Several jazz musicians have been attracted by Brazilian music styles like the samba and the bossa nova, recently the Brazilian choro has also found followers among established performers of American jazz. Here we can document the inspiration drawn from choro by inserting a couple of video fragments from a jazz concert earlier this year. The well known jazzguitarist Howard Alden and his ensemble including Duke Heitger, trumpet; Dan Barrett, trombone; Dan Block,Scott Robinson, reeds; Jon Burr, bass; Pete Siers, drums, devoted a part of their live performance to music by Jacob do Bandolim. - Here is first a trio version of Jacob's "Simplicidade"
Next video features full ensemble playing Jacob's "Benzinho"
Duke Heitger, trumpet, is featured soloist on "Mighalas de amor"
The set devoted to Jacob do Bandolim closes with an ensemble version of "Assanhado"
A Merry Christmas - Feliz Natal! to readers and followers of this blog.
Throughout the story of choro the meeting of chorões (choro musicians) at rodas do choro (social and musical, informal sessions) has been a crucial affair to evolve and keep the music alive. The roda is the heart of choro tradition and practice involving both the experienced and amateur musician - no restrictions as to age, skin colour, sex or ability. The roda is a truly democratic union of musicians getting together to play together and having a good time in an informal setting that most often also attract an audience of friends, family and admirers.- Earlier this year a new dvd, the shown Nas Rodas do Choro (Biscoito Fino), documenting the importance of the roda de choro in Brazilian tradition was released. The documentary was filmed and directed by Milena Sá between 2004 and 2008, the film was launched 2009 and the dvd-edition July this year. In about 50 minutes, the film features meetings between chorões mostly in the city of Rio de Janeiro (RJ). The narrative fragments are accompanied by musical examples recorded at rodas do choro with testimonials from musicians about their relationship with choro and the roda. The documentary thus turns on the sound and testimonials from the likes of Nilze Carvalho (cavaquinho, bandolim), Joel Nascimento (bandolim), Odette Ernest Dias (flute), Deo Rian (bandolim), Mauricio Carrilho (violão), Zé da Velha (trombone), Silverio Pontes (trumpet) and Luciana Rabello (cavaquinho). The film also focuses on contemporary groups - such as Choro na Feia and Trio Madeira Brazil - while recalling the importance of veterans like Epoca de Ouro, that rescued choro from oblivion after the passing of Jacob do Bandolim and secured its perpetuation during the 1970s revival. - Testimonials on the importance of the roda like "There's no other way to learn choro. It is transmitted in this way, not much to theorize about, what counts is to sit and play together" (Luciana Rabello) underlines the informal setting and points to a way of learning that dissolves a coventional hierarchy between 'teacher' and 'student' in favour of the pleasure of participating in the roda. The music unites young and old, amateurs and experienced in a mutual spirit leaving space for improvisation and experiments of the moment - a true example of 'having fun' and learning at the same time.- The documentary has subtitles in English and French, I should have liked to insert video examples from the film, but I did not find any uploaded. Instead I'll insert a video filmed recently at a roda de choro featuring one of the participating musicians in Milena Sá's documentary. Here's a fragment featuring Joel Nascimento (bandolim) a.o. playing "Receita de Samba"
A roda de choro can be established anywhere, even in your own living room as part of a social meeting - here's an example featuring Ronaldo do bandolim (bandolim) playing together with Carlinhos Leite (violão) of Epoca de Ouro and a young Julião Rabello (violão 7 cordas), the tune is "Turbilhão de Beijos" by E. Nazareth
This time just two inserted videos from YouTube for you to enjoy, if you haven't found them yourself already.
The first video features Hamilton de Holande and Danilo Brito in a duo setting playing Jacob do Bandolim's 'Receita de Samba' backstage and then Ernesto Nazareth's 'Fidalgo' on stage from a live performance this summer
The second video features Dudu Maia on bandolim accompanied by Juninho Ferreira (sanfona/ accordeon), Fernando César (violão 7 cordas), Rafael dos Anjos (violão), Pedro Vasconcellos (cavaquinho), Valerinho (pandeiro) & Thiago Viegas (triângulo) recorded in Brasilia March 2010 - the tune played is a composition by Dudu Maia 'Não tem Coré-coré'
Some time ago we introduced the UK-based choro ensemble,Choro Bandido, and pointed you to the first cd-release by this English choro group. Choro Bandidowas established in 2008 and members of the ensemble are: Alison Hopper (violin), Dave Anthony (cavaquinho), Brian Bull (violão 7 cordas) and Mick Pyke (pandeiro and percussion).
Just recently Choro Bandido has released the new cd shown above containing 14 tracks continueing the group's exploration of the Brasilian choro. The repertoire of the disc covers compositions by well-known choro composers/musicians like Ernesto Nazareth (Apanhei-te cavaquinho and Atlântico), Pixinguinha (Cochichando), Jacob do Bandolim (Assanhado, Receita de Samba and Santa Morena), Waldir Azevedo (Delicado, Carioquinha and Arrasta Pe), Altamiro Carrilho (Enigmático) and Jonas Silva of Epoca de Ouro (Meu Chorinho). There is also a composition by Ted Falcon (Tô Chegando), who has been mentoring Choro Bandido, and the last two tracks of the cd are not from the standard choro book, but may be considered related with the spirit of choro - a tune by Henry Mancini (Meglio Stasera) and Astor Piazzolla's famous Libertango. - The music is well performed generating a pleasant atmosphere of a roda de choro, most of the tracks have Alison Hopper playing lead voice on violin - Carioquinha has Dave Anthony on cavaquinho taking lead in this classic by Waldir Azevedo. The solid rhythm is provided by Brian Bull's advanced fretwork on violão 7 cordas, Dave Anthony's cavaquinho and Mick Pyke's various percussion. - The cd is available for purchase at the official web of Choro Bandido where you also have access to more info about the group including audio and video material. - Below I insert the video that was made to promote Choro Bandido's new cd, Transatlantico - enjoy this rendition of Waldir Azevedo's Delicado
To end this small review of the new cd by Choro Bandido, Transatlantico, I insert another video showing the ensemble in a live-performance of Jacob do Bandolim's classic, Noites Cariocas
Recently the Brazilian Trio Baru released its first album under its own name, entitled Alma Brasileira. The Trio Baru was founded six years ago by three skilled Brazilian instrumentalists: Cavaquinho and guitar playerNelson Latif - acoustic guitar playerJoão Bosco Oliveira and percussionist Rafael dos Santos.
Nelson Latif( source: nelsonlatif.com)
Nelson Latif, born in Sao Paulo, was raised with Choro music, a music style that goes back to the 1870s when musicians in Rio the Janeiro developed this creative musical style. Some people put Choro music or Chorinho on a par with the early US jazz styles, like Ragtime and Dixieland music and that's not so strange as you can say that it has, more or less, the same roots and it developed in the same periods. Choro was primarily an instrumental form, and to a North American (and European) ear it might sound a litle like a small Dixieland jazz combo playing with strange rhythms, extreme melodic leaps, unexpected modulations, and occasional breakneck tempos.( source: The Billboard Book of Brazilian Music.). When I first heard a Choro band ( Choro Brasil Scandinavia) at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 2005, improvising, playing together in a so-calledRoda de Chora in a bar after their concert at Mandala, featuring members of the Choro Brasil Scandinavia and jazz guitarist Jacob Fischer, it felt as if the New Orleans spirit of the collective improvisation had re-borned, fresh and with an enthusiasm, I'd rarely heard in traditional jazz music now-a-days. Some friends, who visited the recently organized Roda de samba e Choroin Amsterdam, organized by Nelson Latif too, had that same experience.
Trio Baru: f.l.t.r.: Nelson Latif - Rafael dos Santos - Bosco Oliveira.(photo courtesy: Clausem Bonifacio)
Nelson Latif's trio combines Jazz and Choro and other Brazilian musical influences in his unique style. Nelson Latif moved to Amsterdam more then 20 years ago and the cavaquinho became his main instrument, although he loves to play the 7-string acoustic guitar, the violão de sete cordas, the v.7 which has an extra bass string ( usually tuned to C ), so it can used for bass lines too. Nelson Latif played and recorded with dozens of Dutch jazz musicians, like vocalist Joseé Koning and Joeri De Graaf ( they can be heard at the great album Chôro, samba e afins).
Bosco Oliveira, who plays the acoustic guitar, was born in Brasilia, and started to play the guitar eight years old - he graduated twenty years ago at the University of Brasilia and is an expert in the Spanish Flamenco guitar style - Rafael dos Santos is from São Luis and knows how to mix traditional Brazilian music with modern jazz styles.
Fragment of Heitor Villa-Lobos composition: Bachianas Brasileiras Nº 5(source: Choro: A Social History of a Brazilian Music)
Nelson Latif writes in the liner notes that he wanted to make a survey of the different Brazilian music styles, as a trajectory of Brazilian instrumental music, hoping to take the listener on a little journey inside the sonorous realms of our people's imagination. The album contains a dozen tracks, most original compositions by great Brazilian composers, inspired by music styles like Choro: Waldir Azevedo, Ernesto Nazareth and Jacob do Bandolim- Bossa Nova: Baden Powell (de Aquinho) - Jazz-Fusion: Airto Mocedo and popular Brazilian music: Paulinho da Viola and Milton Nascimento. The Choro music revived during the 1950s and 1960s due to great musicians like Jacob do Bandolim and Waldir Azevedo, both present with two tracks. The tunes Nelson Latif and his Trio Baru selected are seldom heard, like Santa Morena and Alma Brasileira; the latter originally recorded by Jacob do Bandolim and his Regional do Canhoto in the 1950s. I personally liked the tune entitled Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5, a tribute to the Orchestral Suite #3 by Johann Sebastian Bach, composed in the 1940s by the great guitarist and composer Heitar Villa-Lobos.
Nelson Latif( source: neslonlatif.com)
Nelson Latif released some more great albums like Movimento - the before mentioned Chôro, samba e afins, with guitar player Joeri de Graaf and the album Tribute to João Pernambuco, dedicated to the music of the legendary Brazilian composer and guitar player João Teixeira de Guimarães, better known as João Pernambuco.
If you love Brazilian (string) music in general and Choro music in particular, try to find yourself a copy by this great Trio Baru: Alma Brasilieira. You can get more info about how to obtain a copy atthe Nelson Latif website.
Deze blog verschijnt in het Nederlands op de Keep Swingingblog.
Brazilian Summer Sessions Nelson Latif (Brazilian Cavaquinho player) Nelson Latifis a Brazilian cavaquinho player and guitarist, who lives both in Brazil and Amsterdam and pointed me to a great Roda de Samba e Choro which is scheduled as part of the Brazilian Summer Sessionsduring the summer season in the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, the 2nd of July, 2011. Nelson Latif forwarded a small introduction about what a Roda de Choro is and he loved to share it with you at this Choro-music blog, which celebrates its 5th birthday this month.
A roda de samba e choro(photo courtesy Nelson Latif) The Rodas de Samba e Choro are informal and unpredictable events, where musicians gather in a circle around a table to improvise samba and chorinho, combining personal and collective flair. A roda de samba e choro(photo courtesy Nelson Latif) From the raw drumming to the refined choro, from candomblé to capoeira, the roda is the most primordial format of the Brazilian cultural manifestations, a direct heritage of the Brazilian African roots.
The rodas de samba serve as schools for many Brazilian musicians as an open space where singers challenge each other, talent turns into legend, composers try out new creations and the Brazilian music renews itself. A roda de samba e choro(photo courtesy Nelson Latif)
In the Brazilian Summer Sessions 2011, musicians from both nationalities will interpret traditional and modern themes and styles. Singers and musicians from existing groups – or meeting for the first time – will bring to the Dutch audience the flavor and mood of this so important Brazilian way of experience popular music. Nelson Latif and friends Contact Choro music in the Netherlands: There are but few venues in The Netherlands where you can enjoy an original Brazilian Roda de Choro. In Rotterdam Marijn Van Der Linden organized two times a month ( the first and third Sunday) a Roda de choro in Taberna Tia Piri Piri and the 't Syndicaat in The Hague seems also a venue with regular Choro concerts. Please inform about the dates to come. This Summer Nelson Latif organizes a roda de samba e choro at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam. The concert has veen scheduled the 2nd of July, 2011. Hans Koert keepswinging@live.nl Deze bijdrage wordt ook gepubliceerd op de Keep Swinging blog.
This month it has been 5 years since the Choro-Music blogspot started. Co-editor of the blog and manager of the Keepswinging Website, Hans Koert, took the initiative to start the blog and persuaded me to contribute with entries on the music, we both share a passion for: the Brazilian choro. The actual background of the blog was the dvd-release of Mika Kaurismäkki's documentary 'Brasileirinho - Choro in Rio', which put us on the trail of exploring this fascinating music gradually by posting info on (some of) its story, performers and practice. As there wasn't a blog already dealing with choro - at least not in the English language, we thought it a good idea to select info in English to feed non-Portuguese speaking readers with our findings to support an interest in choro - as a small follow-up of Kaurismäkki's great documentary. We are fully aware that our knowledge on the subject is limited and may be considered insufficient compared to the works of serious scholars, our main intention has been and still is just to share our passion for the music with readers, who are looking for easily digestable info in English on different aspects of the Brazilian choro. This way the Choro-Music blogspot also could be labeled 'our choro' - in Portuguese: Nosso Choro - considering the fact that the entries always have a personal bias that we do not intend to hide, however, it should be to the benefit of the music or aspect of choro in focus, we hope.
To mark the 5 year anniversary of the choro-music blog I like to point you to a great cd by two European musicians. The cd, shown above, is properly titled 'Nosso Choro' and was released 2009 by Emmeciesse records. The fourteen tracks on the disc are performed by pianist Ivan Tibolla and Stefano Scutari, who plays both bandolim and violão - Tibolla also contributes on accordion, flute and percussion besides piano on some tracks that have overdub. Both performers are Italians, well-known and highly respected musicians on the contemporary Italian music scene. The 'Nosso Choro' cd is their first co-work dedicated to the Brazilian choro, both musicians are active in other fields of music as well.
According to a MySpace-profile, Ivan Tibolla was born in Belluno in 1975. He graduated as organ player and in organ music composition at the Academy of Music “B. Marcello” in Venice. After that he studied music composition as well as music improvisation. In the last few years he has come closer to the world of jazz and performs as a pianist participating in various settings and also has his own trio specializing in experimental jazz. Ivan Tibolla has his own website (- in Italian only) including dicography.
Stefano Scutari was born in Venice 1950 and had his first musical experiences with various rock bands in the sixties, later he began to lean towards classical guitar, studying with Tommaso de Nardis, a teacher in the “Benedetto Marcello” Conservatory in Venice. He then took part in various jazz guitar seminars held by a variety of different musicians (John Abercrombie, John Scofield, Larry Corryell a.o.). Lastly, he went on to develop a specific interest in Brazilian music, travelling often to Brazil where he was able to meet and play with musicians such as Sebastião Tapajos, Horondino Silva (Dino 7 cordas), Nana Vasconcelos, and others. He has headed a column on Brazilian music in an Italian magazine and has also recorded cds on his own. A profile including music samples is available at MySpace.
The mentioned 'Nosso Choro' cd contains the duo's renditions of classic choros such as "Tico tico no fúba", "Chochiando" and "Lamentos", Scutari has solo violão interpretations of "Sons de Carilhões" and "Odeon", but plays the bandolim in interplay with Tibolla. A selection of compositions by Jacob de Bandolim - "Doce de Coco", "Flamengo", "Santa Morena", "A Ginga do Manè" and "Noites Cariocas" - get a fair interpretation by the duo with elaborate improvisation by Tibolla showing off his jazzinfluence. Further, a solo reading of "Choro Pra Bisconce" - a choro composed by Tibolla; Scutari also has a couple of compositions, "Concolacao" and "Vals Sem Nome", performed on solo violão. And there is an example of the forró influence, "Lèo Estante", a composition by Tibolla, which has him playing accordion and percussion besides piano in overdub. The overall impression of the performed music is engaging and a great experience, a nice example of how the Brazilian choro is interpretated by two very skilled European musicians, highly recommended. - The cd may still be available from retailers, the tracks may also be purchased at iTunes, click here
Choro originated in Rio de Janeiro during the late 19. Century and soon spread all over Brazil thanks to the emergency of radio and record companies documenting the evolvement of this unique Brasilian music style. Choro had its hey days during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, when musicians and artists excelling in this kind of music were supported and encouraged by national programs of the government, however, a decline in interest of the public during the 1950s and 1960s threatened to leave the choro in oblivion. A revitalization of choro music was established in the 1970s through TV-sponsored nation-wide festivals, which attracted a new, younger generation of musicians. Thanks in great part to these efforts, choro music remains strong in Brazil today and the contemporary scene of choro musicians is as vital as ever.- A panorama of the contemporary choro scene in São Paulo has recently been produced and documented through a project initiated by local musicians, Roberta Valente and Yves Finzetto. The project was supported and covered by the State Secretariat of Culture of São Paulo and has resulted in a cd-recording and a concert program documenting the vitality of the contemporary choro scene in São Paulo. The project has its official website, to be accessed here
The aim of the project, named Panorama do Choro Paulistano Contemporâneo, was to bring notable local choro musicians from different generations together and invite them to produce new and original material for a cd-recording headed by a sextet especially selected for the project. The Sexteto Panorama (shown above) comprises of Alexandre Ribeiro (clarinet and bass clarinet), Gian Correa (violão sete cordas), Henrique Araujo (cavaquinho and bandolim), John Poleto (sax and flute), Roberta Valente (pandeiro, percussion) and Yves Finzetto (percussion). In total, thirty musicians have been involved in the recording of sixteen new compositions by Alessandro Penezzi, Arnaldinho Silva, Danilo Brito, Edmilson Capelupi, Edson José Alves, Everson Pessoa, Israel Bueno de Almeida, Izaías Bueno de Almeida, João Poleto, Laércio de Freitas, Luizinho 7 cordas, Maurílio de Oliveira, Milton Mori, Nailor Proveta, Ruy Weber, Thiago França, Toninho Ferragutti and Zé Barbeiro. Each of the sixteen tracks has guest performance of the composer with support by members of the initial sextet, the result of this co-operation is outstanding, a marvellous example of the diversity and vitality of the contemporary choro scene in São Paulo. All sixteen tracks are available in streaming audio at the official website of the project including detailed info on participating musicians, clickhere - Unfortunately, I have not found info on how and where to purchase the cd, but it may be announced later at the website, until then I recommend taking time to enjoy the published streaming audio in full length. - In March the cd project was presented at a concert performance with participation of all involved in the project, a part of the concert has been recorded and uploaded on YouTube. Below I'll insert a couple of the uploaded videos from the event. First, here is the initial Sexteto Panorama performing the classic "Tico-tico no fúba"
From the final of the concert all participating musicians are on stage performing the same tune - enjoy this and the available streaming audio at the official website of Panorama do Choro Paulistano Contemporâneo
On the 4th of September 2000 an official document of the government in Brasil announced the 23th of April asDia Nacional do Choro, the date was chosen in honor of choro icon Alfredo da Rocha Viana Filho, better known as Pixinguinha, (April 23, 1897 - February 7, 1973). Choro Day is celebrated on Pixinguinha's birthday - not only in Brasil, but it has become a tradition all over the world where Brasilian culture is an integrated part of local festivites. I recommend to check out local media for info about arrangements in your area. - Here we will celebrate Choro Day by inserting some videos featuring music by Pixinguinha - hope you to enjoy
From a live performance at Instrumental SESC Brasil earlier this year Trio Madeira Brasil - Ronaldo do Bandolim (bandolim), Zé Paulo Becker (violão), Marcelo Gonçalvez (violão 7 cordas) - plays "Cochichando"
From a live performance at Instrumental SESC Brasil last year Danilo Brito (bandolim) and his conjunto - Luizinho 7 Cordas (violão 7 cordas), Alexandre Ribeiro (clarinet), João Camarero (violão), Milton Mori (cavaco), Rafael Toledo (pandeiro) - play "Ingênuo"
Finally, from the same live concert Danilo Brito and conjunto perform "Um a Zero"
Earlier this month Ademilde Fonseca (b 1921), 'The Queen of Choro', turned 90 years old - an event that we also like to mark at this blog. Ademilde Fonseca was one of the first vocalists to actually sing choro, a remarkable contribution to this mostly instrumental genre of Brazilian music. She had her debut as a recording vocalist 1942 with "Tico-tico no fúba" - the well known composition by Zequinha Abreu with added lyrics by Eurico Barreiros accompanied by the regional/conjunto of Benedito Lacerda, a smash hit, which granted her the title 'Queen of Choro'. During the 1940s and 1950s she consolidated her success with vocal versions of popular choros and related music of the time, and she performed and recorded regularly with the cream of Brazilian top-musicians - even after her 80 years of age. A selection of her 78 rpm records is available at Instituto Moreira Sales and a discography of this output may be accessed here. - We have earlier published a career profile in English, still available here.
Ademilde Fonseca's 90 years anniversary and 70 years in show-business was celebrated in a TV hommage presented by journalist and music critic Tárik de Souza on the program MPBambas at Canal Brazil some days ago, and there has also been arranged a tribute concert in Rio with participation of choro musicians and 'The Queen of Choro' herself. Unfortunately, no video documentation of these events has been uploaded yet, but I found a video from an earlier performance featuring Ademilde Fonseca and Eimar Delvino Barreto in a vocal duet singing "Tico-tico no fúba" - enjoy it below!
It's great to know that choro music has been enriched by the vocal contributions of a great artist still going strong. Congratulations, Ademilde Fonseca!
New cd featuring the Danish-Brasilian trio Tresafinado is a magnificent example of the vitality of contemporary choro.
The Danish-Brasilian trio Tresafinado from Copenhagen is "(...) a rendezvous of three musicians: two classical musicians, flautist Pia Kaufmanas and guitarist Torsten Borbye Nielsen, and the Brazilian drummer and percussionist, Afonso Corrêa, who brings with him the wealth of Brazilian music with its vivacious, sensual rhythms" according to the official website of the trio
The trio presents its musical repertoire this way: "In a repertoire based on the Spanish and South-american music Tresafinado explores new possibilities, performing classical music together with other styles. The strong Spanish spirit of de Falla and the all-embracing musical language of Villa-Lobos is presented next to a Brazilian choro, a Venezuelian waltz or just a simple folksong." The trio was established 1998 and has performed with this repertoire that also was presented at Tresafinado's first cd titled 'Tresafinado - 3 Musicians'; audio examples available at the website, click here. - Tresafinado has also co-operated with larger ensembles and their second cd reflects this through recordings of religious music with participation of vocalists from Brønderslev Kirkes Pigekor; audio examples available here. .In 2008 Tresafinado was invited to participate in the ”IV Festival Nacional de Choro” in Brazil, which inspired guitarist Torsten Borbye Nielsen to compose several choros that were enthusiastically received by the Brasilian audience during the trio's performance and praised by the well known musician and producer, Mauricio Carrilho The result of this was that Tresafinado was invited to Rio in March 2010 to record some of this material in the studio of Acari records. The recordings from this session are now available on the just released cd, Lúdico, shown below
The title of the cd, Lùdico, which also is the title of one of the featured compositions, means 'to play' or 'play together'. Trio Tresafinado is accompanied by three well known Brasilian musicians on several of the 16 tracks on the cd: Mauricio Carrilho, Pedro Aragão, Luciana Rabello, and there is a guest performance by Nailor Proveta on a couple of tracks as well. The cd is produced by Mauricio Carrilho in co-operation with the trio. The main part of the repertoire consists of choros or choro related compositions, nine of them composed by guitarist Torsten Borbye Nielsen and arranged together with Mauricio Carrilho: Lembrancas de São Pedro (TangoBrasileiro),"Helene"(Choro Cancão),"Graciosa"(Waltz),"Pipocou!"(Polka), "Maria" (Waltz), "Valsa pro Proveta" (Waltz),"Lùdico" (Choro), "Ricardo no choro" (Choro) and "Festa"(Choro). The cd has two compositions by Mauricio Carrilho: "Maxixe pro Afonso" (Maxixe) and "Koala" (a Toada-Lundu), a classic by Radamés Gnattali,"Remexendo" (Choro), arranged by Carrilho and finally outside the choro repertoire two tangos from Astor Piazolla's suite "Histoire du Tango: Bordel 1900 & Nightclub 1960" arranged by Afonso Corréa, and "Viento y Madera" by the Costa Rican composer Fidel Gamboa arranged by Tresafinado. The Scandinavian imprint is further expressed in a reading of "A Fiddler in Rio", a composition by the famous Danish jazz fiddler Svend Asmussen written in 1954 as a tribute to Jacob do Bandolim and here performed by Tresafinado accompanied by Pedro Aragão (bandolim), Mauricio Carrilho (violão 7 cordas) and Luciana Rabello (cavaquinho).- The performance of the music is flawless and generates an intimate atmosphere, everything is well arranged and executed to the benefit of the beauty of the compositions - a very successfull meeting of kindred spirits and great musicians across The Atlantic. As mentioned, the cd is recorded in Acari's studio in Rio in March 2010 and it was released January this year on Tresafinado's own label (Tresafinado Records, T 1001) in co-operation with Gateway Music. The cd is available for purchase at the website of Tresafinado here and here; it may also be purchased from iTunes, here
Tresafinado has uploaded a video at YouTube with footage from the recording of the cd and featuring the audio of the title track, "Lúdico", inserted below to give you an impression of these highly recommended recordings - Enjoy!
Garoto (Anibal Augusto Sardinha, 1915-55) was a multi-talented musician playing various fretted instruments: banjo, cavaquinho, bandolim, violão, violão tenor and hawaiian guitar contributing on numerous recordings with his always elegant fretwork both as accompaniment and as a soloist. He also composed several pieces for the various fretted instuments he mastered, among his compositions, however, a single one stands out as an example of his deep roots in the choro tradition - the valse-choro "Desvairada" (- meaning 'wild' in English). "Desvairada" is a three part valse-choro played in 6/8 and has the form: ABBACCA, the piece containing several examples of appegios in double timing, very intricate to master. Garoto recorded the piece in 1950 for Odeon on a 78 rpm playing the bandolim, a video at YouTube has the original audio as soundtrack to still photography -
"Desvairada" has since become a touchstone for choro instrumentists to master, especially among guitarists allthough the piece originally was designated for the bandolim according to the recording by Garoto himself (- he never recorded "Desvairada" playing the violão, only the inserted audio above by Garoto is available). You may also listen to the original recording by Garoto in streaming audio at Instituto Moreira Sales or from the compilation cd shown below
As said, "Desvairada" has become a touchstone for choro guitarists, one of the first guitarists to cut his teeth on the composition transcribed for guitar was Raphael Rabello, who recorded the piece in a duo set-up together with Radamés Gnatalli on the shown cd below
Raphael Rabello also recorded "Desvairada" in a duet with Dino Sete Cordas and he always had the tune as part of his standard book in live-performance, here's a magnificent example of Raphael Rabello playing "Desvairada" in an informal and private setting
In 1991 Paulo Bellinati recorded a cd devoted to the guitar works of Garoto, among the 24 pieces transcribed for guitar by Bellinati also was a recording of "Desvairada", probably the best known interpretation of the piece copied by numerous guitarists ever since with the guidance of Bellinati's published score. At YouTube you can watch several videos featuring various guitarists struggling to master the piece, one of my own favorite videos has Yamandú Costa playing the piece in a near to impossible version, here documented from a live-tv spot
To end this small entry on a famous tune, I insert a video from a live-performance featuring Alessandro Penezzi (violão), Daniel Brito (bandolim) and Rogério Caetano (violão sete cordas) playing "Desvairada" in a trio setting, from a tribute concert to Raphael Rabello - enjoy!
Several jazz musicians have been attracted by Brazilian music styles like the samba and the bossa nova, recently the Brazilian choro has also found followers among established performers of American jazz. Here we can document the inspiration drawn from choro by inserting a couple of video fragments from a jazz concert earlier this year. The well known jazzguitarist Howard Alden and his ensemble including Duke Heitger, trumpet; Dan Barrett, trombone; Dan Block, Scott Robinson, reeds; Jon Burr, bass; Pete Siers, drums, devoted a part of their live performance to music by Jacob do Bandolim. - Here is first a trio version of Jacob's "Simplicidade"
