Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Zé Carioca’s centennial
The guitarist and the parrot.
Zé Carioca & Aurora Miranda (photo: www.zecarioca.com)
José Patrocínio de Oliveira (1904–1987) was born a hundred years ago today.
To animation lovers around the world, he’s best known as the voice of the talking parrot from Disney’s animated films Saludos Amigos (1942) and The Three Caballeros (1944). He also participated in several Hollywood films as a member of Carmen Miranda’s band and released some albums under the name Zé Carioca.
Few are the people who know that Zé Carioca was also the master guitarist Zezinho, who between 1929 and 1931 made some seminal recordings with João Pernambuco and a host of other important artists of the period.
To commemorate the centennial, Jorge Carvalho de Mello wrote a biography of José Patrocínio de Oliveira, revealing many facts about the artist that were hitherto unknown.
If you don’t read Portuguese, you can enjoy the delightful pictures on the Zé Carioca website.
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11:34
 
Monday, February 09, 2004
Musical treasures from the 1970s
Gutemberg Guarabyra’s star-studded tapes to be released.
 Gutemberg Guarabyra
Alan Romero sent me this item, published in Capital Gaúcha.
The Academia Paulista dos Magistrados (Academy of Magistrates of the State of São Paulo) and the record company Dabliú Discos acquired the collection of the composer Gutemberg Guarabyra, which contains around 20 hours of recordings of the shows made in 1975 to raise funds for Sombrás (Sociedade Musical Brasileira), an organization founded by Brazilian songwriters to look after authors’ rights.
Guarabyra is heading the project of restoring and editing the original tapes of the 15 shows produced at Teatro Casa Grande in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro. Artists who participated in the shows include Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Simone, Paulinho da Viola, João Bosco, Alceu Valença, Beth Carvalho, Sérgio Ricardo, Elton Medeiros, Moraes Moreira, Fafá de Belém, Maurício Tapajós, Lucinha Lins, Sá & Guarabyra, Luiz Reis, Ivan Lins, César Costa Filho, Joyce, Tenório Júnior, Paulo Cesar Pinheiro, Egberto Gismonti, Toninho Horta, Milton Nascimento, Belchior, Jorge Mautner, Alcione, Altamiro Carrilho, Walter Franco, Geraldo Azevedo, Edu Lobo, João Donato, Nelson Cavaquinho, Jackson do Pandeiro, Marilia Medalha, Jards Macalé, Clementina de Jesus, Quarteto em Cy, Sérgio Sampaio, Gonzaguinha, João Nogueira, and Luiz Melodia, to name some.
I got in touch with Tatiana Librelato at Dabliú Discos to ask for further details. Tatiana informed me that a significant part of the work involves identifying every singer, composer, and musician who participated in the 1975 shows, so that the label can license as much material as possible:
At this moment we’re seeking authorizations from the artists who participated in the Sombrás shows almost 30 years ago. We don’t even know where many of them are, and if they’re still alive. It’s a huge job.
Most of the recordings are of excellent quality, and there are many previously unreleased and very interesting items. We’re currently looking for a sponsor that will enable us to release the albums this year.
This is a dream project.
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15:46
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Copying João Gilberto is difficult
Turibio Santos on the lessons learned by accompanying JG.
 For readers of Portuguese: Julio Ferreira reproduces an interesting article by the master guitarist Turibio Santos, published in Jornal do Brasil.
It begins:One of the most curious experiments I have ever made with the guitar was trying to accompany João Gilberto. No. It wasn’t with him live. In actuality, I accompanied a recording of the singer. And ends:Copying is one of the ways to learn in the arts. Copying João Gilberto is diffícult; in fact, very difficult. But whoever has the patience and discipline for the exercise will receive a shower of learning, a musical waterfall. And those who don’t have them should at least be aware of the conciseness, the economy, and the objectivity of this indefatigable hunter of our popular music. __________________________
13:58
Guinga in Andover
A report from Barry Coflan.
Rogers Center for the Arts, Merrimac College
My wife, son, and I had the pleasure of attending the International Guitar Night at Merrimac College in North Andover, MA this past Friday evening. It was advertised in the local paper, and I would estimate there were 350–400 people of all ages in the audience—having braved temperatures in the mid-teens to attend. The acoustics in the hall at the college are superb, and every single note could be heard with crystal clarity. Throughout the performance there were numerous standing ovations from the very enthusiastic crowd. I noticed that a few people had smuggled in small video cameras and were discreetly taping the show. I somewhat regret I did not do the same.
All of the players were extraordinary, though Guinga seemed to transcend this highly technical world. While he was a little more nervous and a little less slick on stage than the others, he more than made up for it by putting his heart and soul out there for the entire audience to share and enjoy. He came through as a very likeable person and a passionate artist; his presence seemed to raise the level of the other players in the combined songs that they played. Something I suppose that would be expected from a Brazilian. :-)
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10:36
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