Comments on: Three Giants of Brazilian Guitar

Three Giants of Brazilian Guitar

ornate insect — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:54:14 -0800

Three of the giants of Brazilian guitar were Laurindo Almeida (1917-1995; wiki here), Luiz Bonfa (1922-2001; wiki here), and Baden Powell (1937-2000; wiki here). Here is Laurindo Almeida w/the MJQ playing One Note Samba; here is Luiz Bonfa playing the theme from Black Orpheus (which he composed); and here is Baden Powell playing Samba Triste.

--You can learn more about Almeida here. For recordings, I would recommend the marvellous duets w/Bud Shank (which predate the famous Stan Getz bossa records as a modern jazz/Brazilian fusion; Getz also recorded w/Almeida and also w/Bonfa). Other recordings here. --Bonfa did so many great records, it's hard to know where to begin. The first three listed here are good. See also here (he did a legendary and amazing "latin jazz fusion" record called Jacaranda that is out-of-print). Here are some more Bonfa YT clips, well worth watching: here and here and briefly playing Desafinado (w/Getz) and see also here and here. --You can learn more about Baden Powell here. These YT clips are quite good: here and here. Baden Powell did some amazing records: the MPS recordings are oustanding, but here are some others (the recordings w/Vinicius de Moraes--Os Afro Sambas/Vontade--are legendary). A good all around site for Brazilian music is this one as well, but there are other sites too. It's a rich music, and there's a lot of it. I may do some other posts in the future on other Brazilian artists.

By: gauchodaspampas

gauchodaspampas — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:44:54 -0800

Awesome post. Off topic, but anyone interested in Brazilian music (I figure a good number of people are checking out this thread for that reason) will be interested to know that Gilberto Gil is playing several shows in North America this summer.

By: ornate insect

ornate insect — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:01:06 -0800

Here are some more links on Brazilian guitar: here and here and here. Also, on related notes, see: Laércio Ilhabela, and also Brasil Guitar Duo, and also the justly celebrated Villa-Lobos - Choros Nr. 1 - Work for Guitar, and for some great contemporary exemplars of traditional choro, see here.

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:24:08 -0800

Black Orpheus also goes by "Mahna de Carnival" and "A Day in the Life of a Fool" but on gigs we just call it "Black Orifice."

By: thedanimal

thedanimal — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:39:34 -0800

Great post! There have been a bunch of Baden Powell reissues recently that are all fantastic. I use Dusty Groove for my Brazil music purchases - if anyone else has a recommendation of a place with a better/different selection I'd love to hear it, because I'm always clamoring for more Brazilian music.

By: ornate insect

ornate insect — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:41:16 -0800

some good records by Almeida: the Brazilliance ones w/Bud Shank linked above (Bud also has some other Brazilian records: a newish one w/Joao Donato and an oldish one called "Bud Shank & His Brazilian Friends"); Brazilian Masters (w/Carlos Barbosa-Lima and Charlie Byrd); Impressoes do Brasil (w/Ray Turner); the one w/Getz; etc some good records by Bonfa: The Bonfa Magic; Bonfa Plays and Sings Bossa Nova; Solo in Rio 1959; Braziliana (w/Maria Toledo); Noite e Dia (w/Ed Lincoln); O Violao e o Samba; Bonfa e Sylvia Telles; Introspection; etc some good records by Powell: 27 Horas de Estudio; Solitude on Guitar; Poema on Guitar; Le Grande Reunion (w/Stephane Grappelli); Tempo Feliz (w/Mauricio Einhorn); Apaixonado; Quartet Vol.1; Tristeza on Guitar; Os Afro-Sambas; etc

By: ornate insect

ornate insect — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:46:07 -0800

thedanimal--dusty groove is very good and very knowledgable; I link to them in my post in a few places. I also think they are sound to recommend the first three volumes of the "A Trip to Brazil" (each is a double CD) series as ideal introductions to classic bossa nova and samba.

By: timsteil

timsteil — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:01:22 -0800

One Note Samba; sum total lof my singing repetoire, and I don't even think I get it right

By: netbros

netbros — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:10:01 -0800

Thanks for this. Very nice.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:54:07 -0800

Thanks for the post, oi. And there's that Gismonti fellow worth a listen as well!

By: umbú

umbú — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:40:13 -0800

Here is Baden Powell performing five songs from a 1990 TV program with all sorts of closeup camera angles so that you can see his fingers.

By: umbú

umbú — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:23:40 -0800

To add to the list of giants, old and new, here is Raphael Rabello playing songs by João Pernambuco, an influential Scott Joplin-era Brazilian guitarist.

By: asusu

asusu — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:44:06 -0800

Brazilian Guitar and no mention of Bola Sete? Here he is on youtube and here's the official site.

By: ornate insect

ornate insect — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:04:28 -0800

flapjax--the Brasil Guitar Duo link I linked to upthread features a version of a Gismonti tune (and here's the Brasil Guitar Duo myspace page). *** And for anyone still in the mood for more Brazilian guitar and/or some related sounds (such as the choros of "Brazilian mandolin" and of both Jacob do Bandolim and Pixinguinha, etc), here is a somewhat random selection that nevertheless tries not to stray too far afield from guitar, etc: Valsa da Vida, do Paulinho da Viola Paulinho da Viola - "Rosa de Ouro" Pout-Pourri Paulinho da Viola e Marisa Monte--Carinhoso (Pixinguinha/Braguinha) Assanhado - Jacob do Bandolim (a tune sounding remarkably like Country-Western Swing) Bandolim - Villa Lobos - Bachiana nº5 Yamandu Costa (one) Yamandu Costa (two) Samba de Orly - Toquinho & Vinícius A whole bunch by the great Joao Gilberto Chico Buarque - Tatuagem Alright that's enough for now. Happy listening.

By: nicolin

nicolin — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:44:26 -0800

Great, thanks ! Add Paulinho Nogueira.

By: timsteil

timsteil — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:48:16 -0800

While probably lame in comparison, this is pretty nice too.

By: umbú

umbú — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:28:17 -0800

Nice. Paulinho da Viola really deserved to be more internationally known. His voice and his songs are consistently impeccable. Thanks for this post.

By: umbú

umbú — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:28:48 -0800

oops. deserves to be...