Bahia Black "Ritual Beating System" (Island/Axiom, 1992)
An ambitious and stunningly realized album, bringing together the percussive talents of the Olodum collective, Carlinhos Brown and several North American jazz and funk artists such as Herbie Hancock, Bernie Worrell, Wayne Shorter, and Henry Threadgill. This marks one of the high points of Bill Laswell's career as a multi-directional producer, creating a blend of funk, jazz, avant-jazz, art-rock and Afro-Brazilian pop that is actually more successful than most Brazilian fusion projects. Challenging, but also highly listenable.
Zeca Baleiro "Vo Imbola" (MZA, 1999)
Zeca Baleiro "Liricas" (Universal, 2001)
Zeca Baleiro "Por Onde Andara Stephen Fry?" (Universal, 2002)
Zeca Baleiro & Raimundo Fagner "Daqui Pra La, De La Pra Ca" (Universal, 2003)
Zeca Baleiro & Raimundo Fagner "Raimundo Fagner & Zeca Baleiro" (Universal-Indie, 2003)
A surprisingly effective, pleasant collaboration between indie-ish rocker Baleiro and Raimundo Fagner, an '80s rock/soft pop star whose work became both proggish and super-wimpy. This gentle, multi-layered album offers a wide variety of tropical styles, from modernized samba-pop to the Hawaiianized mariachi of "Cantor De Bolero," which closes the album. These two really seem to have hit a warm, profoundly sympathetic mutual vibe, where the music flows easily and sounds soulful and accomplished. I hadn't expected a lot from this record when I picked it up, and have been pleasantly surprised and consistently engaged each time I've listened to it. Very nice stuff, definitely recommended! (Also known as Daqui Pra La, De La Pra Ca, although the copy I have does not list that as the album title, just as one of the songs... )
Zeca Baleiro "Pet Shop Mundo Cao" (Universal, 2004)
Zeca Baleiro "Baladas Do Asfalto" (Universal, 2005)
Zeca Baleiro "Perfil" (Som Livre, 2004)
Milton Banana - see artist profile
Banda Black Rio "Best Of Banda Black Rio" (Universal Sound, 1996)
Tight, formulaic disco-funk from the late-'70s. Banda Black Rio are one of the best-known Brazilian soul bands from the 1970s, but this retrospective disc doesn't do much for me. There's an vague undercurrent of samba, curling around the edges, but mainly this has more to do with James Brown and Earth, Wind & Fire than it does with the hometown Brazilian vibe. I can see the appeal that this mostly-instrumental album might have for a '70s kitsch fan, but it didn't float my boat... This collection draws all but one track from their first two LPs, and is deceptively tilted towards hyperactive disco tunes. For a more easy-going, more soulful version of their sound, check out their 1980 album, Saci Perere.
Banda Black Rio "Saci Perere" (BMG, 1980)
For a break from the hyperactive disco monotony of their first two albums, try this one. It's a softer, more soulful sound... wa-a-a-a-a-a-ay into the sleek horn arrangements and falsetto vocals of Earth, Wind and Fire. Sure, it's silly, but it's more interesting than the jittery, rigid material of their earlier work. Maurice White would've been proud. This also has a more pronounced samba feel to it than the stuff on the Best Of collection above. Still not my cup of tea, but it does have its moments.
Banda Eva "Voce E Eu" (Universal, 1998)
Banda Eva "Millennium Ao Vivo" (Universal, 1998)
Banda Eva "Experimenta" (Universal-Mercury, 2000)
(Produced by Guto Graca Mello)
Too-slick, generic pop, with obligatory Afro-Brazilian touches that do little to lift the music up from a morass of wanky, note-heavy electric guitars and overly-processed production. By this point, Ivete Sangolo had departed the group to be replaced by a new singer, named Emmanuelle, who is about as bland and unmagical as you'd expect. This is functional pop-radio fodder, but little else. You can skip it.
Banda Eva "Ao Vivo 2" (Universal, 2002)
Banda Eva "E Do Eva" (Universal, 2004)
Banda Mantiqueira "Aldeia" (Blue Jackel, 1996)
A smooth Braz-jazz album, heavy on the brass section. This all-instrumental album takes a few nods at choro legend, Pixinguinha, as well as towards the smooth bossa nova sounds of the early '60s... This all by way of a peppy Doc Severinsen style latter-day big band style. This was a little too smooth for me, but it's not overly glitzy by any means, and may be something you'd like, if you're looking for something in a mellow jazz mode.
Banda Mantiqueira "Bixiga" (Blue Jackel/Pau Brasil, 2002)
Pretty cool! Anyone intrigued by the mix of Brazilian and big band motifs on Banda Mantiqueira's 1996 album, Aldeia, will be delighted by this latter-day gafieira outing, in which the swanky jazz elements are punched up and perfected. This is the kind of dynamic crosscultural mix that Stan Kenton and his peers were searching for in their mid-'50s explorations of Cuban and Latin-American melodies... pretty engaging and seldom overplayed, and less mellow than earlier Mantiqueira recordings. Nice lingering hints of the Dixieland-ish choro style of dimly-remembered Brazilian artists such as Sinho and Pixinguinga. Includes radically reimagined arrangements of songs by Joao Bosco and old-school sambista, Cartola. Definitely worth checking out!
Banda Turmalina "Apelo A Igualidade" (Continental, 1988)
A fairly unremarkable pop-axe album, heavy on the New Wave-ish synthesizers, light on the percussion. The title track, which opens this album, is the most vigorous thing on here, sort of in the same general range as Olodum's softer, poppier recordings... The Afro-Brazilian drumming is almost enough to pull you in, but not quite. Guitarist Marcello Chamuska wrote about half the songs on here, while second guitar Joao Neto and lead singer Bino wrote several others. Trust me: this is pretty dorky, and you're not missing much.
