Brazil's talent for music is so great it amounts to a national genius. Out of a rich stew of African, European and Indian influences it has produced one of the strongest and most diverse musical cultures in the world.
Most people have heard of samba and bossa nova, or of Heitor Villa-Lobos, who introduced the rhythms of Brazilian popular music to a classical audience, but they are only the tip of a very large iceberg of genres, styles and individual talents. Music - heard in bars, on the streets, car radios, concert halls and clubs - is a constant backdrop to social life in Brazil, and Brazilians are a very musical people. Instruments help but they aren't essential: matchboxes shaken to a syncopated beat, forks tapped on glasses and hands slapped on tabletops are all that is required. And to go with the music is some of the most stunning dancing you are ever likely to see. In Brazil, no one looks twice at a couple who would clear any European and most American dance floors. You don't need to be an expert, or even understand the words, to enjoy Brazilian popular music, but you may appreciate it better - and find it easier to ask for the type of record you want - if you know a little about its history
The roots: Regional Brazilian music
The bedrock of Brazilian music is the apparently inexhaustible fund of "traditional"
popular music
. There are dozens of genres, most of them associated with a specific region of the country, which you can find in raw uncut form...
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The golden age: 1930-60 and the radio stars
It was the growth of radio during the 1930s that created the popular music industry in Brazil, with home-grown stars idolized by millions. The best-known was
Carmen Miranda
, spotted by a Hollywood producer singing in the famous Urca casino in...
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International success - the bossa nova
With this wealth of music to work with, it was only a matter of time before Brazilian music burst its national boundaries, something that duly happened in the late 1950s with the phenomenon of
bossa nova
. Several factors led to its...
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Women singers
Brazilian music has a strong tradition of producing excellent women singers. The best of all time was undoubtedly the great
Elis Regina
, from Rio Grande do Sul, whose magnificent voice was tragically stilled in 1984, when she was at the peak...
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The Bahian sound
Although Rio is the traditional capital of Brazilian music, for some years now it has been overtaken, in vitality and originality, by
Salvador
, the capital of Bahia. Bahia in general, and Salvador in particular, have always produced a...
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Contemporary singers and musicians
The number of high-quality singers and musicians in Brazilian music besides these leading figures is enormous.
Milton Nascimento
has a talent that can only be compared with the founders of
tropicalismo,
a remarkable soaring voice,...
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A selected discography
Apart from the
A Arte de,
O Talento de,
A Personalidade de
and
Revivendo
series, recommended recordings easily available in Brazil include the following (artists in bold):
Araketu
Ara Ketu
...
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Live music and recordings
If you want to see or hear
live music
, look for suggestions in this guide, buy local papers with weekend listings headed
Lazer,
which should have a list of bars with music, concerts and
dancetarias,
or ask a tourist...
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