Nacao Zumbi "Radio S.Amb.A" (YBrazil?, 2000)
One of Brazil's premiere rock bands, these guys are Chico Science's old crew, and also crank out their own albums with some regularity. It's a cool-toned mix of samba, funk, hard rock, ska/reggae, and hip-hop -- more Beastie Boys than Chili Peppers. It's not really my cup of tea, but these guys are pretty solid and much more accomplished than most of their contemporaries. Definitely worth checking out if contemporary Brazilian pop appeals to you.
(See also: Chico Science, under the letter "S" )
Nacao Zumbi "Nacao Zumbi" (Trama, 2004)
Nacao Zumbi "Futura" (Trama, 2005)
Joel Nascimento "Chorando Pelos Dedos" (EMI, 1976)
Joel Nascimento "O Passaro" (EMI, 1978)
A mixed bag. This opens with a sweet, elegant, fado-styled instrumental, "Nao Sei Porque," then slides into jazzier terrain, as well as some super-goopy orchestral numbers. These instrumental tracks are all led by choro mandolinist Joel Nascimento, the spiritual descendant of master picker Jacob Do Bandolim. It's mellow and pleasant, though saccharine in places, and the balance between the good, the bad and the gooey is a bit disconcerting. Nascimento's technical virtuosity is impressive throughout, though, and if you're a fan of mandolin music or choro as a genre, then this disc is one you'll want to track down. (Reissued in 2003 on a 2-Em-1 CD, along with the Meu Sonho album below.)
Joel Nascimento "Meu Sonho" (EMI, 1978)
This disc is very similar to the O Passaro album, a mix of wonderful modernized choro, funky jazz fusion tracks, and rather lamentable orchestral numbers, full of swelling, overripe string arrangements. If you pick and choose yout way through the two albums, you'd come up with about an album's worth of fine material, pleasing to the ears and dazzling to the mind... But the stuff in between can be kind of hard to take.
Joel Nascimento "Choarndo Do Verdade" (Kuarup, 1987)
Joel Nascimento "Ao Vivo Nos Eua" (Kuarup, 1997)
Joel Nascimento "Relendo Jacob Do Bandolim" (RGE, 1998)
Milton Nascimento - see artist discography
Neguinho Da Beija-Flor - see artist discography
Bob Nelson "Vaqueiro Alegre" (Revivendo)
Great stuff! I'd heard that Brazil has a homegrown country scene, and here's an early forerunner from the 1940s ... Naturally, little traces of samba creep in around the edges, but sure enough this ten-gallon hatted "happy cowboy" has genuine hillbilly fiddle, accordion, and banjo pickin' to spare, and yodels like there's no tomorrow. This is decidedly nutty, goofy, frivolous material... but the musicianship is also quite good! It's kind of like when Gene Autry or Roy Rogers did some Latin-American-tinged, polka-flavored number, except that this is coming at it from the opposite direction. Anyway, if this sounds interesting, but you're not quite sure, take my word for it: this is fun stuff! (PS - the only place I've ever seen this available is through the label. It's worth getting in touch with them to track this down.)
Nenhum De Nos "Serie Acervo Especial" (BMG, 1994)
Fun, bright new wave-ish guitar rock from this popular band from Porto Alegre, in the South. This collection draws on their first four albums, from 1988-92, work that reveals an unusually strong affinity for American and British-style rock. It opens with a Portuguese-language cover of David Bowie's "Starman," a song that was, improbably, the band's biggest hit... Their original material, mostly written by bassist Thedy Correa, is of an equal calibre... Although they sometimes go a little overboard with the shrill lead guitars, Henhum De Nos were notable for not getting mired down in hard rock sounds the way many of their BRock contemporaries did... If you're an indierock fan, I can't guarantee that you'll like this band, but this is certainly one of the more interesting, more melodic Brazilian rock records I've heard... Worth checking out!
Nenhum De Nos "Serie Focus" (Polygram, 1999)
Nenhum De Nos "Nenhum De Nos" (RCA-Plug, 1987)
Nenhum De Nos "Cardume" (BMG-Ariola, 1989)
Nenhum De Nos "Extrano" (BMG-Ariola, 1990)
Nenhum De Nos "Nenhum De Nos" (BMG-Ariola, 1992)
Nenhum De Nos "Acustico Ao Vivo" (Polygram, 1994)
Nenhum De Nos "Mundo Diablo" (Velas, 1996)
Nenhum De Nos "Paz E Amor" (Paradoxx, 1998)
Nenhum De Nos "Onde Voce Estava Em 93" (Antidoto, 2000)
Nenhum De Nos "Historias Reais Seres Imaginarios" (Sony-BMG/Epic, 2001)
Nenhum De Nos "Acustico Ao Vivo, v.2" (Trama, 2004)
Netinho "Millennium" (Polygram, 1998)
Super-perky, hyperactive axe, with more than a hint of the manic pacing of Carribean Cheerfully bland, or blandly cheerful axe pop from the lead singer of Banda Beijo. This best-of showcases him in a variety of styles, from perky, soca-flavored dance music (a lambada hangover) to syrupy pop ballads worthy of Julio Iglesias. Netinho is definitely a boy-band kind of pop star, and while I don't really go for this kinda stuff myself, I can see that it's fairly good for the style... Inoffensive, slick, lightweight and listenable, although in an embarassing kind of way.
Netinho "Me Leva" (Mercury, 1997)
Peppy dance music, tinged with African percussion, ala Olodum or Carlinhos Brown. Netinho has a nice, youthful, reedy voice, which unfortunately is often overshadowed by cheesy pop production. More listenable than a lot of other contemporary albums.
Netinho "Clareou" (Mercury, 1999)
Super-perky, hyperactive axe, with more than a hint of the manic pacing of Carribean soca. After a breakneck start, he settles into sappy power ballads. Still very poppy and commercial, but not overly irritating. Slick stuff, but not "bad."
Accioly Neto "Trancelim" (RGE, 1986)
Astonishingly bland, monotonous pop from a guy with an Abraham Lincoln-style beard and a really thin voice. It took me a while to realize that this was some sort of modernized, poppified forro... It's not very interesting, though.
Jovino Santos Neto "Caboclo" (Liquid City, 1997)
The first solo album by multi-instrumentalist Jovino Santos Neto, a longtime veteran of Hermeto Pascoal's band. Light, breezy jazz, mainly built around tight piano-flute duets, with sympathetic accompaniment from a small jazz combo, and in large part a tribute to his mentor. Not really my cup of tea, but pretty solid for the style. I could certainly see how folks into the whole "dinner jazz" sound might like this. (For more information about Neto and his career, check out his website.)
Jovino Santos Neto & Richard Boukas "Balaio" (Malandro, 2001)
Mellow and accomplished acoustic jazz featuring original compositions by New-York based guitarist Richard Boukas and Brazilian pianist, Jovino Santos Neto. There are also a trio of tunes by Braz-jazz legend Hermeto Pascoal, whose band Jovino Santos Neto performed in for much of the 1990s... The vibe is kind of a cross between John McLaughlin and Milton Nascimento -- Boukas scats in a very Milton-like fashion, although with more restraint and precision. These tunes are generally very sprightly; overall this isn't my cup of tea, but it's very nice for the style, and if you like acoustic jazz, you might enjoy this disc...
Jovino Santos Neto "Roda Carioca" (Adventure Music, 2006)
A straightforward, all-instrumental smooth jazz set, with a solid Brazilian bossamba foundation... Pianist Jovino Santos Neto leads this lively set, with a top-flight cast of Brazilian jazz players behind him. A lot of this is too jazzy for me, but there are flourishes that stand out, such as Hamilton Da Holanda's swinging, choro mandolin riffs on "Gente Boa," and Joyce's guest vocals on the song, "Nana." Brazil's leading avant jazz artist, Hermeto Pascoal, also plays on one track (playing a chewing gum wrapper and a glass of water, among other things!) Mainly this is a showcase for Santos Neto's brisk piano work, which at some times if quite lyrical and at others is a little too rat-a-tat-tat for me. Most soft jazz fans will probably like this, though... Worth checking out, if modern Braz-jazz is your bag.
Wilson Das Neves - see letter "D"
Nora Ney & Jorge Goulart "Nora Ney & Jorge Goulart" (InterCD, 2000)
Older recordings by two romantic balladeers of the pre-bossa nova "radio singer" era; although Ney and Goulart did record and perform together throughout several decades, these ten songs are all solo efforts, not duets -- four by Ney, six by Goulart. Some of it's really fun, in a super-corny, kitschy kinda way; some of the songs are way over the top and too goopy. This cheapo reissue package is worth checking out, just to get a sense of the style of the times, although you can't help but feel these artists could be better served by more extensive, better programmed selections.
Dudu Nobre "Dudu Nobre" (BMG-RCA, 1999)
A protege of sambista Zeca Pagodinho, songwriter Dudu Nobre is, I suppose, the fresh-faced future of pop-samba, although on this album he hasn't quite attained the same level of soulfulness as some of the elders in the style. Well, okay, so maybe he's no Paulinho Da Viola, but at least his stuff isn't as tacky as some of the more lightweight popular bands that are out there... Nobre seems like the kind of guy who'll be around for a while... definitely an artist to keep your eye on.
Dudu Nobre "Moleque Dudu" (Sony-BMG, 2001)
Dudu Nobre "Dois No Samba" (Sony-BMG, 2004)
Dudu Nobre "Ao Vivo" (Sony-BMG, 2004)
Dudu Nobre "Festa Em Meu Coracao" (Sony-BMG, 2005)
Emmerson Nogueira "Versao Acustico (Box Set)" (Sony, 2004)
A native of Belo Horizonte who made a name for himself playing barzinho gigs in Minas Gerais, Nogueira performs mellow acoustic versions of classic rock songs from the United States and England -- Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Doobie Brothers, Peter Frampton, etc. No relation to Joao Nogueira, as far as I can tell. Haven't heard him myself yet... this is a 3-CD box set that gathers together three albums listed below.
Emmerson Nogueira "Versao Acustico" (Sony, 2001)
Emmerson Nogueira "Acustico Versao 2" (Sony, 2002)
Emmerson Nogueira "Acustico Versao 3" (Sony, 2003)
Emmerson Nogueira "Ao Vivo" (Sony, 2003)
Emmerson Nogueira "Beatles" (Sony, 2005)
You can kinda see where this is headed, right?
Joao Nogueira - see artist discography
Paulinho Nogueira "Tons E Semitons" (Atracao, 1997)
Paulinho Nogueira "Reflexoes" (Malandro, 1999)
Paulinho Nogueira "Chico Buarque - Primeiras Composicoes" (Trama, 2002)
Sweet, though somewhat staid, acoustic guitar versions of eleven classic Chico Buarque tunes. I'm not sure how much this actually adds to the Buarque legacy, but if you like mellow, muzak-y guitar instrumentals, you'd probably enjoy this disc.
Paulinho Nogueira "Antologia Do Violao" (Universal)
Noite Ilustrada "Perfil De Um Sambista" (Trama, 2001)
The final record by this 'Fifties samba-cancao singer/guitarist, whose real name was Mario de Souza Marques Filho, and who died in 2003 at 75 years of age. A sweet, lively set of newly recorded songs that are reflective of his "radio singers" era work in the '50s and '60s. Noite Ilustrada, who took his name from an early musical review he starred in, was closely associated with the Portela samba school, and gives a few shout-outs throughout this fine album... It's a nice record, very nostalgic and old-fashioned, and well worth checking out.
Nouvelle Cuisine "e-Collection: Sucessos E Raridades" (WEA, 2001)
A rather odd, fish-out-of-water band... These guys are jazz-standards revivalists, sort of like a down-tempo, Brazilian Manhattan Transfer, playing material by Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, George & Ira Gershwin, et. al., alongside homegrown Brazilian composers such as Dorival Caymmi, Carlos Lyra, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Djavan, etc., placing them all into a compact, though rather goofy , small-ensemble acoustic setting. Personally, I find it all far too precious and overly clever -- while not as acrobatic as the Brazilian vocal group Quarteto Em Cy, there's a similar willingness to draw attention to the group's technique and to their coy re-arrangements of well-known songs. I'm not fond of the mix, either: Guga Stroeter's vibraphone is far too dominant; the clarinet seems tacked on at times, and the band's lone vocalist, Carlos Fernando, seems singularly underwhelming, particularly when he sings in English, which is most of the time. Nonetheless, they were apparently quite popular in Brazil during the late 1980s, and there also seems to have been some connection with Marisa Monte... Personally, I don't get the attraction, but I wasn;t there at the time, either... Maybe their shows were a lot of fun, or something.
Novos Baianos - see artist discography
Clara Nunes - see artist discography
