If you are a guitarist excelling in choro and want to learn more about the various rhythm patterns in choro and how to accompany them on your instrument in a choro ensemble, then there is good news for you. An accomplished choro guitarist, Abdallah Harati, has prepared and uploaded several pedagogical examples on his website to teach you the right approach. - I'll insert a couple of examples below of the short videos (- also available at YouTube) to give you an impression of Abdallah Harati's lecture on the different patterns in accompanying choro on the violão/guitar. Each example has text in English to reach also non-Portuguese speaking learners, an excellent service to spread know-how and prepare you for Choro Day events later this week, I think. Learn more about Abdallah Harati at his website (- both in Portuguese and English) by using the link above or click here
Here's an example of the basic rhtyhm in choro and how you can accompany on the guitar, the chords used here are Dm and A7 and it will work with Pixinguinha's 'Ingênuo'
Here's an example of the tango brasileiro rhythm pattern, the chords used are G and D7, the key Gm - the accompaniement fits with Nazareth's 'Brejeiro'
Last example here covers the maxixe, the chords used are F6 and C7 and the music that fits the shown pattern is “Flor do Abacate” (Alvaro Sandim)
In recent years the popularity of choro has spread outside Brazil, musicians worldwide have opened their ears to the spellbinding sound of this original music of Brazil and now devote their chops to learning and playing choro. - An example of this movement is the English choro ensemble, Choro Bandido, located in Surrey, UK. In 2008 Choro Bandido got together to explore Chorinho. The members of the quartet have been involved in various musical genres in their time. Classically trained violinist Alison Hopper cut her teeth on classical and folk music. Multi-instrumentalist Dave 'the hat' Anthony has played in many contemporary rock bands. He plays keyboards, violin, bass & percussion but for Choro Bandido has added cavaquinho to his instrumental armoury. Guitarist and teacher Brian Bull, a huge Django Reinhardt fan, has a long background playing Gypsy Jazz. Having added a seventh string Brian is now studying the works of the great Yamandú Costa and Dino 7 Cordas. Percussionist Mick Pyke's musical path has been from blues rock through reggae into African music and has now finished up in Brazilian music. He co-founded the samba bloco, Bloco do Sul, (in Surrey, UK) more than 21 years ago and still runs it with Dave. - In 2009 Choro Bandido travelled to California Brazil Camp (CBC) where they spent a week learning from Ted Falcon who is now professor of violin at the "Escola Brasileira de Choro Raphael Rabello" in Brasilia.
Choro Bandido have just completed a 6 track EP CD, shown above. There are just a handful of Choro groups in the UK where choro is little known, so they have chosen some classic tracks to introduce choro to their ever growing audience.
The cd is available from the website of Choro Bandido where you also will find further info on the group including several uploaded videos and audio tracks. - To give you an impression of Choro Bandido in action I insert a couple of videos from live-performance below. The first was recorded recently and features a rendition of Jacob do Bandolim's 'Vibracoes' - enjoy!
Here's a rendition of Waldir Azevedo's 'Brasileirinho' from the same live-performance as above
More music by Choro Bandido in streaming audio available by clicking here
The musical legacy of João Pernambuco (1883-1947) was almost forgotten for three decades after his passing away, only a small selection of his compositions was recorded by other musicians (i.e. Dilermando Reis and Jacob do Bandolim) in the 1950s and 1960s. However, with the essential release of some of Pernambuco's choros on two LPs by Turibío Santos in 1977 and 1979 featuring magnificent arrangements of some of his most well known and beloved pieces arranged for solo violão and choro group the music of João Pernambuco was relived and saved from oblivion. From then on Pernambuco's compositions have been considered a part of the choro standard book, and since the recordings by Turibío Santos several other artists have made recordings of his works both in Brazil and elsewhere. In 1983, the centennial Of Pernambuco was celebrated through a recording by pianist Antonio Adolfo and the choro ensemble Nó Em Pingo d'Aqua featuring new arrangements of some of Pernambuco's pieces, another essential recording that I have commented earlier. - There have also been several released recordings by solo guitarists featuring Pernambuco's compositions, some of them by Brasilian artists are mentioned in an earlier entry at this blog, and you can also find more info at Angelo Zaniol's website dedicated to Pernambuco's legacy, click here
Last year guitarist and cavaquinho player Nelson Latif recorded the above shown cd, Tributo a João Pernambuco (NL002), that has been just released. The cd is recorded in Brasilia and Amsterdam from April to December 2009 and contains 12 tracks of both solo pieces and arrangements for choro ensemble - 10 tracks feature compositions by João Pernambuco, the 2 remaining are compositions by Latif and guitarist Bosco Oliveira, who accomponanies Latif in the ensemble tracks on the cd and further is a regular member of Latif's various ensembles excelling in different variations of Brasilian and world-music styles. The ensemble tracks have further participation by Flávio Sandoval on tenor and soprano sax and Rafael dos Santos on pandeiro. The cd takes off with a great arrangement of Pernambuco's 'Dengoso' featuring Latif on violão 7 cordas and cavaquinho overdub and solo contributions from Sandoval's reeds backed by Oliveira and Rafael dos Santos. This is followed by a duo recording of 'Sons de Carrilhões' by Latif on violão 7 cordas and Oliveira on violão including an improvisation by Latif reflecting the famous duet recording of the piece by Raphael Rabello and Dino Sete Cordas from the early 1990s. 'Graúna', 'Interroganda', 'Brasileirinho' and the Oliveira composition 'De João para João' are trio recordings featuring Latif on both violão 7 cordas and cavaquinho, the reed playing by Sandoval is featured again on 'Mimoso'. 'Sentido', 'Lágrima', 'Saudosa Viola', 'Rebolico' and the Latif composition 'Uma Toada para o João' are solo contributions by Nelson Latif on violão 7 cordas, the Pernambuco pieces reflecting the historical recordings from the late 1920s by João and Zezinho. - The cd is highly recommended as an example of the fact that João Pernambuco's musical legacy is taken good care of today and still challenges musicians to offer their best and as such relive the soul and heartbeat of true Brasilian music. Learn more about Nelson Latif from his official website (in Portuguese, English and Dutch), the above mentioned cd and other released recordings by Nelson Latif are available from his website using the link in the Discography section.
To end this small review of 'Tributo a João Pernambuco' I found an uploaded video on YouTube from a live performance in Amsterdam last year featuring Latif on violão accompanied by ensemble, the title of the tune is 'Feira de Mangaio', the style is much in the vain of João Pernambuco - enjoy the music and have patience with the rather bad footage!
João Teixeira Guimarães (- known as João Pernambuco) (1883-1947) was a self taught guitarist unable to read or write musical notation, nevertheless he composed over 100 pieces for guitar in various styles during his career, today many of them ranking among the standard repertoire for guitarists excelling in choro. João Pernambuco is generally considered the originator or founder of the guitar choro, and especially one of his compositions has become popular with guitarists worldwide, the choro-maxixe 'Sons de Carrilhões' ( - in English: 'Sounds of Bells').
According to the info available at the website by Angelo Zaniol dedicated to the legacy of João Pernambuco 'Sons de Carrilhões' was recorded by João Pernambuco (violão) accompanied by Nelson Alves (cavaquinho) for Odeon in 1926 and issued on a 78 rpm disc (Disco ODEON 123165). A musical notation of the piece was published for the first time in a collection titled 'A Guitarra de Prata' during the 1930s, a revised version by Turibio Santos and a second, revised version by Dilermando Reis was published 1978 through Ricordi Brasileira (0206, 1978). These revised versions have been republished by the German Chanterelle Verlag 1992 (ECH 761, 1992). An arrangment for trio (flute, violão and cavaquinho) by Angelo Zavinol is available at his website, another for solo violão notated in standard notation and guitar tablature is free available here
Numerous examples featuring a perfomance of 'Sons de Carrilhões' have been uploaded at YouTube, below I'll insert four different renditions of the piece. - The first video is uploaded just recently and features a performance by an anonymous amateur
Here's a faster version of the tune performed by Daniel Volovets
An arrangement by Carlos Barbosa-Lima excellently performed by the guitarist himself belongs to my own favourites:
Finally, the Argentine genius of jazz/swing guitar playing, Oscar Alemán, recorded a solo version of the piece in 1972, in Spanish titled 'Sonido de Carrillón'. Here is just the audio track of this recording uploaded, a convincing example showing that Alemán was deeply rooted in Brasilian music and not just the swing/jazz tradition of the 1930s - Enjoy!
In 2008 was recorded a live concert featuring Yamandú Costa and Hamilton de Holanda from a performance at the Auditório Ibirapuera in São Paulo. The live recording has now been released on a cd, 'Luz da Aurora', through the Som Livre/Atracao company. I have not heard the cd yet, but judging from previews and already published reviews in Brazil it is worth waiting for in this part of the world. Contents of the disc according to the Discos do Brasil web service is to be reached here. The disc can be obtained from online retailers in Brazil, a good service is provided here.
The release of the 'Luz da Aurora' cd was covered by the TV Estadão, SP, through an interview with Yamandú and Hamilton. During the interview the duo played a couple of the tunes available on the cd. Both the interview (- in Portuguese, of course) and the recorded music has been uploaded at YouTube. Below I insert the two videos featuring Yamandú and Hamilton performing, here is their version of 'Samba do Véio', a composition by the duo - enjoy!
The other video features a version of 'Samba pro Rapha', a composition by Yamandú Costa excellently performed here by the duo at TV Estadão
