Tu ta maluco? Respeita o moço! Patente alta, da aula, bigode grosso!
This is the chorus from the latest funk track that is doing the rounds in Brazil right now. The track, performed by MC Marcelly, is called Bigode Grosso (Thick Moustache) and has been massively boosted by Neymar and other players incorporating it into recent goal celebrations.
Neymar doing the Bigode Grosso during a recent goleada (goal-fest) against Australia.
Trying to translate Funk lyrics is not always easy, but I’m not going to let that stop me! The chorus translates to something like this:
Are you crazy? Respect the guy! He’s high rank, he’ll teach you a lesson, thick moustache!
How do you feel about Jazz? As musical genres go, I have mixed feelings. There is certainly plenty of music that would be described as Jazz that I really like – music from Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Miles Davis come to mind. But then I also have some negative associations with this broad genre, ranging from tedious, throwaway elevator music to the esoteric, bordering on inaccessible, modern jazz that seems like very hard work (more of this at the end).
Well today’s Brazilian musician and composer definitely falls into the Jazz category that I like! Moacir Santos was born in a small town in the Northeastern state of Pernambuco in 1924. Moacir’s father didn’t stick around for long and his mother died when he was just 2. Effectively orphaned, Santos was taken in and put through school by a local family, but at the age of 14 he ran away from home.
At this young age, Moacir could already play saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, drums, banjo, guitar and mandolin. He travelled around the northeastern states looking for work as a musician. He settled for a while in Recife and found studio work, gradually building a reputation for his swing-style saxophone playing.
I think of the subject of today’s post as a quintessentially Brazilian woman: bold, sexy, and bursting with an effortless, natural confidence. This is Gal Costa:
Born as Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos but better known as simply Gal Costa. Photo by Antonio Guerreiro
Well, to be more accurate, that was Gal Costa. Gal was born in 1945 in Salvador, Bahia. Apparently when Gal’s mother was pregnant, she spent hours listening to classical music in the hope that it would make her child musical. Seems like it worked!
Her career has been interwoven with other legends of Brazilian music such as Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Tom Zé and others of the Tropicália scene. Here you can hear her singing Gilberto Gil’s ridiculously catchy track, Barato Total. Catchy isn’t it? Listen to this one and you’ll be singing that chorus all day long!
https://i0.wp.com/eatrio.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Gal-Costa.jpg?fit=400%2C578&ssl=1578400tomlemeshttps://eatrio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/eat-rio-logo.pngtomlemes2013-06-13 11:19:242021-03-03 00:44:10Gal Costa
Phew – Friday at last! It’s been a busy couple of weeks hence the paucity of posts, and after yesterday’s slightly ‘dense’ offering, I thought I’d follow up today with something a little lighter.
On my way to work this morning I was sharing a bus with one of those people who play music through the speaker on their phone. Oh man, who doesn’t hate that?
Anyway, it turns out I was the winner because this guy’s selfish behaviour prompted me to play my own music (through headphones, claro) and I stumbled across a joyous piece of music by this man:
Paulinho da Viola. Doesn’t he just look like a really nice guy? I know they say it’s wrong to judge people by appearances, but it doesn’t seem so bad when you’re making a positive judgement, right?
From an early age, Paulinho was surrounded by legends of Brazilian music such as Pixinguinha and Jacob do Bandolim. In turn Paulinho went on to become a legend in his own right, famed for his sophisticated melodies and gentle singing voice. His career as a Sambista, composer and musician has spanned 50 years and during this time he has released 27 albums and toured worldwide. On top of all that, by all accounts he is a really good guy.
OK, so back to that song that cheered me on my way to work. It’s a simple, cheerful tune though, somewhat typically of Brazilian music, the lyrics tell a rather sad tale of a guy who has decided he won’t play his guitar anymore because someone has made him unhappy. Well, the words might be sad, but listening to this makes me happy! I hope you like it too – have a great weekend.
https://i0.wp.com/eatrio.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/paulinho_da_viola.jpg?fit=600%2C320&ssl=1320600tomlemeshttps://eatrio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/eat-rio-logo.pngtomlemes2013-05-24 13:06:192015-10-01 14:31:59Paulinho da Viola
Wow, it’s been an exhausting week so far – early starts, late finishes and my long commute mean that I’ve been feeling like a bit of a zombie. At times like these I find that a little music therapy can help. Something uplifting and energizing should do it and I know just the thing.
A little while back I was reading Phil’s excellent blog, when I noticed a post with a rather provocative title: The Best Brazilian Rock Album Ever? The post described the album Krig-ha, Bandolo! by Raul Seixas. At the time I had only just been made aware of Raul Seixas, so when I saw the name and the cool album cover, my interest was piqued.
Krig-ha, Bandolo! Raul Seixas’ first solo album.
Phil has done a great track by track summary of the album so I won’t repeat his work. What I will do is highlight a couple of my favourite tracks. First off, let’s listen to something to something bright and uplifiting that will hopefully wake me up mid-way through another long day at the grindstone.
