, and it is him we have to thank for the precious collection of 65 albums known as Acervo Funarte (see the remaining 45 discs here).
He could be resting comfortably on his laurels, but the indefatigable Hermínio keeps at it. This year he brought to life two more beauties, both released by the newish label Biscoito Fino, which aims high and hits the target with remarkable consistency.
Zezé Gonzaga
Only a lady who still sings
Like Hermínio, Zezé Gonzaga is a national treasure. Younger listeners will have heard her gently mournful voice accompanied by guitarist Mauricio Carrilho in “Solidão” on Lumiar’s Songbook Antonio Carlos Jobim Vol. 5 and in “Valsinha” on Songbook Chico Buarque Vol. 3. American MPB fans may have picked up Great Voices From Brazil (ANS Records 12220-2), a Stateside reissue of As Eternas Cantoras do Rádio, in which Zezé teams up with several other veteran divas. Three years ago she released the duo CD Clássicas (another Hermínio production) with Jane Duboc. Now she and Hermínio regale us with Sou Apenas uma Senhora que Ainda Canta, a solo album that was a long time coming—it's the singer’s first since Valzinho, Doce Veneno of 1979.
Hermínio is a fiercely loyal friend and producer. He produced practically all of Elizeth Cardoso’s albums from the mid-’60s until the end of her life. In Sou Apenas uma Senhora que Ainda Canta, he found a way to shine the spotlight on both his favorite singers by having Zezé Gonzaga record A Divina’s repertoire.
At the age of 76, Zezé is as capable as ever (perhaps more than ever) of breaking your heart. In this dignified and lyrical production she’s accompanied by musical director/arranger Cristovão Bastos on piano and accordion; João Lyra on guitar; Jorge Helder on bass; Hugo Pilger on cello; and Ricardo Pontes on saxophone. It's an exercise in beauty from beginning to end.
Listen to audio samples.
Zezé Gonzaga: Sou Apenas uma Senhora que Ainda Canta
(Biscoito Fino BF 518; 2002) 54:58 min.
01. Faxineira das Canções (Joyce)
Esquecendo você (Antonio Carlos Jobim/Vinicius de Moraes)
02. Inquietação (Ary Barroso)
03. Vestígios (Cristóvão Bastos/Hermínio Bello de Carvalho)
Trocando em Miúdos (Francis Hime/Chico Buarque)
Molambo (Jayme Florence/Augusto Mesquita)
04. Por Que Te Escondes (Pixinguinha/Thiago de Mello)
05. Cansei de Ilusões (Tito Madi)
Não Me Culpe (Dolores Duran)
Quando Tu Passas por Mim (Antonio Maria/Vinicius de Moraes
Franqueza (Dennis Brean/Osvaldo Guilherme)
06. Meu Consolo É Você (Roberto Martins/Antônio Nássara)
07. Todo o Sentimento (Cristóvão Bastos/Chico Buarque)
08. Imagens (Valzinho/Orestes Barbosa)
09. Vida de Artista (Sueli Costa/Abel Silva)
10. Prelúdio da Solidão (Heitor Villa-Lobos/Hermínio Bello de Carvalho)
O Que Tinha de Ser (Antonio Carlos Jobim/Vinicius de Moraes)
11. Pra Machucar Meu Coração (Ary Barroso)
12. Sou Apenas uma Senhora que Ainda Canta (Radamés Gnattali/Hermínio Bello de Carvalho)
13. Chão de Estrelas (Silvio Caldas/Orestes Barbosa)
Estrelas (Elizeth Cardoso)
Canção de Amor (Chocolate/Elano de Paula)
A roda de samba at home
In 1965 and ’67, Hermínio staged the legendary musical (and subsequent two albums) Rosa de Ouro, showcasing samba classics sung by old and new talent. The former was represented by veteran actress/singer Araci Cortes (1904–1985) and the even older new discovery Clementina de Jesus (1901–1987). Among the latter, Paulinho da Viola and Elton Medeiros, along with sambistas Nelson Sargento, Jair do Cavaquinho, and Anescar do Salgueiro, who went on to found the samba groups A Voz do Morro and O Cinco Crioulos.
Rather than repeat Rosa de Ouro, Hermínio produced a new stage show and double CD with a similar formula: a well-researched samba repertoire performed by veterans singing solo and younger vocalists performing in a roda-de-samba setting. He called it O Samba É Minha Nobreza.
The soloist this time is Roberto Silva, Brazil’s most perfect traditional singer, whose vocal beauty is still intact at the age of 82. No roda de samba would be complete without Cristina Buarque, who carries in her head more samba history than any carioca. She helped with the repertoire selection and leads the communal singing, which is done by young performers who appear regularly at Lapa bars such as Semente, where rodas de samba are the main attraction.
Hermínio likes to arrange his shows and discs in thematic blocks. A classic example of this construction may be found in Dorival Caymmi’s 70th birthday show, reissued on the PolyGram CD Caymmi in Bahia. In O Samba É Minha Nobreza, the themes are samba history; morro and favela songs; work-related songs; sambas about machismo; money (or lack thereof); and the nobility of samba. The resulting hefty 68-song list leaves no room for lyrics in the CD booklet—a pity for non-Brazilian listeners, who don't know all these sambas by heart and won't be able to sing along.
Even without the possibility of a sing-along, this set is the closest most people will ever get to having a roda de samba at home. The expert arrangements were done by Paulão Sete Cordas, who also plays his 7-string guitar and sings. Joining him are ace percussionists Marcus Esguleba and Trambique; Bernardo Dantas (6-string guitar); Marcelo Bernardes (flute); Roberto Marques (trombone); Pedro Aragão (bandolim & banjo), Mariana Bernardes (cavaquinho), and Zé Cruz (straw hat).
Hermínio, you’ve done it again.
See the complete track list and listen to audio samples here.
O Samba É Minha Nobreza
Singers: Roberto Silva, Cristina Buarque, Teresa Cristina,
Pedrinho Miranda, Mariana Bernardes, Pedro Paulo
(Biscoito Fino BF 516; 2002) CD 1: 52:41 min.; CD 2: 49:48 min.
Thematic blocks:
• O Samba por Ele Mesmo: Sua História
• Alvorada: O Amanhecer no Morro
• Batuque na Cozinha: Sambas de Trabalho e Algaravias
• Sambas de Machismo
• O Vil Metal: Sambas de Miserê
• A Dinastia e a Nobreza do Samba
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14:56
Wednesday, November 06, 2002
More on “Linda Flor”
Every success breeds parody.
Oscar Pinto de Souza, “Pinto Filho”
Everyone knows “Linda Flor” (Ai Ioiô), the first samba-canção, recorded by Araci Cortes in 1929 and again in 1965 (in the legendary Rosa de Ouro) and reprised by a host of star vocalists such as Isaura Garcia, Dalva de Oliveira, Elizeth Cardoso, Ângela Maria, Maria Bethânia & João Gilberto, Zezé Gonzaga & Jane Duboc (separately and together), Alcione, Tetê Espíndola, Ná Ozzetti, Dori & Nana Caymmi, and Clara Sandroni. Not to mention first-rung instrumentalists like Radamés Gnattali, Paulinho Nogueira, Altamiro Carrilho, Toquinho, and Baden Powell.
Some old-music fans also know that the song had two previous sets of lyrics that didn’t click with the public but were recorded by the great stars Francisco Alves and Vicente Celestino.
But how many people have heard the fourth version, a parody written by Nelson de Abreu and recorded by the comic actor/singer/songwriter Oscar Pinto de Souza, better known as Pinto Filho (or le Chevalier de Cascadurrá, in his own appellation)? I haven’t had the pleasure.
Autor: Henrique Vogeler - Nelson de Abreu
Título: Miss Favela
Gênero: Cena Cômica
Intérprete: Pinto Filho
Gravadora: Parlophon
Número: 13.246-A
Matriz: 4009
Data Lançamento: Nov/1930
Araci Cortes’ mega-hit was introduced in the theatrical revue Miss Brasil, hence the parody “Miss Favela.” Roberto de Azevedo, who kindly provided the lyrics below, informs that the recording begins in Pinto Filho’s traditional operetta style. A crowd in the street mocks a drunken Portuguese, and a popular man provokes him.
Miss Favela
(Henrique Vogeler/Nelson de Abreu)
Popular:
“Oh, português-pau-d’água, dá o fora!!!”
Povo:
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Popular:
“Estais a beber gasolina, oh diabo [?]”
Povo:
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Português:
“Eu bebo é com o meu dinheiro, seus vagabundos!!!
E aos despois, eu estou na minha terra. Portugal e Brasil é tudo a mesma
coisa!!!
E aos despois, eu bebo assim é de raiva. É de desgosto. Tudo por causa de
uma mulata!!!
Ai, as mulatas!
Quando eu te vejo na rua pisando com aquele sapato rosa na areia e com
aquele vestido comprido feito rabo de pavão ... Minha Nossa Senhora
... Eu até me esqueço que sou português ... Ai, o raio da mulata!!!”
[cantando]:
Ai, mulata
Eu nasci prá sofrer
Quando eu brigo contigo
Eu só quero beber
E para minha desgraça
Bebo tanta cachaça
Que fico que nem um [?]
Muito jururú
Ai, mulata
Tenha pena de mim
Lá no bonde Bonfim
Eu caí na calçada
E se não fosse um patrício
Quase que por um tríz
Eu rachava o nariz
Bebi toda noite, mulata
Só por tua causa, oh ingrata
Meu doce de côco, tem pena de mim
Dá cá uma beijoca prá teu Joaquim
Façamos as pazes, querida
Eu juro que és minha vida
Estou pronto mulata, querida donzela
Tú és entre outras Misses
A Miss* Favela
* Pinto Filho pronounces the word “missie.”
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09:46
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