Zeca Pagodinho - see artist discography
Roberto Paiva & Francisco Egydio "Polemica Noel Rosa & Wilson Baptista" (Odeon, 1956)
A fun old 10" album with a cool back-story. Latter-day samba crooners Francisco Egydio and Roberto Paiva recreate the good-natured rivalry between samba-cancao songwriters Wilson Baptista and Noel Rosa, who once upon a time wrote a series of songs jabbing at each other in a public "polemica," a sort of duel of songs that lasted several years and produced several samba classics in the 1930s. These 1950s performances are a little bit on the stuffy side -- Brazilian music had formalized and slowed down a bit from the heyday of the samba-cancao scene, but it's still a classy set. A nice slice of old-school samba history.
Pale Sunday "Summertime...?" (Matinee, 2005)
Dreamy, jangly indie-pop from this Sao Paulo-based band... Singing mostly in English (with the exception of one song, titled "1978"), these guys flawlessly emulate their models, namely the mopey, wistful '80s British twee-poppers of the Sarah label variety, and numerous lo-fi janglecore bands from the USA... They have the sound down to a "T", though if you know what to listen for, you can pick out their cute Brazilian accents and doubtless find it quite charming. Personally, I wish they'd sung more numbers in Portuguese, 'cuz I like that sort of thing from "foreign" bands, but it's still cool to find such a competent indie band coming out of Brazil... There are precious few, as far as I can tell... If you like cute, introspective guitar-pop bands with mopey, solipsistic lyrics -- indeed, any other bands on the Matinee label -- then check these guys out. They know what they're doing.
Pale Sunday "A Weekend With Jane" (Matinee, 2003)
Lyrio Panicali "Nova Dimensao" (EMI-Odeon, 1964)
Bandleader and arranger Lyrio Panicali was one of the main record producers of the so-called "blue Brazil" period of the 1960s and '70s, transferring the cool suavity of bossa nova and the cosmopolitan jazz experimentalism of MPB into the more reserved world of Brazilian orchestral pop. He also recorded some stuff under his own name, like this big, bold set of silly-sounding pop-orchestral instrumentals. Includes several over-the-top renditions of then-current bossa nova classics such as "Desafinado" and "Lobo Bobo." Fun for lounge/kitsch value, I suppose, 'tho it's not really my cup of tea.
Lyrio Panicali "Panicali Italiano" (EMI-Odeon, 1966)
Lyrio Panicali "Faz Samba Em 2 Tempos" (Codil Ritmos, 1967)
A sprightly all-instrumental album with blends samba, choro and ballroom dance music. The repertoire includes sambas by Noel Rosa and Dorival Caymmi, as well as more modern compositions by Roberto Menescal and Marcos Valle. few songs are goofy or unwieldy, but mostly it's actually surprisingly fun. The band includes a fabulous flute player, Waldyr Brito, whose solos are consistently joyful and fun -- a nice record for loungecore enthusiasts, as well as fans of more traditional Brazilian music.
Lyrio Panicali "Brazil, New Dimensions In Sound" (United Artists, 1968)
This mostly-instrumental album is noteworthy for two bossa nova standards sung by future samba queen Clara Nunes, here still an aspiring singer, soon to become the grand diva of the dynamic pagode samba revival. Nunes sings "A Felicidade" and "Insensatez" in a rather stuffy, husky voice; cornball crooner Silvio Cesar also performs on a couple of tracks. The arrangements are mostly pretty drippy, with string arrangements that overwhelm all else, and are fairly irritating. Again, this kind of thing is not my cup of tea, but folks with a higher tolerance for cheesy listening might think it's the bee's knees.
Lyrio Panicali "Panicali E As Novelas" (EMI-Odeon, 1969)
Super-schmaltzy orchestral instrumentals, with themes take, I believe from various films. The melodic lead is generally by a large string section, worthy of Melanchrino. Easy listening buffs will find this of interest; others might not.
Lyrio Panicali "Bossa Nova 70" (MFP, 1970)
Ione Papas "Noel Por Ione" (Dabliu, 2000)
A solid modern tribute to Noel Rosa, one of the great early songwriters of the classic samba cancao era of the Great Depression. Papas glides atop sleek, bright, catchy MPB arrangements, reminiscent (and on a par with) the best work by Gal Costa and Elis Regina. The cover art's a bit "blah," but the record's certainly worth checking out!
Ione Papas "Na Linha Do Samba" (Dabliu, 2008)
Papete "Berimbau E Percussao" (Discos Marcus Pereira)
Interesting album... The forro flavored opening track is a little too manic, and some tracks are a little spacy, there's also some sly percussion and rhythmic action throughout the disc. In particular, this has some of the most creative and effective berimbau playing that I've ever heard... worth tracking down if you're looking for something off the beaten track.
Papete "O Melhor De Papete" (Atracao, 1998)
Joao Parahyba "Kyzumba" (YB, 1994)
Os Paralamas Do Sucesso - see artist discography
Hermeto Pascoal - see artist discography
Rosa Passos - see artist discography
Pato Fu - see artist discography
Argemiro Patrocinio "Argemiro Patrocinio" (EMI/Phonomotor, 2002)
Samba composer Argemiro Patrocinio, an elder member of the Portela samba school's velha guarda, is celebrated and spotlighted on this beautiful, reverential album, which features affectionate contributions by MPB and samba stars such as Zeca Pagodinho, Jaques Morelenbaum, and Moreno Veloso. Pop star Marisa Monte is the driving force behind this project, but while she bankrolled the record, Monte remains in the background, singing on only a couple of songs, content merely to document, not to dominate. All the songs were written or co-written by Argemiro over his decades-long career, and are performed with a delicious, delicate delivery, marked by lovely instrumental efforts which perfectly frame his gentle, soulful vocals. A lovely record; if you enjoyed the Velha Guarda da Portela album that came out a couple of years earlier, then you should definitely track this one down as well.
Pau Brasil "Babel" (Blue Jackel, 1995)
On old-fashioned jazz-fusion group, featuring bassist Rodolfo Stroeder and vocalist Marlui Miranda. Sounds a LOT like old Chick Corea, Return To Forever, etc. Distinctively Brazilian elements include compositions based on indigenous tribal music -- a theme which is explored better on Miranda's solo albums. My aversion to the soprano saxophone is one of the reasons I found this hard to get into.
Pau Brasil "2005: 25 Anos Do Melhor Jazz Brasileiro" (Pau Brasil, 2005)
Pau Brasil "Pau Brasil" (2007)
Paulinho E Sua Bateria "Paulinho Baterista - Batucada" (Philips, 1961)
Pedro Paulo "Apresenta Os Sucessos" (Columbia/OKeh, 1969)
Pedro Paulo "Apresenta Os Sucessos, v.2" (Columbia/OKeh, 1970)
Soft rocker Pedro Paulo kind of picked up where Roberto Carlos left off -- as Carlos drifted towards his iconic status as a Spanish-language crooner, Paulo kept singing old-fashioned teenybopper pop tunes. Considering when these albums actually came out, they were hopelessly out of fashion, but if you just take them for what they are and compare them to Carlos's rather similar releases from 1962-66, Paulo's work holds up pretty well. He was more consistently uptempo and "rocking" than Carlos, and recorded fewer American pop covers. On the second album, he gets a little more modern, opening the disc with "Maria Helena," a funky original by Brazilian soul singer, Hyldon Souza. Yeah, sure, it's mainly pretty wimpy stuff, but for the JG scene, this ain't bad. (Reissued in 1999 as a 2-CD set.)
Pavilhao 9 "Procurados Vivo Ou Mortos" (Paradoxx, 1994)
Pavilhao 9 "Cadeia Nacional" (Paradoxx, 1998)
Pavilhao 9 "Se Deus Vier, Que Venha Armado" (Paradoxx, 1999)
Pavilhao 9 "Reacao" (Warner, 2001)
This Sao Paulo-based rock-rap group has a kind of Beastie Boys vibe to it, by way of Bob Marley and Fugazi. This album is slick, but good... very good. Nice production with Hendrix-y guitars, moderate amounts of turntable scratching and a strong, steady groove throughout. Definitely worth checking out.
Pavilhao 9 "Publico Alvo" (2005)
Pavilhao 9 "O Melhor De Pavilhao 9" (Paradoxx, 2002)
