Monday, January 24, 2005
João, the bird, and the movies
What were the other songs?
Troupial (photo: photosearch.com)
On 5 July 1998, José Rezende Jr. wrote an appreciation of João Gilberto that opened thus:
November 1962. Late at night. In the living room of Jorge Amado’s Copacabana apartment, João Gilberto repeats ad infinitum the melody that, with lyrics written by the author of Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos, will be part of the sound track of the feature film Seara Vermelha, directed by Alberto D’Aversa. Jorge Amado and his wife Zélia Gattai drink in silence the magic potion made by voice and guitar.
Suddenly, another singing voice, equally beautiful and superhuman, dares to join in. João becomes silent. He looks at his hosts, who echo his query. Long seconds of quiet. The mysterious singing makes itself heard again, imitating with perfection the perfection of the inventor of Bossa Nova. João stands up and strolls about the room, looking for the sound’s origin. Until his face lights up: a bird is singing.
“We had a bird, a sofrê [Troupial, Icterus jamacaii], raised alone in the apartment. That night, it woke up and, having heard João repeating the melody again and again, learned it and began to sing. It was beautiful,” remembers the writer Zélia Gattai.
The sofrê, bought from the hands of a poor boy in Copacabana by the Argentine actor Hugo del Carril, was left permanently in the care of the couple. Among other surprise moves, it had already pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of the Portuguese writer Ferreira de Castro and landed on the head of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. The bird was in the habit of standing on Jorge Amado’s hands when the latter was writing. But it was the first time that this yellow-and-black bird—which would die of old age many years later in Salvador—sang a duet with anyone. Did João like it? Well, 35 years later, he would ask on the telephone: “Zélia, do you remember that bird with the round eyes that sang my song one night?”
The film Seara Vermelha came out in 1963. The song João had composed for the soundtrack is the hypnotic one we know as “Undiú,” subsequently recorded in the legendary “white album” of 1973. The tune’s original title was “Lamento da morte de Dalva na Beira do Rio São Francisco.”
According to Daniel Caetano, who saw the film a few years ago, the song was performed by a chorus. He also divulges that Jorge Amado’s lyrics are said to be very much on the Communist side. While the lyrics are not readily available, one can easily imagine how this baião, which conveys so well the desolation and suffering in the arid Northeast, might carry a strong social message. If you happen to know the lyrics, please drop me a line.
Seara Vermelha is apparently the only film featuring a João Gilberto composition, although the Internet Movie Database lists six such films. IMDb doesn’t provide the song titles, but those that are known are all extracted from João’s records.
Daniel Caetano informs me that IMDb omitted one film featuring João. Isto é Noel by Rogério Sganzerla (who made three other documentaries with João’s songs) includes João’s specially made recording of “Feitiço da Vila.”
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14:54
 
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
pandeiro.com
A website for percussion enthusiasts.
Scott Feiner
Scott Feiner’s pandeiro.com is a website that sells hand-made pandeiros to customer specifications. To his credit, Feiner doesn’t stop there. On his site you can watch videos of pandeiro aces in action and read news about happenings in the pandeiro world. Perhaps most useful, you can subscribe to Pandeiro.com eNews.
The current issue provides Marcos Suzano’s January & February Sick tour dates in Europe and Japan with Miyazawa Kazufumi; reports on Celsinho Silva’s upcoming weeklong workshop in Rio de Janeiro; and solicits reader input on the ideal pandeiro instructional DVD.
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11:16
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