Choro Music

Tocador de violão - Claudionor Cruz

2008-10-03T11:12:00.004+02:00

During the 1930s and 1940s local and national radiostations in Brazil had a 'house band' to accompany popular singers during live broadcasts and to fill in empty space between progams.These house bands - known as Conjuntos Regionais - had a crucial role in evolving and shaping the popular music of the time, making it digestable for the commercial market - including record companies and the general public. Many choro musicians started their career as a member of a conjunto Regional, and as the musicians were supposed to accompany different singers and to play a varied repertoire, these conditions helped evolving the choro genre into a form containing elements from other popular music traditions. Contemporary choro may be seen as a evolution of the genre as shaped by the conjuntos Regionais during the period, when radio and music entertainment provided by this media set the scene in the general public.

One of the choro musicians having a long career in radio and later TV was Claudionor Cruz (1914-1995). He was a son of a bandleader and started early to play cavaquinho and snare drum. He became a professional at the cavaquinho and formed his group, Claudionor Cruz e Seu Regional, in 1932, which worked actively in the accompaniment of artists in several radio and TV stations of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, rivaling Benedito Lacerda. He had musicians like Abel Ferreira and Bola Sete in his group. His first composition to be recorded (in 1935 by Augusto Calheiros) was "Tocador de Violão", which was a co-work with composer/arranger Pedro Caetano, with whom he collaborated for many years. He also had other illustrious partners like Wilson Batista, and recorded/performed with Orlando Silva, Francisco Alves, Araci de Almeida, and many other top artists. Claudionor Cruz worked on more than 400 recordings as a composer, drummer, and/or cavaquinho/tenor violão player.

One of the compositions by Claudionor Cruz worked out in collaboration with Pedro Caetano was the samba-cancão "Nova ilusão", recorded 1941 and featuring vocalist Renato Braga accompanied by Calaudionor Cruz e seu Reional. The tune was popular at the time and was later redicovered by Paulinho da Viola and recorded in one of his albums from the 1970s. You can listen to the original recording by Claudionor Cruz featuring vocalist Renato Braga using your right mouse botton to open the musicplayer in a new window by clicking here

I found a contemporary rendition of "Nova ilusão" uploaded at YouTube, here the vocalist is Ernesto Aun

Like Garoto, Claudionor Cruz took up the violão tenor to accompany singers, you can hear Claudionor Cruz playing this instrument on several recordings available at Instituto Moreira Salles, here is an example - the choro "Este choro e o meu pranto" featuring vocalist Gilberto Alves, recorded 1945. Use the same procedure as mentioned above to listen to the record, click here

To end this, here's a contemporary rendition of "Este choro e o meu pranto" performed by Marco de Pinna Quarteto as an instrumental featuring Marco de Pinna on violão tenor

The Sound Of The Violão Tenor

2008-09-26T11:09:00.004+02:00

When I started listening to Brazilian recordings, I was fascinated by the sound of the violão tenor right from the start. One of the artists playing this instrument, who had my attention, was Garoto (Anibal Augusto Sardinha), of course. According to some sources it was Garoto, who introduced the violão tenor in Brazil in 1932 - he had imported a copy from the USA and was to use it intensely in performance and recordings during the remain of his career. I 'recognised' the sound of the violão tenor from recordings with Carmen Miranda featuring Garoto, it reminded me of the sound of Oscar Alemán - the Argentine swing guitar player, who had his career at the same time as Garoto. In fact, recognition of the sound of the two guitarists as similar was not a coincidence, the instrument played by both musicians had a built-in resonator device, that made the sound of the instrument recognizable instantly. The resonator system of the guitar was developed to help solving amplification of the sound before electricity was used for amplification. It was developed in the USA by the National Guitar company, specializing in metal shaped instruments with a built-in resonator, that functioned like a kind of membran speaker, amplifying the sound of the strings when played. The National Guitar models were often used by steel bar guitar players in Hawaiian style music, popular at the time, but also blues and jazz guitar players were attracted by the sound and volume effect of the instrument. In Brazil, local luthiers like the workshop of Del Vecchio developed a model of the resonator guitar different from the US issue, as the body of the guitar remained a box of wood with visible built-in resonators on the surface instead of a soundhole (- see picture above). However, players of the Del Vecchio model - both the 6 string violão and the 4 string violão tenor - often had problems staying tuned during performance due to the construction of the instrument. Anyway, when in tune, the sound of the instrument is recognizable instantly, and below I insert some video examples to give you an impression of this fascinating hybrid.

Garoto probably was the first to use the Del Vecchio violão tenor in performance and recordings. Later other violanista followed, i.e. Claudionor Cruz, Zé Menezes and Alvaro Brochado. In contemporary Brazil the violão tenor is not so common, but in previous blog postings I have pointed you to contemporary players of the instrument, like Pedro Amorim, Henrique Cazes, Marco De Pinna and - just recently - Renato Anesi. During the last week I just discovered that another well known violanista of the contemporary scene in Brazil, Alessandro Penezzi, in fact played the Del Vecchio violão tenor model early in his career. Below I insert some uploaded video performances, recorded 1990 with the choro ensemble Conjunto Som Brasileiro at a live concert.

The first tune played by Conjunto Som Brasileiro featuring Alessandro Penezzi on violão tenor is Pixinguinha's "Vou Vivendo"

The next tune from the same live performance is a rendition of Luiz Americano's "Numa Seresta"

The last video this time is a rendition of Jacob do Bandolim's "A Ginga do Mané" - enjoy this masterpiece, one of the few choros performed by Jacob on the violão tenor, here played convincingly by Alessandro Penezzi with Conjunto Som Brasileiro

Anacleto de Medeiros

2008-09-19T09:59:00.008+02:00

When choro evolved as a style of playing popular music in Brazil during the late decades of the 19th Century, one of the pioneers, who helped shaping this music style, was Anacleto de Medeiros (1866-1907). The son of a freed slave, Medeiros began to study music at the age of nine, and earned a degree from the Rio Conservatory when he was 20. He became well-known locally as a composer and performer on flute, clarinet and saxophone. His greatest musical impact, however, began in 1896, when he founded and conducted Rio de Janeiro's most famous military band, the Banda do Corpo de Bombeiros (Band of the Firemen's Corps).

Under Medeiros' baton, the Banda do Corpo de Bombeiros became known for its precision and its lavish Carnaval spectaculars. In 1902, it was the first Brazilian group asked to record cylinders and discs for the newly-established recording studio of Casa Edison.

Several compositions by Medeiros were recorded by the Banda do Corpo de Bombeiros for the Casa Edison label - he wrote and arranged over 100 marches and choro for the Banda do Corpo de Bombeiros. He had the lyrics to some of his compositions written by the poet Catulo da Paixão Cearense, who even wrote an ode praising him. One of these compositions written by Catulo was the xote "Iara," which, published in 1912 under the name "Rasga Coração," was later used by Heitor Villa-Lobos as the theme for his "Choros No. 10". Some researchers allege that Medeiros was the creator of the Brazilian xote (- a genre descended from the European Schottisch). To hear a recording of "Iara" as played by Medeiros' band for Casa Edison, use right mouse button and click here

Many of Medeiros' pieces, including "Iara", achieved great popularity at the time, and are still performed by choro groups today. In 1999 Kuarup Discos released a cd, 'Sempre Anacleto', containing 12 compositions by Medeiros (- and one homage piece to his wife, "Cecy", by Chiquinha Gonzaga). The music on the disc is played by the Art Metal Quinteto with the Banda de Câmara Anacleto de Medeiros, click picture below to learn more and to listen to sound clips.

To give you an impression of the way Anacleto de Medeiros' music is played today, I insert a couple of uploaded video performances. - Here's a rendition of Medeiros' march 'Jubileu' as performed by the Orquestra de MP do CBMERJ

Another popular piece by Anacleto de Medeiros often played by choro ensembles is his tango with the title " Os Bohemios"

To end this, here's a rendition of Anacleto de Medeiros' xote, "Santinha"

Magic Of The Strings - Renato Anesi

2008-09-12T11:51:00.006+02:00

This time I like to point you to the talented composer and multi-instrumentalist, Renato Anesi. - Renato Anesi was born in 1969 in Rio de Janeiro. His work is the result of intense musical experience as a child. His father, a guitarist and cavaquinista, was his first teacher. Renato grew up playing choros and sambas of Noel Rosa, Pixinguinha, Jacob do Bandolim and others. Later, in São Paulo, he studied in the Fundação das Artes of San Caetano (1984-1986) and in particular courses. He started his professional career at 16 as a guitarist in a band led by Zé Geraldo and toured Brazil 1986-87.

In 1989 Anesi began a work of art and music-education at Teatro Vento Forte and started composing for theatre in São Paulo. He composed and recorded the soundtrack music from the movie 'Coyote', winner of the Festival Internacional do Minuto in 1994. At the same time he had a luthier workshop, where he had the opportunity to meet, restore and regulate all kind of string instruments found in Brazil. To improve his experience as a luthier he even went to London to attend courses at the Polytech of London, also in 1994.

In 1995 Anesi played in a trio, Corda Coral, which was awarded a prestigious prize that year.In 1998, Anesi was invited by Spanish guitarist Jose Luiz Montòn to integrate his group and record a disc of flamenco music. The cd, 'Sin Querer', was recorded in Belgium 1999. In 1999, Anesi also toured with the Swedish balarina, Nina Corti.

Renato Anesi belongs to the young rock and jazz generation of contemporary Brazil, however, his musical roots integrate the tradition of many different styles of Brazilian instrumental music - choro, waltz, baião, frevo, maracatu, etc. With this material he has built a unique style, featuring a music universe committed only with creativity. His work was selected for the prize "Rumos e tendências musicais" of the Itau Cultural Institute in 2001. In 2004, he received the first prize at "Prêmio Syngenta de música instrumental de Viola".

In 2001 Renato Anesi released his first cd, 'Rosa dos Tempos', learn more about the contents and listen to sound-clips clicking here

In 2007 Pór do Som released the shown cd, 'Dez Anos Depois', by Renato Anesi, more info to be found at Discos do Brasil, click here

To give you an impression of the music played by Renato Anesi, I'll insert a couple of uploaded videos from a TV performance. - Here's a solo performance of a Garoto inspired composition by Anesi playing violão

From the same TV performance here Anesi is joined by a rhythm section playing violão tenor

To end this, here's a rendition of Renato Anesi's "Pernambucano" featuring Anesi playing bandolim accompanied by the rhythm section

TEMPO DE CRIANÇA

2008-09-05T10:03:00.005+02:00

Dilermando Reis (1916-1977) was born in São Paulo, but lived most of his life in Rio de Janeiro, where he worked actively in radio and recordings. From 1941 to 1975 he recorded over forty albums, both 78rpms and LPs. His preference was the traditional Brazilian guitar style: waltzes and choros full of modulations to "confuse accompanists," played with his unique style and sound. He recorded about 100 of his own compositions, many of which became standards of Brazilian popular guitar, like "Dois Destinos" and "Se Ela Perguntar." - Among the choros composed by Dilermando Reis I am especially fond of his "TEMPO DE CRIANÇA", which originally was recorded by Reis on a Continental 78 rpm (Continental, 16.054-B) in 1949. I like the youthful freshness and the full use of the guitar's capacity in this choro, a demanding challenge for any guitarist and a true tour-de-force on the frets like Garoto's "Desvairada" - here's an example of a performance of the piece by a young guitarist at his debut recital

Recently I was delighted to find yet another rendition of "TEMPO DE CRIANÇA" while listening to the highly acclaimed cd by Euclides Marques and Luzinho 7 Cordas, 'Remexendo', released by Kuarup Discos in 2006 (KCD 205).

The cd has 11 tracks of delightful guitar music featuring compositions by Radamés Gnattali, Garoto, Dilermando Reis, Pattápio Silva, Pixinguinha, Nazareth, Tom Jobim, Vincius de Moraes, Canhoto (Américo Jacomino) and further Agustín Barrios and Antonio Lauro. The performance of the chosen repertoire is excellent, the interplay between Euclides Marques, who plays the 6 string violão, and Luzinho (- on violão 7 cordas) has been compared to the co-work between Raphael Rabello and Dino 7 Cordas on a cd released 1991, which ranks among the best-ever recorded Brazilian guitar music in the critics' charts. On some tracks the duo of Euclides Marques and Luzinho 7 Cordas is accompanied by guest appearance of Paulo Moura, Laercio de Freitas and the Quinteto em Branco e Preto. - Learn more about the contens of the cd by clicking here

As said above, I was delighted to find a rendition of Reis' "TEMPO DE CRIANÇA" among the repertoire on the mentioned cd. To end this, here's another performance of this choro from a live concert recital by Ronaldo Sontag - enjoy it!

Movimento - Brasilian Movement

2008-08-29T09:14:00.000+02:00

Being interested in Brasilian music tradition, I was delighted to have the opportunity to listen to the above shown cd by Nelson Latif, 'Movimento'. The cd was recorded in Amsterdam February-October 2006 and released 2007, and it was produced by Nelson Latif as his first solo issue. Nelson Latif is from São Paulo, Brazil, but has lived in Amsterdam, Holland, since the 1990s and taken part in various musical projects as a musician, both in Holland and Brazil.

The music on the cd is a great listening experience, as it blends many different elements of music tradition. You can hear fragments reminding of be bop frases mixed with traditional choro music, even flamenco inspiration and Middle-East music styles incorporating classical Indian raga - a true cross-over and World-Music project. Click on picture above to see tracklist and listen to audio examples from the cd in the Discography menu.

Nelson Latif, who plays acoustic guitar and cavaquinho, formed his musical identity in the jazz scene of 1980's São Paulo. With roots in choro and jazz, Latif merges Brazilian styles and a classical guitar technique with diverse musical influences. He started his studies at age fourteen. During the 90's he moved to Amsterdam and started performing on the cavaquinho, an instrument that has since become his trademark.

Nelson Latif returned to Brazil in 2001, where he formed Trio Baru with Fernando Corbal and Bosco Oliveira. Since then, Latif has performed as a soloist as well as in collaboration with various artists, such as the multi-instrumentalist Carlinhos Antunes, and Ustad Zamir Khan, sitar and tabla player, of a legendary Indian musical family. In 2005 Latif recorded the CD 'Choro, Samba e Afins', together with Dutch guitarist Joeri de Graaf. This recording started off the Choramundo Project, uniting musicians from Holland, Suriname and Brazil.

I found a couple of uploaded video performances by the Choramundo ensemble from a live-concert in Reicife, Brazil inserted below to give you an impression of the kind of music played by
Latif

First tune played by Choramundo feat. Nelson Latif (guitar), Joeri de Graaf (guitar) Praful (bansuri and saxophone), Pablo Nahar (double Bass), Jotta Erre (percussion) is called 'Brujeria' recorded live at the International Jazz Festival in Recife, Brazil, march 2006.

The second performance by Choramundo is from the same event, the tune performed is called 'Choramundo'

Armandinho - Retocando o Choro

2008-08-22T13:25:00.006+02:00

One of the characteristics of the traditional choro performance is the fact that the participating musicians usually are seated in a circle or around a table to create an intimate atmosphere and leaving the opportunity to watch each other while playing. This was the ideal setting for a roda de choro, and this is continued to this day in small clubs or at private gatherings whenever choro musicans get together to play for their own pleasure. You could say that the mentioned setting of a roda de choro is well suited for this kind of chamberish music that demands concentration, great technical skills and the presence of a common feeling to recreate the spirit of choro as a multi-voiced unity.- However, today a choro performance often takes place in a concert setting with the musicians placed on a stage fronting an audience, which usually excludes the possibility of a traditional roda de choro setting, as all participating musicians are supposed to be fronting the audience. On the other hand, the stage setting leaves the opportunity of individual solo performance a better chance to reach the audience, a fact to be taken advantage of whether it may be a classical symphonic orchestra with a soloist performing, or a band performing popular music with changing solo voices.

The world is a stage according to Mr. Shakespeare and especially a younger generation of musians has understood this dictum as a demand of acting as an individual soloist when the music plays, the success of a performance depending on the abilities of the individual fronting the audience and supported by a band in the background. The soloist's role has become the most important part of the act on stage. This is truly a phenomenon reflecting the ideological and social values of modern Western society, expected to be the norm by audiences and accepted as such by musicians, who go for a successfull career in music business. In fact, the success of a modern jazz or rock'n'roll concert seems to depend on the soloists' personal abilities, the reputation and stardom often applied to the musician's ability to invent and create surprising personal solos by mastering the instrument with special effects and unexpected improvisation skills. This is the constant demand resting on the career of individual musicians heading for a star role on-stage today.

When choro and choro performance had a revival in Brazil during the 1970s one of the problems to front by choro musicians was that the choro was considered to be the music of old folks with outdated values of social behaviour. The gap between a young generation looking for an indivudal platform in the world and the preserving of old values by the elder generation created a cultural vacuum, in which the choro easily was considered an anachronic left-over from a world of yesterday. However, devoted individuals among the young generation of families, where the choro had been a part of the cultural identity for generations, faced the challenge and tried to put the choro on stage in a new setting, considering the music to be just as appealing as rock'n'roll when performed by devoted musicians. One of the pioneers of the young revivalists of choro was Armandinho.

ARMANDINHO (Armandinho Macêdo) was born 1953 in Salvador, Bahia, in a musical environment - his father, Osmar, was the inventor of the Electric Trio (sound truck made famous in the Carnival of Bahia and later generalized throughout the country). He was taught to play by his father at age nine. He was already performing one year later with his own Trio Elétrico Mirim (Junior). After a stint amidst the Beatlemania craze adapted in Brazil as Jovem Guarda, he was hired by TV Tupi (Rio) and recorded his first album after winning an important novice show (Flávio Cavalcanti). His second single and first LP soon followed. In 1973, he recorded O Trio Elétrico de Dodô e Osmar with Caetano Veloso. In 1974, he was included in his father's Trio Elétrico, which was renamed Trio Elétrico de Armandinho, Dodô e Osmar. With Moraes Moreira as producer and singer, he recorded a series of LPs with the Trio Elétrico after 1975. In that year, he formed a group that accompanied Moreira, later being named A Cor Do Som, which performed internationally (in 1978 at the Montreux Festival, Switzerland, and in 1981 in New York, U.S.) and recorded several LPs with an innovative blend of choro, music from Bahia, and pop/rock. Based in early (around the '40s) prototypes designed by Dodô prior to the invention of the electric guitar, called the "pau elétrico," Armandinho designed the guitarra baiana, which is similar to an electrified cavaquinho. The guitarra baiana then became commercially produced by Dodô. In 1984, the Trio Elétrico performed in Rome, Italy, and, in the next year, in Toulouse, France. In 1986, they performed in France and Mexico and, in 1990, in Paris, France. In 1987, Armandinho shared a show with Raphael Rabello in Rio and, in the next year, played with Moraes Moreira in the U.S. In 1994, a live recorded show with A Cor do Som was awarded with the Prêmio Sharp (1996). In 1996, he also performed in the Jerusalem Music
Festival, Israel, and, with the Trio Elétrico in the Montreux Festival and Tübingen Festival (Germany). In 1997, he recorded an album with Raphael Rabello, Rafael Rabelo e Armandinho Em Concerto, and participated in the Free Jazz Festival (Brazil). In 2001, Armandinho performed in the Rock in Rio Festival with Pepeu Gomes. (excerpted from profile by Alvaro Neder in AMG)

Armandinho has been proclaimed by the Brazilian media as The King of Choro, The King of Mandolin, The King of Bahian Carnaval, and The Modern Jacob do Bandolim. His career has held a place in the history of Brazilian popular music as he bridged the gap between classical and popular music. Great mandolinist innovator, his music fuses the styles of Pixinguinha, Jacob do Bandolim, Waldir Azevedo, Radamés Gnatalli with the more recent artistry of Tom Jobim, Caetano Veloso, and Gilberto Gil, in addition to the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. Ranked among the most important Brazilian instrumentalists in the Brazilian history, he has earned a place of honor alongside Pixinguinha, Hermeto Pascoal, Raphael Rabello, and Paulo Moura. (excerpt of profile on MySpace, learn more by clicking here

As an example of a performance by Armandinho I recommend listening to the shown cd with recordings from a live-performance in Rio de Jainero 2002. The music performed contains choro
classiscs in an updated version, appealing to a young audience of today used to attending rock'n'roll concerts. Learn more about the contents of the cd by clicking here

I found a couple of live-performances on YouTube that shares the atmosphere of the mentioned
cd recordings. - Here's a performance by Armandinho and Yamandú Costa playing 'Apanhei-Te
Cavaquinho'

Finally, from a TV-show, also featuring Yamandú Costa, here's a live-performance of Jacob do Bandolim's 'Assanhado'

Choro elétrico - Quatro A Zero

2008-08-15T12:10:00.006+02:00

Traditionally choro performance has been closely related with the Regional, an ensemble using acoustic instruments like violão (6 & 7 cordas), cavaquinho, pandeiro for accompaniment and bandolim or reed (flute, clarinet or saxophone) playing the melody. Less often the piano or the accordion has been used as solo voices in the traditional choro Regional,however, notable exceptions being Grupo Chiquinha Gonzaga featuring the majestrina at the piano - or, from a later period, the Radamés Gnattali Sexteto featuring two pianos, accordion and electric guitar as alternating solo voices. Radamés Gnattali's ensemble was considered to be an experimental unit expanding the sound of the traditional Regional, the music performed also expanded the boundaries of the classic choro composition by incorporating other influences from various sources, erudite as well as popular forms including jazz harmony. Radamés Gnattali's influence as a renewer of the choro genre cannot be overestimated - his work as a composer, pianist, arranger and conductor had a profound effect on the conception of choro with performers like Jacob do Bandolim and later the Camerata Carioca featuring stellar instrumentalists like Joel Nasciemento, Mauricio Carrilho, Henrique Cazes and Raphael Rabello a.o. Also a younger generation of choro performers has been inspired by the experiments of Radamés Gnattali, an example is the quartet ensemble, Quatro A Zero.

The Quatro A Zero ensemble was formated 2001 by four students of music at the Universidade de Campinas with a common interest in choro. The group consists of Eduardo Lobo (guitar, violão sete cordas & bandolim), Danilo Penteado (electric bass and cavaquinho), Daniel Muller (piano & accordeon) and Lucas de Rosa (drums & percussion). Together these four musicians have renewed the conception of the choro genre by incorporating humor and musical influences from jazz and rock, but still with due respect and a deep understanding of the founding elements of the choro. The group has participated in various musical projects in Brazil and was elected second place in a prestigious musical contest 2004 - the same year their first cd was issued by Zabumba Records, 'Choro elétrico', shown below.

The music performed at the cd covers compositions like "Bolacha queimada" (Radamés Gnatalli), "O gato e o canário" (Pixinguinha), "Sarau para Radamés" (Paulinho da Viola), "O vôo da mosca" (Jacob do Bandolim), "Atlântico" (Ernesto Nazareth), "Os Carioquinhas no Choro" (Altamiro Carrilho), "Baile em Catamby" (Eduardo Souto), "Segura ele" (Marco César & João Lyra) and "Chiquinha Gonzaga", part of the Retratos suite by Radamés Gnattalli, further a couple of pieces by members of the group: "Choro infinito" (Eduardo Lobo) and "Conta outra" (Danilo Penteado). - The Quatro A Zero ensemble performs the mentioned titles with great skills and surprising sequences revealing humor and highly elaborated interplay - the group indeed acts as a unit, and the cd is recommended as a splendid example of the expansion of the traditional choro interpretation. - Learn more about Quatro A Zero and the cd from the group's official website (- in Portuguese only, yet) which also offers the opportunity of listening to sound clips from the 'Choro elétrico' cd, click here

I found a couple of fragments of live performance by Quatro A Zero from 2006 accompanying bandolimist Joel Nasciemento, inserted below. - Here's a performance of the choro "Entre Mil, Voce"

From the same live performance here is an incomplete version of Jacob do Bandolim's "Vibrações" - please, bear with bad image and audio qulity

Daniela Spielmann & Rabo de Lagartixa

2008-08-08T14:01:00.000+02:00

Female saxaphone players are not very common, however, Daniela Spielmann is considered one of the best on the Brasilian music scene today. She is from Rio de Janeiro, began playing saxophone at 17 and was always interested in Brazilian music. Her style was influenced by the wind instruments most commonly used in choro, like the clarinet and flute. Besides the strong choro influence, her music also incorporates frevo, maracatu, samba, bossa nova and jazz. She studied harmony at Musiarte in Rio, attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston for an extension course, and graduated in Music Education at Uni-Rio. She has accompanied various Brasilian artists and contributed weekly music arrangements for a TV program besides being an integral member of the groups Rabo de Lagartixa, Mulheres em Pixinguinha and Sincronia Carioca. - You may find more info about Daniela Spielmann's career at her official website, click here

Rabo de Lagartixa (- which means 'gecko's tail' in English) was formed in 1993, the group consists of Daniela Spielmann (soprano sax), Jayme Vignoli or Alessandro Valente (cavaquinho), Marcello Gonçalves (7 string guitar), Alexandre Brasil (acoustic bass) and Beto Cazes (percussion). According to the notes at Daniela Spielmann's web, "The name of the group refers to the desire to create music that doesn’t sumbit itself to the standardization of the masses — you can cut off the tail of the gecko, but it will just grow back — and the rhythmic pulse of the group — the gecko’s tail continues to swing even after you cut it off". - The idea is to play choro in many different ways, taking advantage of the variations. Their first cd from 1998, 'Rabo de Lagartixa', is a splendid example of the group's repertoire in this choro novo style, click on picture below to learn about the contents of the cd.
You have an opportunity to watch a lengthy extract of a live concert performance by Rabo de Lagartixa from the group's US tour in 2002, follow the links in the video menu at Daniela Spielmann's website. - Below I insert another live recording from Brazil, a performance of one of the tunes on the mentioned cd, "Melodia Sentimental"

Bandolim Brasileiro - Dudu Maia

2008-08-01T13:05:00.006+02:00

In contemporary tradition of choro performance the bandolim is still an essential solo voice, many people seem to identify choro with this fascinating instrument that was adapted and modified from the European mandolin by Brasil luthiers. Jacob Bittencourt (aka Jacó do Bandolim) helped shaping the instrument most commonly used, the eight string bandolim consisting of 4 pairs of strings that are tuned like a violin according to the following order: (from high to low) first pair E, second pair A, third pair D and fourth pair G. However, in recent years musicians like Hamilton de Holanda have experimented with a 10-string bandolim shaped with 5 pairs of strings. The fith pairs of strings are usually tuned in the key of (low) C, but a B-flat tuning of the pairs also appears. The ten-stringed bandolim gives the performer a whole new variety of harmonic and melodic possibilities.

Among contemporary Brasilian musicians using the ten-stringed bandolim in performance and recording Dudu Maia (picture) stands out as an excellent player, who - like Hamilton de Holanda - has created his own 'sound' and concept of the instrument. Dudu Maia served for five years as the bandolim professor of Brazil’s most respected choro school, the Escola Brasileira de Choro Raphael Rabello in the nation’s capital, Brasília. He studied with masters such as Hamilton de Holanda, Gamela and Alencar Soares as well as at the Universidade de Brasilia. He has performed with several renowned Brazilian artists and is today considered to be one of Brazil’s top bandolim players. In 2006 Dudu Maia completed a self-titled album commissioned by the Brazilian government. The cd (shown below) was released in October 2006 in New York City with an outstanding reaction from the public according to the official website of Dudu Maia (- bothe in Portuguese and English). Learn more about the contents of the cd by clicking here

The music on the shown cd is a fascinating listening experience, showcasting Dudu Maia's influence from the music traditions of Noth-East Brazil as well as choro. You have the opportunity to listen to extracts from the cd at Dudu Maia's profile on MySpace, click here

Dudu Maia has also uploaded several video performances at YouTube, below I insert one of them to give you an impression of the music played at the mentioned cd

In 2007 Dudu Maia released his second cd, a collection of compositions by the legendary pioneer bandolim player, Luperce Miranda. The cd is an excellent example of Dudu Maia's conception of the choro tradition and the music is a thrill to be listening to, perfomed by a quartet of highly skilled musicians that know their roots and relive the music of Luperce Miranda in a contemporary rendition - highly recommended!

You have the opportunity to listen to extracts of the cd following this link

To give you an impression of the music played on the shown cd, I insert a couple of uploaded video performances from YouTube. The first is a rendition of Luperce Miranda's "Picadinho a Baiana"

To end this, here is a rendition of Luperce Miranda's "Itapagipe"

Viola - Inside Out

2008-07-24T23:54:00.005+02:00

The viola is the name for a 10-string steel-string acoustic guitar, used in Brazilian folk music. Its origins are obscure, but some folklorists believe it to be an archaic form of the Arab lute that elsewhere evolved into the modern guitar. The Portuguese brought the viola with them to Brazil.

- Brazilian violas have 5 pairs of steel strings in a body similar to that of a smaller Spanish guitar. A large number of tunings are used; open tunings are common.

Violas are present in nearly all Brazilian music forms, anywhere in the country (although it is declining in some places). It is most often associated with Caipira Music (Brazilian country music), with some forms of North-Eastern music and with folkloric music. It was once used to play urban music, like choro, samba and Maxixe, but has since been replaced by the more common violão/acoustic guitar. (info from Wikipedia)

Cacai Nunes (b.1978) from Pernambuco, but raised in Brasilia, is one exponent of a new generation, who has devoted a study to the 10-string viola Caipira. In august 2006 Cacai Nunes released his debut album titled “O AVESSO” (Portugese for "inside out"). This work features some of his solo performances and also modern arrangments for viola caipira, bass guitar and drums. Original compositions an pieces of composers such as Pixinguinha, Chiquinha Gonzaga and Dilermando Reis, get a fresh and different approach on Cacai's interpretation.

Learn more about Cacai Nunes at his official website (- in Portuguese only) to be reached clicking here

Cacai Nunes also has a profile (- in English) at MySpace with the possibility of listening to the mentioned cd and viewing several of uploaded videos, click here

Below I insert a couple of the video performances uploaded at YouTube to give you an impression of Cacai Nunes' music. - Here is a rendition of Chiquinha Gonzaga's 'GAÚCHO (Corta-Jaca)'

To end this, here is a performance of 'Um Brasil de Viola'

The Choro Genre

2008-07-18T10:08:00.002+02:00

This time a quoted extract about the choro genre from the book, 'Choro, A Social History of a Brazilian Popular Music' (2005) by T.E. Livingston-Isenhour & T.G.C. Garcia (published by Indiana University Press):

" The repertoire of early choro musicians consisted of dance music imported from Europe, especially the waltz and the polka, serenades, and other local popular genres. Over time a new genre arose, also known as choro, which combined aspects of choro performance practice with the formal and harmonic structure of the polka. Thus, we can speak of norms and tendencies in harmony, melody, rhythm, form, and structure that define the choro genre, many of which are direct outgrowths of choro performance practice. In terms of harmony, the early choro was thoroughly grounded in contemporary European practice. Indeed, the choro has never been harmonically progressive. Its attraction was in its expressive and rhythmic character and its showcasting of instrumental virtuosity. As in choro style, the distinguishing features of the choro genre are found in the melodies and the rhythm.(-) Choros are easily identified by their melodies, many of which are idiomatic to the instrument for which they were originally composed. Melodies and wide leaps, arpeggios based on the harmonic progression, and chromatic sequences are common.(...) Most choros are modeled on the form of European dances from which the genre developed. Sections of regular and approximately equal length are typical and may be arranged in simple structures such as AABB,ABA, and, most commonly example, ABACA (rondo form). Within these structures, harmonic motion is predictable.(...) Choro is, of course, more than its musical components." (item quoted, p.11-12)

Now, let the ladies show you what it's all about. - Here is a recent live TV performance by Choro das tres playing Nazareth's "Breijeiro"

To end this, here is a live performance of "Saxofone Porque Choras" by an accomplished female saxophonist, Emyllia Santos and ensemble

Violão Sete Cordas

2008-07-11T11:39:00.004+02:00

The Brazilian 7-string guitar (violão de 7 cordas) is an acoustic guitar used primarily in choro and samba. It was introduced to Brazil in the early 20th century as a steel string guitar. The style of "baixaria" counterpoint and accompaniment technique was developed throughout the 20th century, especially by Dino 7 Cordas and Raphael Rabello. In the early 1980s, guitarist Luiz Otavio Braga had a nylon string version made, and this has become the norm for most contemporary choro musicians such as Yamandú Costa. - The Brazilian 7-string guitar is typically tuned like a classical guitar, but with an additional C below the low E as follows: C-E-A-D-G-b-e; although some musicians tune the C down to a B resulting in B-E-A-D-G-b-e. (info excerpted from Wikipedia)

It is generally accepted that the first to introduce and use the 7-string guitar in choro was Tute (Artur de Souza Nascimento, 1886-1957). Tute had an extra string (in low C) added to the normal 6 string guitar thus giving birth to the violão sete cordas. He was also stylistically important, defining the role of the accompanist with the baixarias (basslines) classic in the choro style, now adapted to the violão thanks to the seventh string. - When still very young, Tute became a member of the Banda do Corpo de Bombeiros under the conductor Anacleto de Medeiros, playing cymbals and bass drum. As a violonista, he was a member of the orchestra of the sophisticated Cine-Teatro Rio Branco, conducted by Paulino Sacramento. In one of the absences of the renowned flutist Antônio Maria Passos, he introduced the then-15-year-old Pixinguinha to the theater owners and to the conductor. Pixinguinha grabbed the gig due to his extraordinary sight-reading and improvisational skills. - As a member of Grupo Chiquinha Gonzaga with Antônio Maria Passos, Nelson dos Santos Alves (cavaquinho), and sometimes the legendary Chiquinha at the piano, Tute and the group recorded several 78 rpms for Columbia and Odeon in the early decades of the 20th century. An accomplished accompanist, Tute was often requested in early recordings. As a banjoist, he was a member of Orquestra Copacabana. As a violonista, Tute was a member of the renowned Pixinguinha-groups Grupo da Guarda Velha, Os Cinco Companheiros, Gente Boa, and Orquestra da Victor. Tute worked actively in two important radio venues of Rio, Rádio Mayrink Veiga and Rádio Nacional, from 1929 to 1945, being the permanent accompanist of the mandolinist Luperce Miranda. With Miranda, Tute accompanied Francisco Alves, Mário Reis and Carmen Miranda. (info excerpted from article by Alvaro Neder in AMG)

The best known player of the violão sete cordas probably is Horondino José da Silva (aka Dino Sete Cordas, 1918-2006). Dino Sete Cordas was the developer of the seven-string style proposed by Tute. In more than 70 years of active and uninterrupted professional activity, he accompanied uncountable important artists from several different generations and styles, arranging and orchestrating for recordings as well. His co-work with Jacob do Bandolim as a member of Epoca de Ouro and later with Raphael Rabello in a duo-setting stands out as magnificent examples of his development of the way to play the violão sete cordas, and his importance in Brazilian music tradition is still highly regarded. Read more about Dino's importance as a 7-string guitar player clicking here

Here is a video paying homage to Dino Sete Cordas

Among contemporary Brazilian artists that have further developed the playing of the violão sete cordas is Yamandú Costa. To end this, here is a video featuring Yamandú Costa and Armandinho playing "Noites cariocas"

Garoto Then - And Now.

2008-07-04T12:15:00.003+02:00

On the 29th of June Garoto (Anibal Augusto Sardinha) would have turned 93 years of age, but sadly he only reached 39 years - a heart attack caused his premature death at the 3rd of May 1955. I read a small notice about the uncertainty of the exact date of his birth at Sovaco de Cobra. Thanks to the research of Garoto's diaries, however, it can now be settled that his date of birth was on 29th June 1915. The access to Garoto's diaries has revealed a lot of new information about the career of Garoto, documented through the excellent series of articles at Sovaco de Cobra written by Zé Carlos Cipriano and largely based on the research by Jorge Mello,'O cancioneiro de Garoto'. The first entry was launched in August last year and the series of articles have continued with (almost) weekly contributions up till now. The articles are in Portuguese, but will be available in English later - an overview of the series can be reached clicking here

After reading the mentioned small notice I reflected a little on the idea of researching info about Garoto's tour of the US in 1939-40 with Carmen Miranda and her Banda do Lua, but I haven't found detailed reports and other sources accessible at the web or elsewhere, yet. I should therefore like to encourage readers of this blog to supply material that can put some spotlight on this important chapter of the career of Garoto. If you have access to pictures, reviews and articles regarding Garoto's stay in the US 1939-40, we would love to post it at this blog. If some of you have made research already, you are invited to be a guest contributior. Your contribution will be giving you all credits, of course. Please contact us at keepswinging@live.nl

We know that Garoto participated in recordings with Carmen Miranda while in the US, half a dozen 78 rpms were recorded and are quite easily found on several current Carmen Miranda compilation cds. We also know that Carmen Miranda starred in her first Hollywood movie, 'Down Argentine Way', in 1940. The Banda do Lua and Garoto accompanied her in scenes of the film. I found a sequence from the mentioned 'Down Argentine Way' with Miranda singing her trademark tune 'Mamae Eu Quero' backed by Banda do Lua. In the background of the scene a guitarist is visible throughout the scene. I wonder, if this character could be Garoto?

YouTube has several uploaded videos featuring Carmen Miranda with scenes from her Hollywood produced films, unfortunately the accompanying info is scarce in many instances thus making it hard to point out which of her films the scenes are from. Anyway, I found another fragment, probably from 'A Night In Rio', where Miranda sings 'Cae Cae', again backed by her Banda do Lua that is seen in the background of the scene. The sound track pointed me to reflect that it may be Garoto playing the lead on violão tenor, but I'm not shure, as Aloysio de Oliveira also played this instrument with Carmen Miranda. Anyway, here is the scene, so judge for yourself

Since the release of the historical recordings by Garoto from the archives of Ronoel Simões a couple of years ago, there has been a growing interest in the music of Garoto around the world. Guitarist of course have for a long time been aware of Garoto's importance in Brazilian music, mainly due to the excellent research and recordings of his guitar works by Paulo Bellinati, issued in two volumes of sheet music and on a cd early 1990s, still available. I like to end this small contribution inserting a couple of examples of the contemporary conception of Garoto's music. - Here is an excellent performance of Garoto's "Jorge do fusa"

From the same performance, here is a rendition of Garoto's "Duas contas"

Sempre Jacob!

2008-06-27T12:33:00.004+02:00

JACOB PICK BITTENCOURT (1918-1969) aka Jacob do Bandolim is an immortal name in the field of famous choro musicians, who - like Pixinguinha - helped shaping this Brazilian music style in the way we know it today. Jacob do Bandolim left a heritage of recordings, music compositions and a huge compilation of collected manuscripts from years of research of known as well as unknown choro composers. The legacy of Jacob do Bandolim is carefully documented by INSTITUTO JACOB DO BANDOLIM that has its own informative website (- in Portuguese only) to be reached clicking here

Items still searched for by the INSTITUTO DO JACOB BANDOLIM are motion pictures of Jacob performing, no material seems to have been saved by television or by collectors - the intitut has a reward of R$ 2.000,00 for people, who can supply motion picture recordings featuring Jacob - the only sequence yet available is a silent movie (c.35 sec) of an interview, here applied with a sound track of Jacob's famous choro composition "Assanhando"

Recently I found a video documenting snap shots of Jacob do Bandolim's life and career, the still photos are accompanied by Jacob's recording of "Vibrações" and you also can hear his voice introducing this video document

Perhaps one of the best ways to preserve Jacob do Bandolim's musical heritage is to play his music! New generations of choro musicians have carried on his legacy since his passing away in 1969. To end this small contribution, I insert a video featuring a young bandolim player accompanied by his father to show you an uplifting example. Enjoy young Fernandinho playing his rendition of Jacob's "Assanhando"

Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho

2008-06-20T10:57:00.003+02:00

The tune 'Apanhei-te Cavaquinho' was composed 1915 by Ernesto Nazareth and is considered the second most recorded choro by Nazareth next to his 'Odeon'. Actually, the piece 'Apanhei-te Cavaquinho' is a polca in terms of musical form, but the tune has always been considered a typical choro, as it was adapted early on by choro musicians as part of their standard repertoire. The composition originally was dedicated to the then famous cavaquinho player, Mário Cavaquinho (Mário Álvares da Conceição), a friend of Nazareth and a virtuosic musician, who is said to have invented the five string cavaquinho together with Ary Vasconcelos according to some sources.

'Apanhei-te Cavaquinho' was recorded for the first time by the choro group O Passos no Choro, in 1916. Later, in 1930, the composer himself recorded his solo version at the piano, a great historical document to demonstrate Nazareth's conception of the way his composition was supposed to be performed - the recording may be found at the two-disc anthology by Frémeaux, 'Choro 1906-1947' (FA 166).

In 1943 Ademilde Fonseca recorded a vocal version of 'Apanhei-te Cavaquinho' with words by Darci de Oliveira, a recording that immediately was a success with the public and set the career of Ademilde Fonseca on a successful level. Outside Brasil it may be mentioned that the famous Argentine guitarist and performer, Oscar Alemán, also had a big hit with his instrumental version of 'Apanhei-te Cavaquinho' in 1943.

The title of the composition means in English 'I Got You, Cavaquinho' and reflects a sudden way of performing when playing in a choro ensemble in the early days. It refers to the spirit of choro, malícia - "(...) an attitude of spirited competition in which one musician strives to outwit the other. "Malícia" refers to the choro soloist who enjoyed throwing off his accompanists with unexpected modulations or virtuosic improvisations. It was said, however, that the delight of audiences was even greater when accompanists showed greater malícia by maintaining their cool and playing through the complex sections with panache and finesse." (quoted from T.E. Livingston-Isenhour & T.G.C. Garcia: Choro - A Social History of a Brazilian Popular Music (2005), p. 10).

I found a couple of uploaded video performances of 'Apanhei-te Cavaquinho' inserted below.

The first video features a piano player performing the tune as intended by Nazareth

The next video features Zé Carioca, Donald Duck & Ethel Smith from the 1948 cartoon by Disney, "Blame It On The Samba", which for the first time made Americans aware of Nazareth's music

The last video this time features the version of 'Apanhei-te Cavaquinho' by Armandinho & Yamandú Costa in a live-performance

Diego Figueiredo

2008-06-13T10:27:00.003+02:00

Diego Figueiredo, guitarist, producer and orchestral arranger, is a rising star among a new generation of excellent Brazilian performers. Having won second place at the Gibson Guitar Competition of Montreux Jazz Festival 2007 (he was also at the top 3 in the same contest in 2005), Diego Figueiredo is considered to be one of the greatest guitar players in the world today.

Diego Figueiredo was born 1980 in Franca, São Paulo State, and started playing 4 years old. At 12 he was already getting local recognigtion, at 15 he had had conquered audiences all over Brazil playing solo or with renowned musicians. He has recorded several albums, solo or in collaboration, and he has toured Brazil, US and Europe with great success. Next month he will tour various European festivals and record during his stay in Denmark. - Learn more about Diego Figueiredo from his official web that also includes a discography, tour schedule, audio and video material, click headline or here

In the context of choro and related music styles it is a marvellous experience to watch Diego Figueiredo mastering the roots of authentic Brazilian music in an updated version, showing off his virtuosity at ease as well as revealing his jazz influence and improvisation skills. I found a couple of uploaded videos at YouTube inserted below that have Diego performing classic choro tunes in a trio setting.

Here is a performance of "Brejeiro" by Ernesto Nazareth with Diego Figueiredo on amplified guitar, Alexandre Piu (keys) and Marcílio Garcetti (pandeiro)

From the same live-concert, here is a performance of a medley of "Tico-tico" & "Apanhei-te cavaquinho"

The last video this time is a solo performance by Diego Figueiredo playing "Carinhoso"