this is one of the most subjective reviews of Brazilian music around! Since, I find it impossible to describe music
well through facts alone (and through only words too: check out this
thought).
I have intentionally let my own preferences and emotions affect my writing. I didn't include all the most
important figures in Brazilian music, because I don't know them all very well, and there's not enough space for
everyone either; I only put down the ones I've noticed more and the ones I personally like most. The following may
also include some factual mistakes, but I find it no problem, for this is not a school textbook.
I am truly hoping to offer something beyond mere disco- and biography; and I wish to agitate everyone to go
on with their discoveries and choose their own favorites, using this text as an example not as a rulebook.
All the best!!!
TOM JOBIM
Was the father of bossa nova style. He invented the style in the late 50's with his close friend João Gilberto.
In early fifties, Jobim quit his architecture studies at the university and earned his living in the evenings playing
the piano in the bars of Copacabana. Quite soon he was offered a job in a local record company where he had
to transcribe the music of other composers, who were illiterate in music. There he met his future friend João
Gilberto. In 1958, Gilberto performed Jobim's song "Chega de Saudade" and this is considered to be the birth
of bossa nova style. After that dozens of bossa nova hits were born from the partnership of these two men. The
most famous one of these is definitely "Garota de Ipanema" (1963), which was also performed under the name
"The Boy from Ipanema" by jazz giant Ella Fitzgerald.
Even though Jobim is mostly known as a bossa nova composer, I must say there is a lot more to this guy. In
addition to bossa nova, Jobim composed many songs in various other styles, wrote music for movies, jazz
bands, symphony orchestras. He was into more serious music as well, naming Heitor Villa-Lobos and Claude
Debussy as his greatest teachers in music. However, regardless of the style he wrote in, Jobim always included
some typically Brazilian elements, which he researched quite seriously.
Albums "Antonio Brasileiro" and "The Man from Ipanema" are a must for every bossa friend. :-)
JOAO GILBERTO
If Tom jobim is the father of bossa nova, Gilberto definitely has to be called the King of bossa nova. For Tom
Jobim bossa nova was just one style of many, whereas for João Gilberto bossa was the whole world.
In 1958, Gilberto's interpretation of Jobim's "Chega de Saudade" was released and that marked the beginning
of a new era in Brazilian music. Jazz giant Miles Davis has said about Gilberto's unique style of that time that it
sounds as if someone was reading a morning newspaper. Gilberto's soft and intimate whispers really were
something new to the Brazilians of his generation who were used to slightly operatic style interpreted by
classically trained singers with remarkable vocal capacities. Regardless of that, Gilberto managed to succeed…
obviously. :-D In addition to singing, Gilberto became famous for his virtuosity on the guitar. His complex
syncopations on unusual off-beats were something that many qualified guitarists of his time were not able to
imitate. Even today, his style is something that many young Brazilian guitarists practice for years in order to
continue one of the newest traditions in Brazilian music.
João Gilberto started out singing mostly alone accompanying himself on his guitar. In 1964, Gilberto went to
USA to record with Stan Getz. The result of that was an album "Getz/Gilberto" that sold more than million copies
and was awarded several Grammys including the Album of the Year prize. This was also the album that brought
the bossa standard "The Girl from Ipanema" to the North American audiences.
I suggest Gilberto's works to everyone who is interested in the original sound of bossa nova.
ASTRUD GILBERTO
The story says that Astrud had no professional singing experience before her husband João Gilberto took her to
the recording session in the U.S. in 1964. There Astrud was given a chance to sing the second verse of "The
Girl from Ipanema" for the "Getz/Gilberto" album, for which she wan't even credited on the LP. There is a funny
story about her told among the music people. When Astrud arrived in the U.S., she did not speak much English.
So when she was to sing the line "she looks straight ahead not at him'" in "The Girl from Ipanema", she thught in
Portuguese, forgot to conjugate and sang "she looks straight ahead not at he". I can't swear that this is a true
story, but the mistake is definitely present on the original recording.
Astrud Gilberto is not considered much of a talented singer, but she is one of the people to be credited for
making bossa nova popular among the north American audiences. After her marriage with João Gilberto
ended, Astrud stayed in the U.S. and started developing her solo career as an exotic Brazilian lady singing
bossa nova and jazz.
There is not much left of her fame now, but as far as I know she has not quit singing yet. Anyway, even though
she doesn't reach the level of some other ladies I will mention further on, her cute and somewhat naive style of
singing is sometimes quite nice to listen to. In addition to the first bossa nova hits, her repertoire consists of
songs on the softer side of jazz.
VINICIUS DE MORAES
Worked for many years as a dilomat, but became famous as a poet, who wrote lyrics for many many songs of
Tom Jobim including "Chega de Saudade" and "Garota de Ipanema".
In the beginning of 60's, Vinicius started his music career working together with many Brazilian musicians. Many
of his songs have made way into the repertoire of such great stars as Elis Regina, Nara Leão, and Chico
Buarque. His own repertoire was quite varied and included many diffent styles like bossa, samba, MPB, and so
on. In the 70's, vinicius paired up with a guitarist Toquinho, and the partnership of those two gave the world lots
of good music in different styles. One of the coolest examples of that era is a humorous song "A Tonga da
Mironga do Kabuletê", which, however, doesn't describe Vinicius' accomplishemts to enough extent.
TOQUINHO
Was a friend of Vinicius de Moraes and wrote with him over 120 songs, many of them still played by many
contemporary Brazilian musicians. Even though Toquinho never became famous alone, he worked with so
many important musicians of his time that I can not avoid mentioning him. His most significant album was "Tom,
Vinicius, Toquinho e Miúcha" - a result of a partnership with Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes and Miúcha (a
famous bossa singer in the sixties and seventies). As a performer Toquinho might not have been the most
influential figure in Brazilian music, but as a composer he is definitely one of the best.
QUARTETO JOBIM-MORELENBAUM
Was started in 1995 in New York during a tribute concert to Tom Jobim. The quartet takes its audience back to
the sixties, into the golden age of bossa nova, and plays only the works of Tom Jobim. In addition to Jacques
Morelenbaum's cello, the quartet includes the guitar of Paulo Jobim, the piano of Daniel Jobim, and the fantastic
voice of Paula Morelenbaum. All four are extremely talented and their versions of the old bossa nova hits are
exquisite, fantastic, damn good!!! Their goal is not to make something completely new out of bossa nova, but to
perform the music as Tom Jobim thought of it (only with some new quality).
Among the modern bossa nova performers, they are definitely the best. :-D
JACQUES MORELENBAUM
Is the cello player in the quartet I described above. His career started in early 60's when he studied classical
cello and performed with Leonard Bernstein at the famous Tanglewood festival near Boston, U.S. Morelenbaum
got his first professional experiences outside classical music in an experimental band A Barca do Sol. He
played there cello, of course. In addition to that, Morelenbaum worked on shorter projects with many great
musicians. In 1991, Morelenbaum accompanied the Brazilian music giant Caetano Veloso on his Circuladô
tour, and continued as his producer, arranger, and accompanist. Their last accomplishment was a double album
"Noites do Norte ao Vivo" (2000) and a world tour. As far as I know, Morelenbaum is still touring with Caetano.
In addition to all that, Jacques Morelenbaum has a good reputation as a movie music writer. Amonf many others,
he has written music for such movies as Central do Brasil (Central Station - was nominated for an Oscar in
1999) and Orfeu do Carnaval (got the best foreign film Oscar, but I can't remember when).
During his long career, Morelenbaum has worked with many world class musicians like Sting, Ryuichi
Sakamoto, Caetano Veloso, Cesária Évora, Marisa Monte, Carlinhos Brown, Daniela Mercury, Gabriel o
Pensador, Gal Costa. Even though mostly you can hear him only as an accompanying musician, his fame
and importance can be compared to those of Brazil's most important solo artists.
Also check out this ...article "Jacques Morelenbaum and his
1000 faces" AND ...Jacques Morelenbaum and his wife Paula (she has and incredible voice) recorded yet another album (CASA) with Ryuichi Sakamoto just a few months ago. Check it out here! It's amazingly beautiful.
CAETANO VELOSO
If someone compiled a top 10 of the most important/influential Brazilian musicians in the 20-th century, Caetano
Veloso would be among the first five. Well, actually such a list has already been put together (how objective?)
and Caetano really was in the top five. This guy has been one of Brazil's favorites since the early 60's, and is still
popular among all generations. Veloso's career has been quite interesting and at times his life story sounds like
an adventure story.
Veloso became famous at a quite young age leading a music show on TV with Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, and his
sister Maria Bethânia. In 1967, Veloso and Gilberto Gil started a new experimental music style called Tropicalia,
which was to mix the typical sounds of Brazilian music with western elements such as electric guitars and even
English language. Since their music also included a strong message against the military dictatorship, Veloso's
and Gil's career in that field was ended by imprisonment and then life in exile. A few years later both men
returned and continued their careers separately.
Caetano Veloso continued performing music in a special manner even after that incident. In addition to
inventing the Tropicalia style, he surprised (and sometimes also upset) his audiences with such pieces as the
song "Ele me deu um beijo na boca" (He kissed me on the lips), hiphop mixed with gentle bossa nova, or for
instance using cello as his only accompaniment instrument (there are not too many pop singers in the Western
world who would get away with something like that).
Listening to only a few songs from Veloso's repertoire can give you a false idea of the man, because in addition
to MPB and Tropicalia, he also masters jazz, rock, rap(!?), bossa, samba, tango, funk, whatever… Veloso's
last album "Noites do Norte", by the way includes a paragraph of prose form a book, set to music and turned
into a song. On this album, Veloso features Jacques Morelenbaum's cello and Brazilian native percussion
instruments (his band of eight members includes FOUR percussionists).
Caetano Veloso is definitely a musical genius, whose work can quite often be called ART.
Suggestions… people interested in Tropicalia - the album "Tropicalia 2"; for everyone else - whatever as long
as there's a lot of it (preferably from different albums).
GILBERTO GIL
A multiinstrumentalist, singer/composer Gilberto Gil is mostly known as a guitar-playing singer, but manages
pretty well also trumpet, accordeon and the drums. Even though the guy started in the late 60's as one of the
main promoters of Tropicalia, he is still one of the most loved musicians in Brazil.
As I already mentioned, Gilberto Gil became famous for his protest songs against the military government,
and for starting the Tropicalia style with Caetano Veloso in 1967-69. Gil's trademark is a mix (or a fusion) of
bossa, samba, reggae and everything else, and since the militants at that time did not like this music and texts
much, Gilberto Gil was imprisoned and then exiled for three years together with Caetano Veloso. During those
three years (in England), Gilberto played with Pink Floyd, Yes, Rod Stewart Band, and many others. In 1984,
Gil also went to studio with Bob Marley and The Wailers and recorded with them an album "Raca humana".
Gilberto Gil's music has always had some political taste to it and in the early 90's he went as far as running for a
post in the office in Salvador (and he got it). Apart from that, he has always been involved in some social stuff.
For those interested in Gil's Tropicalia times I suggest the album "Tropicalia 2" done with Caetano Veloso. For
everyone else albums Refazenda (1975), Gilberto A Bahia (1985), Parabolic (1992) may sound interesting.
Oh, and talking of Bob Marley… Gilberto Gil is turning back to good old reggae music and is currently recording
his new reggae album in Jamaica.
GAL COSTA
Her career has lasted for over 30 years, but apparently she is still extremely popular in Brazil. This is especially
well illustrated by the story one of my friends from Brazil told me - about how Gal Costa looked at her brother
during on concert, which caused euphoria or at least extreme happiness in the brother. ;-) And I can't argue
much with these statements, because I also consider Gal Costa one of the best Brazilian singers.
Gal's career started during the Tropicalia times, and she belongs among the few most important people in that
movement. For instance, while Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil lived in exile and most of their works were
censored in Brazil, Gal continued recording their songs.
Besides Elis Regina, Gal has also been called the queen and the bigges star of Brazilian song.
Once the Tropicalia-boom ended, Gal continued with mostly MPB, but sang in many other styles too. Her last
bigger project was a double album full of Tom jobim's music. I personally find her versions of Jobim's music
some of the best around. (Well… since Jobim has almost a status of a king in Brazil, everyone sings his songs,
including a great number of amateurs…so a talent like Gal will definitely stick out from the crowd).
I think that among the new interpreters of Jobim's music only Quarteto Jobim-Morelenbaum can compete with
her. However, their style is so different from Gal's that they can't really be compared. While the Quarteto's music
is somewhat quiet and with more original sound, Gal's is loud, energetic and with a quite new approach to
some of Jobim's songs... :-) …really nice, though…
NARA LEAO
LISA ONO
Has her roots in Japan, but that hasn't stopped her from becoming a successful bossa nova singer. Lisa was
born in Brazil, but moved with her family to Japan when she was only ten. Quite soon after that she started
performing in a club Saci-Pererê that belonged to her father. Lisa Ono could be called a Brazilian bossa nova
queen in Japan for she has stadily released at least one album a year since 1989. Mostly in Portuguese, by the
way… She also owns a record label Nanã, which is to promote Brazilian music in Japan.
Even though Lisa Ono is from a different continent and from a different generation, her style reminds me a bit of
Nara Leão. Thus, I consider Lisa Ono especially suitable for those who enjoy Nara's music. Furthermore, since
Lisa is one of the best bossa performers in the younger generation, I think everyone interested in bossa should
hear at least a few songs from her.
LEILA PINHEIRO
Leila Pinheiro is also a bossa nova specialist from the younger generation (well… most of the older generation
had the peak of their career in the 60's and 70's, so even though Leila Pinheiro is not 20 anymore, she is still
younger than most of the bossa singers). Her first album "Leila Pinheiro" was released already in 1983, but she
became more famous as a bossa musician in 1994, when her album "Isso É Bossa Nova" was released. Leila
Pinheiro (Lisa Ono too, actually) is one of the few bossa singers who is at least a little bit trying to preserve the
older sound of bossa nova. Well…she does not sing it the original way - with only a guitar -, but at least she
keeps her music clean of the electronics and the disco beat.
I'm not sure how well known is Leila Pinheiro in Brazil, but she should be the second most famous current bossa
singer in Japan (after Lisa Ono).
ELIS REGINA
Started her singing career in a local radio station in her home town, Porto Alegre, when she was only eleven
years old. Since Elis was undoubtedly a real talent, she became quite quickly the most demanded vocalist in
Brazil.
Oh, this woman can definitely make miracles with her voice - it's good… She is one of the very few singers
singing in a language other than English who is considered to be an equal of jazz divas like Ella Fitzgerald and
others. Elis died of a drug overdose in the late 80's, but her music sells well even today - more than ten years
later.
Just a while ago, when I was applying to colleges, I also looked at the brochures of many conservatories,
especially the jazz departments. Quite many of them asked the student to sing a song from the repertoire of
some famous jazz singer at the audition. And several times I noticed Elis as one of the possible choices in the
list of examples…next to Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan… I guess that shows quite well what this
woman has accomplished.
Oh, you just HAVE TO hear her!!! Just like many Brazilians I believe that she was one of the greatest singers in
the whole history of Brazil.
CHICO BUARQUE
Is famous as a composer, singer, poet and a writer. He has also been referred to as a samba king, but here I
must clarify that since there are more than one samba style, there are also quite many "samba kings" around.
Chico's samba is not the loud and energetic carnival samba, but samba canção or the lyric samba song - quite
sophisticated but a lot quieter style. Chico's audience is probably most fond of his warm nasal voice and
beautiful song lyrics (oh well… the guy is a quite well known poet in Brazil. When he was only a teenager he
already wrote lyrics for Tom Jobim's music).
During the military dictatorship Chico did not bother to hide the anti-government content in his songs, so a lot of
his stuff got censored. Thus, some of his works were released under the name Julinho de Adelaide.
In addition to writing music, Chico Buarque has written quite a few plays (the most famous ones are "A Gota
d'Agua" and "A Opera do Malandro") and two novels - "Estorvo" (Turbulence) and "Benjamim" (Benjamin).
Both of his novels have also been turned into movies, and the one made of "Estorvo" got some kind of a prize
in Cannes Film Festival in 2000 (but I can't remember which one).
Oh, and the guy has become such an important figure in Brazil that in 1998 he was actually on of the themes
of the Rio de Janeiro carnival (during the carnival each samba school has a theme, which determines their
costumes, dances, songs etc).
MPB-4
Is a vocal group of four men that started already in 1962. MPB-4 is quite strongly connected to Chico Buarque
for a lot of their repertoire is written by Chico Buarque and they have also sung many songs with Chico. Some
even say that MPB-4 owes its success to Chico's song "Roda viva", which was a big hit in Brazil. MPB-4 has
always preferred the MPB style (well…that's where the name comer from, right?) and sometimes the soft
samba - samba canção.
MPB-4 sounds somewhat like a small male choir, not like a pop group (or like a boyband, which it definitely was
in the 60's). But their music is definitely worth hearing even now. I personally appreciate the quartet also,
because they have always considered their artistic ideas more important than what's profitable.
JORGE BEN
Even though Jorge Ben started his career more or less at the same time as the Tropicalistas, he was never as
scandalous as his contemporaries. Jorge Ben preferred to make music without a political message. He
became a musical alchemist mixing Brazilian, Afriacn and Arabic elements in his music (everything quite
obvious, for his mother came from Ethiopia).
Jorge Ben tried to show his audience that in addition to Portugal, Brazil has its roots in Africa. Yet, his music
does not sound like some tribal drumming, but quite like the pop music of Brazil, maybe just with a bit more
African element in it. Quite happy and nice music to listen to. :-)
DJAVAN
As a teenager Djavan earned his pocket money playing in a band LSD (Luz, Som, Dimensão - Light, Sound,
Dimension), which performed covers of the Beatles' songs. In early 70's he moved to Rio de Janeiro and got a
job singing for the soundtracks of Brazilian soap operas. I guess it wan's the most exciting job in the world, but
at least it made him famous and gave him a good start in the music business. Djavan did not bother much with
political music; or as he explained it himself - he found love the most important power in life, thus, preferred to
sing about love.
Djavan has an amazing jazzy voice, and even though he music is classified as pop music, it has a lot of jazz
elements in it (sophisticated harmonies, syncopated rhythms, lots of improvsing). Oh, no one in Brazil sings
and plays the guitar like Djavan.
This man's talent has been appreciated also outside Brazil. Just a while ago he sang on the soundtrack of the
movie "Central Station" and his song "Acelerou" was nominated the best Brazilian song award in the Latin
Grammy Awards in 2001. He has also worked with people like Stevie Wonder…
Djavan's music is really good, I think. I mean REALLY good. His old stuff is quite cute to listen to, but among his
newest releases the most important ones are the album "Bicho Solto" (1998) and "Djavan ao Vivo" (1999) -
a double album that sold 1,2 million copies and gave Djavan his first Diamond Record.
ROSA PASSOS
MILTON NASCIMENTO
Even though Milton Nascimento is originally from Rio de Janeiro, one of his aims has been promoting the music
from Minas Gerais. For instance, in the late 90's he studied the music and rhythms of that state in quite deep
detail and then released an album full of music featuring his discoveries. This album, titled "Nascimento" (1998),
even got a Grammy in the World Music category (NB!, everyone who is interested in all kinds of percussions
and rhythms - it's awesome to listen to when you like rhythms). But the guy is actually more diverse than that.
Milton Nascimento has also written music for choirs, symphony orchestras, started a style called clube da
esquina, performed with many famous North-American jazz artists (like Herbie Hancock, Waine Shorter, Miles
Davis, etc); however, in spite of this all I think his style still fits mostly under the term MPB.
In addition to promoting the music of Minas Gerais, Milton Nascimento is famous for his beautiful falsetto voice,
which he uses quite daringly (I love it!). Honestly, sometimes I think that the guy sings higher than I can (and I am
a woman!). And it sounds really good.
I already mentioned the album "Nascimento", which is great. But everything else is just as good and worth
listening to.
PARALAMAS DO SUCESSO
Is one of the most traditional Brazilian rock bands; they have lasted for more than 20 years. Even though they
sometimes sound like a quite ordinary rock band, they have earned their place here, because they insert a
significant amount of MPB in their music. They also make new versions of some older songs (songs that should
not be forgotten), and so make them popular among the younger people.
I have called almost every musician here a special talent or something like that and I am already scared that I
won't sound trustworthy anymore. Thus, I won't do that so much anymore - the Paralamas are actually quite
ordinary musicians, whose music fits very well for a barbecue or a backyard party. …then again…their music is
good. :-)
MARISA MONTE
Started classical training quite early, and it paid off, for when she was 17 years old, she was sent to Italy for a
year to improve her voice even further. However, when Marisa got back to Brazil, she joined (against all
expectations) a pop group that later produced several other famous solo stars (Ana Carolina, Carlinhos Brown)
in addition to Marisa. In early 90's the band stopped existing and Marisa strted an independent career.
Her style is quite different from anything I've ever heard, and, oh, her fine voice shows that she definitely has a
good background in music. Marisa Monte is one of the (many) Brazilian musicians whose music lets people
guess its origins - she tries to avoid the mainstream pop and often uses instruments that are familiar to us from
Brazilian folk music (eg accordeon and berimbau…).
Marisa is one of the most talented women in Brazilian music, I'm sure; and considering that she's still very young,
I expect her to do big things. Maybe she's already on her way… Her special style has definitely caught some
attention outside Brazil too, and one of her coolest projects was a partnership with Kurt Weill - the American
jazz-person. Many Marisa's good sides are well exposed on the recent album "Barulhinho Bom" (Good Noise),
but there is a lot more to this woman than what fits on one album (even though it's a double album).
CARLINHOS BROWN
For a long time Carlinhos Brown was one of the most demanded percussionists in Brazil. In early 90's he
expressed his love for drums and Bahian rhythms by putting together a band of more than 120 drummers -
Timbalada, and then toured Brazil introducing Bahian music. Since drums alone are not very exciting for a long
time, Brown wrote pop music as well and even sung sometimes. Carlinhos Brown is actually a good composer
and other musicians have liked his works well enough to record more than 200 songs by him.
ADRIANA CALCANHOTO
The 80's were the good era for Brazilian rock and MPB started to fade out slowly. Most MPB musicians were
from the older generation, and at that time very few new musicians bothered with MPB. Adriana Calcanhotto is
one of those few.
Adriana's career hasn't been as long as some of the others' described here, but she has been recoginzed as
one of the people keeping MPB still alive and popular among the crowds. Oh, and she has also gained some
fame with her scandalous deeds like releasing a song titled "Vamos comer Caetano" . The title, "Let's eat
Caetano", has a pretty sexual connotation in portuguese, and the controversy becomes even more interesting
once you realize that the "Caetano" described in the song is the Brazilian music icon Caetano Veloso (he is
important enough for the Brazilians to make them wonder about the meaning of the song). She also uses
parts of Caetano Veloso's song "Livros" in the song and mentions his current wife in the text… In spite of
spicy jokes like that (the guy is over sixty, for God's sake!!!), Adriana Calcanhotto's music is beuatiful and nice
to listen to.
MARINA LIMA
In the 80's Brazilian rock became more popular than anything else, and ruled over bossa, samba, MPB and
everything else (well…to some extent only - we're dealing with Brazil here: nothing can kill samba or bossa).
Marina Lima started her career exactly then and became famous as on of the first big poprock stars in Brazil.
Even though there is some "Brazilian" music in her repertoire, she is actually a quite ordinary pop singer (which
is why I won't talk about her too much). I only mention he name here, because she is considered one of the
biggest pop divas of Brazil. However, her origins are reflected only in that she sings mostly in Portuguese and
there's a decent amount of pop versions of old MPB and bossa hits in her repertoire. Her voice is awesome, I
really like it, but she still remains an ordinary pop star… :-)
ZELIA DUNCAN
A bit like a cross between Marina Lima and Cássia Eller. Has a fantastic low register and some good songs.
But really, noting exciting for a fan of the "Brazilian sound".
ANA CAROLINA
Sounds like a pretty tough rock-lady. She has a fantastic low register - I have actually made people believe that
she's a man by playing them some selected songs from her(don't believe me? Listen to the beginning of
"Retrato em branco e preto"). Ana Carolina is so new in Brazil that I wouldn't consider her very important yet.
Ana released her first album in 1999, but it sounds like she won't disappear any time soon. Instead of that I
expect a long nice career (and I truly hope she won't kill herself with drugs like soooooo many musicians do…).
I already mentioned her version of Tom Jobim's "Retrato em branco e preto", which you HAVE TO listen to; but
only once you have heard the old version with Elis Regina!!!
Anyway… if you like Brazilian rock and just Brazilian music, AND if you are in love with low female voices -
check her out!
CASSIA ELLER
Wow, she is a character whose life would interest every nasty tabloid paper. For a while Cássia took classical
voice lessons - opera - but she ended up being one of the toughest rock musicians in Brazil. She has the lowest
voice I've ever heard a woman have, and in some cases you could easily mistake her for a man (oh, by the way,
she also had a wife). ;-)
Cássia Eller was mainly known as an excellent blues and rock vocalist, but she also didn't forget about MPB and
samba music, and made several interesting new versions of some old hits (try Chico Buarque's "Partido alto")
… She was respected by many important Brazilian musicians, so there was definitely something in her
(Caetano Veloso even wrote a song for her).
In terms of music, and actually in almost any situation, one could describe her with a "Brazilian" word 'malandro',
which roughly means 'a naughty person' (but really, it is impossible to translate it perfectly). It seemed to be
one of her favorite activities to feed the tabloid newspapers with new material (there were more scandals in her
life than in anyone else's I know). Unfortunately, this amazing musician died less that a year ago of unknown
causes… I'm sure there are a lot of people who miss her, for she was truly a special person & musician.
MORENO VELOSO
Is Caetano Veloso's son, who doesn't seem to want to be "a star". He had a band in high school (and later on
as well) with a couple of friends and they would perform mostly at insiginificant small events. However, through
some coincidence he ended up playing at bigger and bigger events until someone suggested him to record
an album. So he did. Moreno +2 (that's how he called the band that consisted of him and his two friends) put
together a home studio in Moreno's house and then recorded there a quite experimental album. The album
"Music Typewriter" does not really fit into the world of commercialism and europop, it is rather an experiment
with electronics and Brazilian rhythms. Moreno's music is pretty interesting to listen to (I found many good ideas
in it), however, from a perfectly NOT objective point of view - he should quit singing. …unless it's some kind of
an artistic statement (I'm not very good at understanding art, I guess). Yet, as far as music is concerned, the
album is fine, and even though Moreno is not planning for a big career in music, I'd suggest to check out the
current album and wait for a new one in a couple of years (or sooner…).
CHICO SCIENCE/NACAO ZUMBI
I'll start with explaining that Nação Zumbi is the band backing up Chico Science, whi himself is the man starting
the Meangue Beat movement. In early 80's, Chico Science was a break dancer and involved in hiphop music.
However, barely ten years later the man chose to help revive the rhythms of his home state, Pernambuco, and
started the Mangue Beat movement. To some extent Mangue Beat is a movement and a lifestyle accompanied
by a manifesto "Crabs with brains", but to an extent it is a music style that mixes the rhythms of Pernamuco folk
music (maracatu) with reggae, funk, hiphop, rap, rock, and electronics. This music was Chico's trademark, and
his band Nação Zumbi helped him a lot with the electric guitars, samplers, and all the rest of the "electronic
stuff".
Even though I am not really a fan of that kind of music, I find Chico's stuff quite good to listen to…sometimes. He
was considered one of the greatest new talents in Brazilian music, and he's definitely worth to be heard!!!
Oh…a couple years ago Chico Science died in a car crash, so there will be no new stuff coming out under his
name, but as far as I know Nação Zumbi should be still around.
BEBEL GILBERTO
Bebel's father, João Gilberto, invented bossa nova; Bebel gave it a new dimension. Bebel's first solo album
"Tanto tempo" (2000) is mostly a bossa and samba album with a touch of jazz and electronincs. The producer
of that album was the legend of Brazilian electronic and club music - Suba - so that's where the qite
contemporary sound comes from. The album itself? FANTASTIC!!! Most of the songs on the album are version
of some older samba and bossa hits, but they sound like some new jazz or clubmusic. Well…Bebel definitely
has some experience in both of these styles too. She has sung quite a bit of jazz (also with Kenny G, by the way)
and participated in lots of electronic dance music.
Oh, but there's definitely something in her voice… something amazing. You just have to hear it yourself. And it
has to be her album "Tanto Tempo", for without that nothing else matters…
SUBA
Comes actually from Yugoslavia (I think from the part that is Serbia now…), but was brought to Brazil with a
UNESCO scholarship in 1990. Pretty soon he became famous as a talented producer, who liked to add some
electronic touch to traditional Brazilian music. Sometimes he would also come up with some music on his own,
and finally, in 1999, Suba's first album, "São Paulo confessions", was released. Sadly enough the guy himself
died in a fire shortly before the release.
Even though Suba only managed to release one solo album, he has an important place in Brazilian music. He
was the one constantly bringing something new to Brazil and showing it not only to the clubmusic fans, but also to
the performers of traditional music. The coolest thing, however, is that even though Suba was not Brazilian, he
understood Brazilian music and managed its techniques better than many others.
DANIELA MERCURY
IVETE SANGALO
MARGARETH MENEZES
All three are known as superstars of the energetic axé music. Check out the meaning of axé in the 'vocabulary' -
you might be pretty interested in these women if you like happy energetic dance music.
Margareth Menezes adds funk and reggae to axé and sings actually all kinds of dance music, not only axé. But
at axé she's one of the best.
Similarly, Daniela Mercury is also at friendly terms with western dance music and mixes axé with mainstream
pop and rock. But her fabulous strong voice is amazing!!!
And everything mentioned above is true for Ivete Sangalo as well, which is why I put all three under the same
title.
All three are specialized in performing with a trio electrico or a stage built on top of a car during a carnival. Their
music is excellent for dancing and loud parties. Very happy! However, if you're interested in more traditional
music of Brazil, you should not bother with axé (better try pagode, samba or something like that). Even though
axé has its roots in the Bahian carnival, it is way too commercialized to give you the same experience as the
traditional dance music.
ZECA PAGODINHO
Zeca's last name comes from his favourite music style, pagode - a little brother of samba featuring cavaquinho,
a smaller version of guitar. Zeca Pagodinho makes very happy music that makes the Nordic people regret they
have such boring folk music (I am one example!). I guess this isn't the best stuff for someone interested in pop or
rock, but those interested in the real Brazil should definitely hear a few pieces from this guy.
BETH CARVALHO
If you can't get you hands on Zeca Pagodinho, you have to at least hear Beth Carvalho (or you will have missed
half the Brazilian experience). Beth was the first one to record pagode music and she's definitely one of the very
best. Her repertoire also includes lots of samba, and not the mild samba canção (like many others I described
above), but real lively noisy samba. You can check out the first pagode hits from her album "Beth Carvalho na
Fonte" (1978), but whatever else you find, will be good as well. You can't get it wrong with this woman! :-)
PAULINHO DA VILA
MARTINHO DA VILA
Both men have a very good reputation as samba performers, and they are among the few important samba men
still alive (since samba's golden age was around the 30's, it is quite understandable that most of these guys
are gone by now). Both men started around the sixties and continue succesfully even now. Martinho and
Paulinho both have managed to compose also several official carnival tunes. (Oh no, these men are not partners
or anything. I only treat them together, because their stories are quite similar…)
Anyway, if you're interested in samba, knowning these men is essential! In any case though, their music is
awesome to listen to!!!
MARIA BETHANIA
Became famous next to her brother Caetano Veloso, but represents a style completely different from his. Maria
Bethânia does not experiment with music, but prefers to perform romantic songs, Brazilian show tunes and mild
samba. Many people in Brazil like her, so there must be something good in her. However, since I haven't
learned to like her music (I find her boring), I won't be able to say much about this woman. BUT - as I said,
many people in Brazil like her a lot, she's a big star there, so I encourage you to find out about her on your
own.
