Gilberto Gil- Nightingale

Here is another dollar special which, alas, suffers the same fate as Raffi, yesterday.  By the time I got around to writing this post, my appetite for producing a lengthy back story has shriveled dramatically.

Gilberto Gil is one of the cornerstones of Brazilian music.  Born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil in 1942, he started in Bosa nova bands before becoming a key figure of the Brazilian musical movements of the 1960’s.  Besides the incorporated rhythms that borrowed from multiple sources, Gil’s music had a sense of social justice and political awareness.  From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil’s Minister of Culture.

This album came out in 1979 on Elektra.  Pretty decent.  Sergio Mendes produced.  I liked it enough.

For a sample, I went with “Samba De Los Angeles”.

Satisfactory.

 

Leo Arnaud and Orchestra- Carnival in Rio

Back to South America, here we are with this album.  I bought it because it was cheap at a dollar.  The cover makes this look like clown shoes (no pun intended.)  So I held on to this since the end of 2015 without listening to it because it looked like a real hokey album. As a side note, the painting on the cover was done by John Morris (1920-1991), the premier painter of clowns of that period.

What a mistake.  This album, released by Liberty Records in 1956, was just breath taking.  Great instrumentation in a Brazilian style.  I was taken aback by almost all the songs in this record.  Again, it is a great piece of work. The conductor/ arranger on this record was Leo Arnaud.  Born in Lyon, France in 1904.  He immigrated to America and worked for MGM between 1931 and 1966, working on a slew of movies.  He is probably most famous for “The Bugler’s Dream” which is used in the US during Olympic Games broadcasts. He passed in 1991 at age 86.

According to the back of the record, Arnaud served a term as the temporary conductor of the Rio de Janerio and San Paulo Symphony Orchestras.  I imagine it is during thus tenure that Arnaud learned the songs on this record.  There is a slew of Brazilian flavored tunes on this which are arranged in a style complementary to their home country. I liked about every song on this record and could easily post any song as a sample.

But I had to whittle down my list and compromised with three cuts.  First the fast paced “Expressinho”.  Second, my favorite song on the record, the aptly named “Russian Roulette” which borrows phrases from the old classic “The Volga Boatmen” while staying Brazilian in nature. Finally, I went with “Taco” because it is a bit silly.

Top Rated Album.  Just goes to show you should not judge a record by its cover.

Antonio Carlos Jobim- Tide

MI0002350181This was one dollar.  After spending some time in 2014 in Brazil, I have become a fan of the music of the country.  Well,  that it not necessarily true.  Before that, I really liked forro. but that was more a northern style I believe.  However, after spending time in Rio, I grew a fondness for the bossa nova, which is aptly more sophisticated.Antonio-Carlos-Jobim-Antonio Carlos Jobim, (1927-1994) was one of the principle creators of that musical style.  Born in the district of Tijuca in Rio de Janerio, Jobim left a tremendous catalog of songs, some of which are jazz and pop standards.  The most famous of these is “The Girl From Ipanema” which has been recorded over 240 times.  A talented guitarist and pianist, he was given a statue in 2014 on Arpoador Beach between Ipanema and Copacabana.  I am now kind of officially bummed that I did not see it while I was there. It looks pretty cool.

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Tribute Page

Tribute Page in English

I also did not get to go to the statue of “Christ the Redeemer” which is on the cover.   I did do Sugar Loaf and that was cool.  Also did the major beaches.IMG_2354 (2)

This was Jobim’s sixth studio album, released in 1970 by A&M who had made themselves a household name by recording and distributing Latin/South American music.  Jobim plays guitar and piano (both acoustic and electric).  It features his trademark song along with other tunes that he wrote.  It is a pretty good album if you are in to that thing.  I am .  When I listen to this, I feel like drinking caipirinhas in a hotel lobby.IMG_1459

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For a sample, I went with “Tema Jazz”  which a nice little number indeed.Antonio-Carlos-Jobim_4_690X310

Satisfactory.

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