One of the first cds with choro I bought was the shown item by Canhoto da Paraíba, O VIOLÃO BRASILEIRO TOCADO PELO AVESSO (EMI/BRASIL Choro, grandes solistas 5936322). I still remember the circumstances, it was during the week of July 2005 when I together with my two friends, Hans Koert and Theo van de Graaff, joined the IAJRC Convention in Copenhagen to present a joint venture regarding the El Redescubrimiento de Oscar Alemán project. Taking a break from the convention we had some opportunities to go recordhunting in the city and I still remember the thrill of actually finding two items by Canhoto da Paraíba at a small record shop specializing in World Music. One of the Canhoto cds was the shown, the other one was the 1993 release of 'Pisando em brasa', which I have commented in my article on Guitar Choro .
Francisco Soares de Araújo (b. 1928), better known as Canhoto da Paraíba, is definitely one of the true masters of the guitar choro tradition in Brazil. Coming from a family of musicians, Canhoto da Paraíba learned to play the violão (acoustic guitar) when he was very young. As he is left-handed (canhoto) and there was only one instrument to be shared by he and his brothers, he learned to play in an inverted position, stunning observers with his prodigious soloing technique in such an unfavorable setup. Throughout his career, he not only participated in hundreds of recordings and radio performances, accompanying the stars of MPB, but he also was a recognized master on his own, both as an instrumentalist and composer. His most successful choros, "Com Mais de Mil" and "Visitando o Recife," are of the genre's highest level, being some of the most representative of the choro Pernambucano style. Both mentioned compositions are among the tracks of the shown EMI compilation.
Tracklist:
1 TUA IMAGEM 2 AMIGO SENA 3 CORRINHA 4 COM MAIS DE MIL 5 LEMBRANÇA QUE FICOU 6 SUBINDO AO CÉU 7 VISITANDO O RECIFE 8 TODO CUIDADO É POUCO 9 REVENDO UM AMIGO 10 CHORO NA MADRUGADA 11 VALSA A TOZINHO 12 PISANDO EM BRASA
Alvaro Neder has a career profile of Canhoto da Paraíba in AMG:
"In 1953, he signed with Rádio Tabajara in João Pessoa PB, staying there for five years. There, he organized his first regional. In 1958, he returned to Recife PE, and was hired by Rádio Jornal do Comércio, being featured in the show Quando os Violões se Encontram, in which Miro José (who introduced the seven-string violão in Pernambuco), Tozinho, Wilson Sandes, Ernani Reis, Romualdo, Ceça, Zé do Carmo, and others also used to perform. In that period, he performed regularly with masters of choro, like mandolinist Rossini Ferreira, accordionist Sivuca, and mandolinist Luperce Miranda. In October 1959, together with João Dias, Dona Ceça, Zé do Carmo, and Rossini Ferreira, da Paraíba went to Rio de Janeiro being praised by such icons as Pixinguinha, Radamés Gnattali, Jacob do Bandolim, and Paulinho da Viola, who paid homage to him with the choro "Abraçando o Chico Soares" (1971) and with the production of the LP Canhoto da Paraíba: Com Mais de Mil (Marcus Pereira, 1977). In 1993, he recorded the CD Pisando em Brasa (Caju Music)."
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For the readers familiar with the Portuguese language I'll point you to a video on YouTube celebrating Pernambuco and Canhoto da Paraíba, to be reached clicking here or on headline.
Jo