I can’t get enough of Lula Pena, a Portuguese singer, who I’ve noticed does covers of some Brazilian songs. O Meu Amor by Chico Buarque, below, is one of those cases. Some say she sings fado but being a lover of fado, I see a distinction. Lula Pena does hauntingly beautiful renditions and if you can get your hands on her albums, Phados or Troubador, you’ll find more like the song below.
Here’s Chico’s version, though the recording quality and background instruments made it so-so, in my book. Also, you can read a little on her over at Eyes On Portugal.
Mozambique-born singer Mariza with dancer Patrick de Bana performing to African rhythms in FADOS, a film by Carlos Saura. The song is a tribute to her African grandmother. Her 2005 album, Transparente (Amazon), was recorded in Brazil and produced by Brazilian cellist Jacques Morelenbaum.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this video.
I’ve been listening to some random radio shows from Brazil and I’ve heard an array of songs. Below are three of them.
Here’s a classic ‘marcha’ (Carnival song) from 1930 that put Carmen Miranda in the spotlight, called Pra Você Gostar de Mim (aka “Taí”). By the end of 1930, the Brazilian newspaper O País called Carmen “the best Brazilian singer” (even though she’s Portuguese). The cover below is by Marina de la Riva.
Below is a song called Natureza (Nature) by Xangai whose real name is Eugênio Avelino. Xangai is a violinist and singer-songwriter from southern Bahia and received his nickname from his father’s ice-cream shop of the same name. The song is quite long but pretty good (even if the lyrics are by another person).
The last one is called Amigo é Casa (A Friend is a House) and is sung by Zélia Duncan and Simone. A good one to send to a best friend.
If you want to arrest a thief
You can go back the way you came
The thief is hiding down below
Behind a tie and a collar
Just because I live on the hill
You awake my misery
The truth is I walk around hungry
I never stole from anyone, I’m a working man
If there’s a bank robbery
How is it that you can’t arrest the powerful boss
Cause the newspapers are saying that only theives live on the hills
…..
On the hill no one has a mansion
Not a house in the countryside for the summer
Not a yacht for a maritime ride
Nor a private plane
We are victims of a society
That is notorious and full of mischief
On the hill no one has millions of dollars
Deposited in a Swiss bank
Tonight, I saw a musical documentary on choro music, something I had briefly read about here and there but never really had any true exposure to. I can say I have an appreciation for it now thanks to Brasileirinho, as the documentary is titled. Here’s the description from the official site…
“Brasileirinho is a 90-min musical documentary film about Choro, the first genuinely Brazilian urban music. It was back in the late 19th century in Rio de Janeiro when Brazilian musicians started to blend European melodies, Afro-Brazilian rhythms and the melancholic interpretation of the Brazilian Indians’ music to create Choro. Choro is credited as being the first musical expression of Brazil’s melting pot and had a prominent place in the development of Brazil’s cultural identity. Choro remained a major popular music style until the 1920s, leading directly into Samba and later to Bossa Nova. After a slight decline in popularity, Choro music has made a remarkable comeback over the past few decades.
The film remembers the history but shows, above all, a colorful picture of Choro’s vitality today. The guiding line of the film is the combo “Trio Madeira Brasil” composed of three of Brazil’s outstanding Choro musicians. During a “Roda de Choro”, a traditional Brazilian kind of private jam session, the Trio brings up a concert project. During these sessions or at their homes, some of the most interesting Choro musicians play and remember key events in the history of this Brazilian urban music. A look into a Choro workshop with over 450 participants of all ages illustrates the off-hand genuine Brazilian way to play. “Playing” interviews with well-known Samba and Bossa Nova artists like Zezé Gonzaga, Elza Soares and Guinga illustrate the reciprocal inspiration with Samba and Bossa Nova music. A final show of the “Trio Madeira Brasil” with their guests in one of Rio’s traditional music halls show once more the opulence of rhythms and melodies in Choro that has evolved over the past 130 years into a fascinating form of modern tropical sound.”
On the official site, there’s an interview with the filmmaker, Mika Kaurismäki where he talks about how he came up with the idea for the documentary. It turns out he is also behind another great Brazilian musical documentary.
“Question. When and how did you get the idea for the film? Can you remember when you heard Choro for the first time?
MK: I had made another documentary about Brazilian music, “Moro no Brasil” before this one. It happened that I was in Lausanne, Switzerland, I think it was in May 2003 at the Swiss premiere of “Moro no Brasil” and, after the film, there was this Q&A session. One gentleman – obviously a Choro fan – asked me why I didn’t have Choro in my film. I tried to explain that there is so much music in Brazil that it was impossible to include everything in one film. I said that I liked Choro very much, but “Moro no Brasil” was more about samba and that Choro deserved a film of its own. The gentleman said that he’d produce that film. And that was what actually happened; Marco Forster, who had never produced a film before, kept his word and we started to develop the film.”
