Brazil

Tavito | Tua Ramalhete

“One of the members of Som Imaginário, a band organized to back Milton Nascimento in the ’70s and which also accompanied Gal Costa and other artists, Tavito had his song ‘Hey Man’ (with Zé Rodrix) successfully recorded by the group on its first LP. In 1973 he became a music producer,” (AllMusic). “In 1979 he recorded his first solo album, Tavito, followed by two others recorded before 1982. His biggest hit was ‘Casa no Campo’ (with Zé Rodrix), recorded by Elis Regina in 1971, and ‘Rua Ramalhete’ (with Ney Azambuja)” in 1979.

In the central Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte is a street called Rua Ramalhete (Bouquet Street). The area is well known for its romantic setting, where couples often stroll in the evenings. Tavito lived nearby; a plaque recognizing his work has been placed on a wall overlooking the street.

Online information about Tavito is sparse, but the same can’t be said for his arrangements! After “Tua Ramalhete” starts in E minor, 0:37 brings a pre-chorus leading to a chorus at 0:56 in C# major and a harmonically meandering interlude. At 1:36, E minor returns for another verse. The pattern continues from there. Many thanks to our frequent contributor, Julianna A. from Brazil, for submitting this beautiful tune!

Rita Lee | Lança Perfume

Rita Lee’s “Lanca Perfume” was a 1980 smash hit in Brazil. Lee was the granddaughter of an American citizen living in Brazil. Her father, Charles Fenley Jones, was a dentist born in Brazil who was the son of an American. Her mother, of Italian origin, was born in Brazil as well. Lee was born on December 31st, 1947, and passed away in 2023 at the age of 75.

Lee was a pioneer female rocker in Brazil; she was one of the original members of the famous Brazilian psychedelic rock band Os Mutantes. Later she went solo, married and formed a performance duo with another musician (Roberto de Carvalho), and wrote many soap opera theme songs for Globo TV.

“Lança Perfume” features the same keyboard-driven pop sound which was so popular in the US during the same era. The track shifts up a whole step at 2:24.

Many thanks to one of our Brazilian readers/listeners, Julianna A., for this submission to MotD — her eighth!

Herbie Mann | Insensatez

“Herbie Mann played a wide variety of music throughout his career. He became quite popular in the 1960s, but in the ’70s became so immersed in pop and various types of world music that he seemed lost to jazz,” (Qobuz). “However, Mann never lost his ability to improvise creatively as his later recordings attest.
Herbie Mann began on clarinet when he was nine, but was soon also playing flute and tenor. After serving in the Army, he was with Mat Mathews’ Quintet (1953-1954) and then started working and recording as a leader. During 1954-1958 Mann stuck mostly to playing bop, sometimes collaborating with such players as Phil Woods, Buddy Collette, Sam Most, Bobby Jaspar, and Charlie Rouse.

… After spending time playing and writing music for television, Mann formed his Afro-Jazz Sextet, in 1959, a group using several percussionists, vibes (either Johnny Rae, Hagood Hardy, or Dave Pike) and the leader’s flute. He toured Africa (1960) and Brazil (1961), had a hit with “Comin’ Home Baby,” and recorded with Bill Evans. The most popular jazz flutist during the era, Mann explored bossa nova (even recording in Brazil in 1962) … he had among his sidemen such top young musicians as Willie Bobo, Chick Corea, Attila Zoller, and Roy Ayers … As the ’70s advanced, Mann became much more involved in rock, pop, reggae, and even disco. After leaving Atlantic at the end of the ’70s, Mann had his own label for awhile and gradually came back to jazz … He passed away on July 1, 2003.”

Mann’s version of the Brazilian standard by Antonio Carlos Jobim, “Insensatez” (“How Insensitive”), released on 1964’s Latin Fever, is built in a slightly de-tuned C minor overall. The middle chorus, where the melody passes to the trombone while the Mann’s flute provides a harmony line (1:07 – 1:48), is in D minor .

Os Mutantes | Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol

“Though initially only rarely heard outside of Brazil, Os Mutantes is currently acknowledged as among the most dynamic, original, radical, and influential bands of their era,” (Lincoln Center). “These brash musical experimentalists engaged distortion, feedback, sampling techniques and a prescient selection of studio tricks to create a lighthearted, playful, yet still extreme Brazilian pop.

An integral part of the psychedelic, Tropicália and protest movements, Os Mutantes combined unbridled guitars, traditional rhythms, an optimistic vision of the future, and an advanced melodic sensibility. Now, nearly 60 years removed from their founding, Os Mutantes’s approach to sonic collage and a wry tendency toward cultural irony ushered in a near-universal modern music aesthetic.”

“Tudo Fo Feito Pelo Sol” (1974), which translates to “Everything Was Made By the Sun,” begins in D major. At 6:10, a sparsely textured outro led by bass and keyboards is built in D minor. Many thanks to Aaron L. for this unique track!

Elis Regina | O Cantador

“To really appreciate Elis Regina, start with the lowly half-step,” (NPR). “It’s the penny of the music world — the smallest interval on the piano. Some vocalists treat half-steps as annoying afterthoughts. They smush them together into a blur. Regina’s art happens inside the half-steps, in the tiny increments that make up a melody. When Regina sings, half-steps seem to expand. Partly, that’s a reflection of her exacting technique: When she wants to, she can nail the most challenging intervals. At the same time, she’s not at all fussy. Her lazy, endlessly sloping phrases magnify the sometimes hidden shades of meaning in a lyric. She’s the rare singer who can conjure an ocean of love trouble in the space between C and C-sharp.

Like so many Brazilians, she learned her craft by interpreting the intricate, half-step-rich songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim. One of her career milestones, recorded in the early ’70s, is an intimate duo recording with the great composer — Jobim backs Regina on piano — titled Elis and Tom … Regina brought a mischievous streak and a jazz singer’s taste for adventure to everything she did. She reimagined samba and bossa nova classics. And in the late ’60s, she became a champion of the young Brazilian songwriters who were integrating elements of British and American rock. Her interpretations of songs such as ‘Nada Sera Como Antes,’ by Milton Nascimento, helped bring attention to this new generation of talents — the movement known as Tropicalia.”

Regina’s version of “O Cantador” by Nelson Motta and Dori Caymmi, was first released in 1967. At 2:59, the key is raised by a half-step with a syncopated kick, only to come back down again at 3:06. But as the tune fades, the higher key prevails (3:13). Many thanks to our regular Brazilian contributor Julianna A. for this tune — her seventh wonderful MotD submission!

Claudia Telles | Eu Preciso Te Esquecer

“Daughter of one of the most important female singers of the bossa nova (Sylvia Telles), Claudia Telles recorded for the first time in 1976 (the ballad “Fim de Tarde” by Robson Jorge/Maura Motta), which scored a hit,” (AllMusic). “After recording other singles, she recorded her first LP, Claudia Telles, in 1977. Along with her bossa nova interpretations (covering her mother’s hits), she also dedicated a CD to the samba masters Cartola and Nelson Cavaquinho.

She passed away due to complications from endocarditis at age 62 in 2020. “‘Each of the fans who made her career, her life the way it was: she had immense affection for each one of you’, said Bruno Telles, the singer’s son, to the newspaper O Dia.” (uol.com).

Built primarily in A major, 1978’s “Eu Preciso Te Esquecer” (I Need to Forget You) features a late downward key change to Ab major (3:32 – 3:47) before reverting to the original key. Many thanks to our Brazilian reader and contributor Julianna A. for this submission!

Thank You, Sergio Mendes (1941 – 2024)

“There’s a word in English that I love: Serendipity. That’s the story of my life.”

– Sergio Mendes

“Serendipity and joy are two common threads that weave throughout the staggeringly diverse tapestry of music that Sergio Mendes has created over his remarkable six-decade career,” (SergioMendesMusic.com). “One of the most internationally successful Brazilian artists of all time, Mendes has recorded more than 35 albums, many of which went gold or platinum. He’s a three-time Grammy Award winner, Oscar-nominated songwriter and the subject of a joyful 2020 feature documentary.

From his pioneering contributions to the foundations of bossa nova alongside the likes of Antonio Carlos Jobim, through the era-defining Latin-pop sound of his iconic group Brasil ’66; his scintillating collaborations with jazz legends like Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann to his chart-topping adult contemporary smash ‘Never Gonna Let You Go;’ on through his 21st-century reinvention with the Black-Eyed Peas and John Legend or his Oscar-nominated theme song from the animated hit Rio: an infectious spirit of joy pervades everything Mendes has ushered into the ears of listeners.”

We have featured many tunes by Mendes, who passed away this week, over the years. In his memory (though it’s very difficult to choose just one tune), we offer his collaboration with his fellow countryman Hermeto Pascoal, “Pipoca.” Though short in length, the track reflects Mendes’ positivity; his masterful use of the textures, colors, and shifting rhythms of Brazil; buoyant vocals (in this case, universally wordless); and the ever-present contemporary flair which pushed his music forward.

This 1992 track, which we initially featured in 2018, starts off with a tumbling, mischievous feel, throwing us its first modulation at only 0:16 (!) after a playful ascending chromatic run. The intro sets the scene for key changes which continue to to turn on a dime as they arrive frequently throughout the track.

Astrud Gilberto + Stan Getz | The Girl from Ipanema

A classic which has somehow hidden in plain sight for many years! “‘The Girl from Ipanema’ shot 24-year-old Astrud Gilberto to worldwide fame in 1964 … The full-length album version of the song opens with Gilberto strumming his guitar and singing in Portuguese; then comes a verse in English written by Norman Gimbel and sung by João Gilberto’s then wife, Astrud Gilberto,” (Financial Times). “She had never sung professionally before, but it was her untrained, beguiling voice that made the song (along with Getz’s breathy sax solo). A shortened version of the song, featuring only Astrud’s voice, was released as a single and was a worldwide hit, and came to define an entire genre, bossa nova, blending Brazilian samba with jazz and blues.

By the time the song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1965, bossa nova was in decline in Brazil. The light, frivolous sound was eclipsed by more politically charged tropicalia music that responded to the country’s slide into dictatorship. In the US, however, bossa nova appealed to jazz singers such as Frank Sinatra … Ella Fitzgerald, and Nancy Wilson before her, also sent the tan and tall figure walking, but this time as a boy … Girl or boy, the track is one of the most recorded songs in history.”

Initially in F major, the tune’s 16-bar bridge (first heard from 0:43 – 1:13) goes to Gb major, then Gb minor before transitioning back to F major for the final A section.

Stan Getz | Aguas de Marco

“It wouldn’t take much to persuade me to argue the case for ‘Águas de Março’ — in English, ‘The Waters of March’ — being not just the greatest song of the bossa nova era, or even the greatest Brazilian song ever written, but one of the greatest songs of the 20th century,” (TheBlueMoment.com).

“Jobim’s song is a list of things: just things. It starts with things you might find flushed out by Brazil’s autumn rains. Naturally, it sounds better in the frictionless Portuguese spoken and sung by Brazilians … The images and thoughts skip by on a snatch of melody, repetition building a hypnotic momentum, the harmonies descending beneath it like a stream running between rocks.”

Stan Getz’s 1976 version begins in B major for the Portuguese section (João Gilberto), shifting to A major for the English portion at 1:05 (Heloisa Buarque de Hollanda, also known as “Miucha”). The track later modulates to C major as Getz’s tenor saxophone solo is featured (2:47). As the tune draws to a close, Gilberto rejoins the mix and enters a dialogue with Getz. On the final fade-out, the beginnings of a new verse softly gather, only to be gently washed away.

Sergio Mendes + Brasil ’66 | The Joker

“Musician Herb Alpert, co-founder of the highly successful A&M record label, was so keen on a newly signed act that he lent his name to the group’s debut LP; Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66,” (San Diego Troubador). “The album’s back cover featured straight forward liner notes by Alpert and the creative wordplay of Beatles’ publicist Derek Taylor. Alpert’s hunch about the group would eventually exceed all expectations; for the remainder of the decade, the sound of Brasil ’66, a tempting mixture of bossa nova/samba and “Bacharachesque” arrangements, was seldom out of the spotlight. With consistent Top 40 hits, launched by the groundbreaking single,”Mas Que Nada,” Brasil ’66 was a fixture on AM radio, television variety shows, and concert stages around the globe.

… Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 joined the 2012 class of “Historically Significant Recordings.” His LP was in good company: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” Speech, the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street, and Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA were among the other recordings to enter the class. These selections found a permanent home in the Grammy Hall of Fame.”

After a start in a slightly de-tuned G minor, “The Joker” features a transitional section (1:10 – 1:25) which leads us up to A minor. The transition later repeats, but this time with no additional upward modulation. The live version has somewhat lower sound quality and doesn’t allow for embedding, but please check it out as well! Many thanks to our regular contributor Jamie A. for this submission.

https://wwwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsW28Gz27ZE