Last year Rio de Janeiro officially was elected the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games, the event took place in Copenhagen and the picture above shows a snap-shot of the enthusiasm of the Brasilian delegation when the result was announced. The large Brasilian delegation was headed by the president of the nation - the popular Mr. Lula - and representatives and officials of the Brasilian sport games, among these people the worldfamous football icon, Mr. Pelé, also participated. The Brasilians had made proper preparations for the victory of Rio de Janeiro as host city of the 2016 Olympic Games in competition with the city of Chicago, thus, the delegation also consisted of a band of musicians to support the spirit of the enthusiastic delegates and to help celebrating the supposed victory. When the vote result of the Olympic Committee was announced, these musicians naturally participated in the event and during the celebration festivites afterwards a group photo featuring president Lula fronting the six members of the band was shot, acknowlegding the importance of music as the heart and soul of Brasilian culture, I suppose. The six band members - here fronted by president Lula and the two ladies - were officially chosen to represent the best of Brasilian music in Copenhagen during the crucial week before the choice of the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games. The name of the band is CARAIVANA and the six members of the ensemble, coming from different Brasilian cities, met in 2005 while on holiday in a small village in southern Bahia and became friends. Before they met in the Bahian coast, CARAIVANA's members were already renowned individually. Douglas Lora, from São Paulo, is a songwriter and guitarist. Dudu Maia , from Brasilia, bandolinist, has been standing out in Brazil and abroad as a performer, composer, arranger and producer. Alexandre Lora , also from São Paulo as his brother, is a percussionist and drummer. Alex Souza, from Brasilia, is an actor, singer, songwriter and guitarist. Fabio Luna , from Rio de Janeiro, is a flautist, percussionist, composer and performer. Juninho Billy Joe , from Bahia, is a singer, percussionist and composer. As mentioned, these musicians met in 2005 and soon they all developed a great friendship and understanding between them, and as the game started to get serious, French producer Daniel Vangarde invited them to record a cd, shown below.
The cd offers different rhythms such as samba, choro and forró. Jacob do Bandolin, Edu Lobo, Noel Rosa, Sivuca and Gonzaguinha are some of the composers chosen to form this mosaic, which also includes Pixinguinha and Ary Barroso. Tracklist and more info about the music including streaming audio to be found at the official website of CARAIVANA, accessible here - Below I'll insert a couple of the uploaded videos made at the presentation concert of the cd in Rio de Janeiro to give you an impression of the magnificent music included on the cd. - Here is first a live performance of 'Tico-tico no fúba'
From the same live-performance, here is a rendition of Noel Rosa's 'Conversa de Botequim'
Finally, to end this small presentation of CARAIVANA, here's a live-performance of the forró 'Cabaceira mon amour' - enjoy!
I recommend a visit at the official website of CARAIVANA to get more info about the group and the activities it has participated in so far, including great photos and video material - also from the Copenhagen event.
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Feliz Natal & Feliz Ano Novo 2011/ A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year 2011!
The emergence and development of choro in the late 19th century was affected by three forms of Brasilian popular music: the modinha, the lundu, and the maxixe. The lundu, an early song and dance genre, and the maxixe, an instrumental dance form that arose concurrently with choro, exhibit African influences. The wildly popular maxixe made an especially strong impression with its close couples dance style and sinuous movements. From its emergence in the late 1870s to its decline in the 1920s, few genres of popular music were as wildly popular, and controversial, as the maxixe. The music accompanies a fast paced couples dance in which the dancers' bodies are pressed together and the legs are often intertwined. - Here's a contemporary performance of the maxixe dancing
The habanera rhythm is a characteristic feature in the music accompanying the maxixe dancing, the music accompaniment in the video above is Chiquinha Gonzaga's "Corta jaca" - the original recording of the piece by Grupo Chiquinha Gonzaga from 1908 is available at Instituto Moreira Sales and may be accessed by clicking here. - The other important precursor to the maxixe was the polka, which arrived in Rio de Jaineiro in the 1840s. Structurally, the maxixe is similar to the polka, however, the maxixe is distinguinshed from the polka by its rhythm and fast tempo, a strong bass line on the beat and syncopation is common.
Few popular dances caused as much moral outrage as the maxixe. Shortly after it took the dance clubs of Rio de Janeiro with storm, it was publicly condemned as a lower-class, vulgar, and lascivious dance that took place in halls frequented by loose women and unscrupulous men. Periodically, members of cultured society became so morally outraged by the maxixe that they insisted the police close down the dance halls where it was practiced. The minister of war even banned music labeled as maxixe from performance by military bands. Despite the attitudes of the elite, the dance was quickly adopted by instrumental ensembles of the day. Listen to an example by the famous Banda do Corpo de Bombeiros playing Ernesto Nazareth's maxixe "Brejeiro" by clicking here. - In 1895, the maxixe attained a degree of social respectabillity with the opening of an operetta called "Zinzinha maxixe" that included popular maxixes with added lyrics. The operetta featured twentythree pieces by Chiquinha Gonzaga including "Corta jaca", a piece that quickly became part of the choro standard repertoire. Ernesto Nazareth also composed maxixes, but he preferred to label the pieces 'tango brasileiro', allthough his "tangos" exhibit all the characteristics of maxixe in rhythm, melody, and tempo markings. Listen to Nazareth's maxixe "Dengoso" as played by Banda da Casa Edison, click here
The maxixe was taken to Paris, where it became one of the first forms of Brasilian popular music to be legitimized abroad. It was introduced in Paris in 1905 by a dance couple named Derminy and Morly, and was modified when it was successfully re-introduced in 1912 by Monsieur Duque (- the stage name of Brazilian dancer and composer Antonio Lopes Amorim Diniz, who moved to Paris in 1909).After the success, Duque traveled back to Brazil ten years later to see what the latest version of the dance looked like and he found that it was now bouncier, had some new variations, and was sometimes called samba. During the season of 1922-23, he introduced the Brazilian samba, next evolutionary stage of the maxixe, at his Montmartre dance hall Shéhérazade. The famed Afro-Brazilian orchestra Les Batutas (Os Oito Batutas) led by none other than Pixinguinhaprovided music for the premier.
Also Pixinguinha composed maxixes, an early example of a very beautiful maxixe by Pixinguinhatitled "Morro do pinto" as performed by Grupo do Pixinguinha in 1908 is accessible by clicking here
The maxixe also reached the U.s. and had a short-lived success during the 1910s. It was introduced by the highly popular dance couple Irene and Vernon Castle, you can watch a short film fragment of the couple dancing the American version of maxixe here
There was even composed a maxixe as a tribute to the Castles' success, "The Castlewalk", here performed by contemporary couples
By 1930, the maxixe dance began to decline in popularity in Brazil, it was supplanted by the urban samba and new imports such as foxtrot and the Charleston. The maxixe, however, remained in the choro repertory as an instrumental genre. --- The above info is excerpted and quoted from the book "Choro, A Social History of a Brazilian Popular Music" (2005) by T.E. Livingston-Isenhour & Th.G.C. Garcia, pp. 17-37. Additional info on the Parisian maxixe success quoted from article by Richard Powers, "The Maxixe" (1983;2005) to be launched here ---
The critically acclaimed first cd by Yamandú Costa and accordionist Dominguinhosfrom 2007 (Biscoito Fino, BF690) has now had its follow-up, titled 'Lado B', and containing 15 tracks of wonderful music by the duo, recorded in just three days. Guitarist Yamandú Costa and Dominguinhos had only met once before teaming in studio to record their first cd, nonetheless the teamwork and mutual understanding between the two musicians resulted in outstanding recordings of great music covering a variety of genres showing off elaborate arrangements and magnificent interplay that otherwise only may be expected from musicians who have been playing together for a long time. The great interplay certainly continues on the new cd, shown below.
The repertoire of the new disc again covers a variety of genres, you can listen to the duo's interpretation of choro ('Carioquinha' by Waldir Azevedo, 'Doce de Coco' by Jacob do Bandolim and Herminio Bello de Carvalho, 'Naquele Tempo' by Pixinguinha, 'Choro do Gago' by Yamandú and 'Chorando em Passo Fundo, by Dominguinhos), a bolero ('Solamente una Vez', by Agustín Lara), further some examples of tunes connected with the North Eastern part of Brazil, 'Pau de Arara' a successful hit by 'the king of baião', Luiz Gonzaga, and 'Fuga pro Nordeste' by Dominguinhos. The North Eastern tradition is also detected in further presented compositions by Dominguinhos, 'Noites Sergipanas', 'Sanfona de Cordel' and 'Homenagem a Pixinguinha' written in co-operation with Anastácia. The remaining tracks cover titles like 'Da Cor do Pecado' by Bororó, 'Homenagem a Chiquinho' by Dominguinhos and Guadalupe, 'Felicidade' by Lupicíno Rodrigues and 'No Rancho Fundo' by Ary Barroso and Lamartine Babo. - In all, the music presented on the cd is a delightful selection of tunes that convincingly demonstrate great interplay and a deep, mutual understanding and respect between the two musicians, highly recommended, if you already enjoyed the duo's first release from 2007.
Both albums are accessible in streaming audio from Radio UOL, click here. The new cd is available for purchase at the website of Biscoito Fino, click here
To give you an impression of the interplay between Yamandú and Dominguinhos, I'll insert a couble of videos, here is first a fragment from a live-performance at Auditório Ibirapuera
To end this, here is a recording from a TV-performance by the duo - enjoy!
Choro was born in Rio de Janeiro late 19th Century and has since evolved into one of Brazil's most prominent and popular instrumental music forms. Today choro also has a significant presence outside of Brazil, in many countries there are choro clubs, concerts and rodas featuring both amateurs and professional musicians devoting their chops to choro. In the city of Turin, an important cultural center of northern Italy, the duo Choro na Manga do their part by helping to spread choro. Choro na Manga has Brasilian bandolinist Marco Ruviaro and Italian guitarist Fabrizio Forte as its members, the duo was born in September 2007. After a short period of weekly meetings, Marco Ruviaro and Fabrizio Forte had an extensive repertoire of instrumental music with sophisticated arrangements and a unique style of playing, the duo Choro na Manga was born. According to the official website of Choro na Manga, choro for a duo is more than just a simple combination of a soloist and an accompanist, the two musicians seek to exploit the resources of the two instruments and broaden the horizons to the maximum musically. Last year, January 2009 the debut cd of the duo was released containing 10 recordings made during 2008 in Turin.
The repertoire of the cd covers well-known choros by prominent composers like Pixinguinha, Jacob do Bandolim, João Pernambuco, Garoto a.o. (see tracklist at Choro na Manga's web), and the arrangements and execution of the chosen material are terrific. The duo does a great work to sound like a unity, the interplay between Marco and Fabrizio is excellent and elaborate - the cd is highly recommended as an example of the art of the duo in the field of choro. The cd is avialable for download in mp3 at Amazon, and you may also have access to the music at iTunes, for more info and audio examples check the website of Choro na Manga here
Marco Ruviaro was born in São Paulo (Brazil) and started studying music at age 11. He studied guitar and has a BA in guitar from the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). He is self-taught in choro but has participated in several workshops of choro led by teachers like Pedro Amorim, Joel Nascimento, Luiz Otavio Braga, Jayme Vignoli, Mauricio Carrilho and Luciana Rabello. In Turin, Marco conducts the Choro Club and is a member of the club's quartet besides taking part in choro events around the world; an interview with Marco (- in Portuguese) is to be found here
Fabrizio Forte, a native of Turin (Italy), started in music at age 15 when he began studying guitar and bass as a self-taught. After several years playing blues and jazz, in 1997 he had his first contact with Brasilian music by the noted composer and singer João Gilberto and has since devoted himself almost exclusively to Choro, Bossa Nova and Brasilian music in general. Fabrizio now teaches guitar at the Conservatory of Novara.
To give you an impression of duo Choro na Manga's interpretations of choro I'll insert some video extracts from a live concert earlier this year at Auditorio di Vinovo, Turin. - Here is first a performance of "Coralina" by Albertino Pimentel
Here's a performance of "Segura ele" by Pixinguinha
The duo also has a performance of João Pernambuco's "Sons de carillhões" extended with a quotation of "Asa Branca"
Finally, the last video from the mentioned concert has a rendition of Garoto's "Desvairada"
To promote the present exhibition of paintings in The Brazil Seriesby folk/rock icon Bob Dylan the National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen, presents a choro concert on Sunday 19 September at 3 p. m., 2010 in co-operation with The Brazilian Embassy in Copenhagen. The concert features the choro ensemble named Choro Rio de Janeiro and participating musicians are: Marcilio Lopes (bandolim), Jayme Vignoli (cavaco), Mauricio Carrilho (guitar), Oscar Bolão (pandeiro) and Martin Heap (violão de 7 cordas). - The event is free, no reservations. Place: National Gallery of Denmark, Sølvgade 48-50, Copenhagen.
Last year Rio de Janeiro officially was elected the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games, the event took place in Copenhagen and the picture above shows a snap-shot of the enthusiasm of the Brasilian delegation when the result was announced. The large Brasilian delegation was headed by the president of the nation - the popular Mr. Lula - and representatives and officials of the Brasilian sport games, among these people the worldfamous football icon, Mr. Pelé, also participated. The Brasilians had made proper preparations for the victory of Rio de Janeiro as host city of the 2016 Olympic Games in competition with the city of Chicago, thus, the delegation also consisted of a band of musicians to support the spirit of the enthusiastic delegates and to help celebrating the supposed victory. When the vote result of the Olympic Committee was announced, these musicians naturally participated in the event and during the celebration festivites afterwards a group photo featuring president Lula fronting the six members of the band was shot, acknowlegding the importance of music as the heart and soul of Brasilian culture, I suppose.
The six band members - here fronted by president Lula and the two ladies - were officially chosen to represent the best of Brasilian music in Copenhagen during the crucial week before the choice of the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games. The name of the band is CARAIVANA and the six members of the ensemble, coming from different Brasilian cities, met in 2005 while on holiday in a small village in southern Bahia and became friends. Before they met in the Bahian coast, CARAIVANA's members were already renowned individually. Douglas Lora, from São Paulo, is a songwriter and guitarist. Dudu Maia , from Brasilia, bandolinist, has been standing out in Brazil and abroad as a performer, composer, arranger and producer. Alexandre Lora , also from São Paulo as his brother, is a percussionist and drummer. Alex Souza, from Brasilia, is an actor, singer, songwriter and guitarist. Fabio Luna , from Rio de Janeiro, is a flautist, percussionist, composer and performer. Juninho Billy Joe , from Bahia, is a singer, percussionist and composer. As mentioned, these musicians met in 2005 and soon they all developed a great friendship and understanding between them, and as the game started to get serious, French producer Daniel Vangarde invited them to record a cd, shown below.
The cd offers different rhythms such as samba, choro and forró. Jacob do Bandolin, Edu Lobo, Noel Rosa, Sivuca and Gonzaguinha are some of the composers chosen to form this mosaic, which also includes Pixinguinha and Ary Barroso. Tracklist and more info about the music including streaming audio to be found at the official website of CARAIVANA, accessible here - Below I'll insert a couple of the uploaded videos made at the presentation concert of the cd in Rio de Janeiro to give you an impression of the magnificent music included on the cd. - Here is first a live performance of 'Tico-tico no fúba'
