Thursday, September 29, 2005
Vale dos Tambores
Carlos Henrique Machado’s tribute to
the musical traditions of Vale do Paraíba.
Slaves setting out for work on a coffee plantation
(Victor Frond; image courtesy of MultiRio)
Vale do Paraíba, a lovely region stretching between the states of São Paulo (see photos) and Rio de Janeiro, was the center of coffee cultivation in the 19th century. Growers turned into coffee barons, enriching the imperial coffers and transforming Brazil into a major coffee exporter. This vast wealth relied exclusively on slave labor, imported in unprecedented numbers from Africa.
Slaves and their descendants enriched the region’s musical culture, participating in the folias de reis Christmas manifestations, in calangos, jongos, caxambus, congadas, moçambiques, and in various other musical genres and events.
Now the bandolinista, composer, and researcher Carlos Henrique Machado Freitas has created a musical history of the region in two CDs under the title Vale do Tambores.
Extensive texts (in Portuguese) and some audio samples are provided on his website.
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11:31
 
Monday, September 26, 2005
The art of modern song
Daniel Taubkin reveals strange beauties.
In a year that provided little inspiration for disc reviewing, Daniel Taubkin’s Uma Beleza Estranha has been haunting me for months. Rarely has an album been so richly deserving of its title.
A pure distillation of the art of the song, Uma Beleza Estranha explores the far reaches of melodic and lyrical nuances expressed by voice, guitar, and piano. Contemplative content takes precedence over rhythm. This is music for careful, repeated listening. And not just music, because the lyrics are poems that will move you in their own right (read them all, in Portuguese and English).
With the lyrics at hand, go to AOL Música, where you can listen to the entire album. Click the link (not active here) ouça na íntegra o álbum “Uma Beleza Estranha” to activate the plug-in.
On the same page, you can watch a video interview with Daniel Taubkin and Arrigo Barnabé, who between them composed all but one of the songs in Uma Beleza Estranha. The pair also performs some of the songs on video.
For further information on this thoroughly captivating disc, visit the Uma Beleza Estranha page in the Organismo Vivo website (frames/no frames). Here you can also become acquainted with Taubkin’s previous work, including his US releases BRAzSIL and A Picture of Your Life.
Daniel Taubkin: Uma Beleza Estranha
(Organismo Vivo ovo 001; 2004) 57:36 min.
01. Disse Alguém (Fernando Marinho Falcão)
02. Pote de Ouro (Daniel Taubkin/Ciro Pessoa)
03. Todo Coração (Arrigo Barnabé/Eduardo Gudin/Roberto Riberti)
04. O Navio (Daniel Taubkin/José Wilson Lopes)
05. Londrina (Arrigo Barnabé)
06. As Cores (Daniel Taubkin/Fernando Marinho Falcão)
07. Luar (Arrigo Barnabé)
08. As Dádivas do Amante (Daniel Taubkin/Carlos Pena Filho*)
09. Cidade Oculta (Arrigo Barnabé/Eduardo Gudin/Roberto Riberti)
10. Caprichos (Daniel Taubkin/Fagundes Varela/Castro Alves**)
11. Astronauta Perdido (Arrigo Barnabé)
12. Sky of my blues (Arrigo Barnabé/Hermelino Neder/Carlos Rennó)
13. Sinhazinha em Chamas (Arrigo Barnabé)
14. Fim [Lástima] (Arrigo Barnabé)
* text from the poem “Vertigem Lúcida” (1958)
** text from poems by Fagundes Varela (1864) & Castro Alves (1865)
Daniel Taubkin: vocals & guitar
Arrigo Barnabé: Yamaha G5 piano; vocals in “ Luar”
Benjamim Taubkin: Yamaha G5 piano
Teco Cardoso: flutes in “Pote de Ouro”
Rodolfo Stroeter: contrabass in “Disse Alguém”
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12:55
Friday, September 09, 2005
What orkut is good for
João Gilberto’s musical history online.
João Gilberto’s fans know that many of the songs he likes to sing—not just on disc but in live concerts—have more to do with bossa velha than with bossa nova.
Have you ever wanted to hear the original recording of “Bahia com H,” “Adeus América,” “Tim Tim por Tim Tim,” or any of the other old songs that only João remembered and revived?
If you have, hasten thee to orkut (provided you’re a member; if you’re not, drop me a line and I’ll send you an invitation). The Joao Gilberto community there is busy collecting recordings that João heard in his youth and that later appeared in his repertoire.
So far, we’ve gathered about 170 recordings, most of them in mp3 format (some are in Windows Media), and posted them on RapidShare. You can download them in the topic Juntamos os sambas antigos que o João gravou?
There are several related topics of equal interest, particularly O inacreditável proto João.
And of course, if you have something to contribute, join us! I find this by far the most fascinating and instructive topic to have appeared in orkut.
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18:33
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