Cartola

Cartola - Cartola (1974) {EMI–Discos Marcus Pereira 472569 2 rel 2005}
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© 1974, 2005 Discos Marcus Pereira / EMI Music Brazil | 472569 2
Latin / Brazilian Traditions / Samba / Brazilian Pop

Nearly 50 years after beginning his career, Cartola, the maestro of the samba, released his first album, and it exudes the quiet grace and rural charm that the samba featured decades before it was modernized later in the century. Of course, all the songs were written by Cartola himself (just 12 of the hundreds he composed), and most are by him alone. Those with limited knowledge of Brazilian music will find Cartola's vocal style closest to the quiet and husky growl of João Gilberto, with an accompanying slow groove and textured guitars. It's a vivid document of Brazilian roots music, featuring the instruments and stylings that all of the most famed artists of the '60s (Jobim, Gilberto, Veloso, Gil) would draw upon for their artistry.

Paulinho da Viola - Paulinho da Viola (1968) {Odeon–EMI 8525032 rel 1996}
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© 1968, 1996 Odeon / EMI Music Brasil | 852503 2
Jazz / Brazilian Jazz / Samba / Brazilian Pop / MPB

Classic samba by the master of classic samba, Paulinho da Viola. Having recorded and album called 'Samba de Madrugada' with his friend and partner Elden Medeiros a few years previous, this is actually Paulinho's first disc released under his own name. The liner notes contain a big chunk of autobiographical writing from Paulinho, talking about the first Carnaval blocos he formed in his neighborhood of Botafogo and his trajectory through which he eventually came into contact with the Portela samba school and began working around people like Candeia, Casquinha, Monarco and others, and eventually hanging around the bar 'Zicartola' with the likes of Cartola, Elton Medeiros, Nelson Sargento, Nelson Cavaquino, Elizete Cardoso….

After an eight-year break and 31 years into his career, Paulinho da Viola got the first gold record of his career, selling more than 100,000 copies. He also received the Grande Prêmio da Crítica from APCA. The album is direct and pure, like a roda de samba, without keyboards or other diversions, besides subtle strings and saxes. He goes straight to the heart of samba, surrounded by bearers of the tradition of the Carioca hills – his friends, his "brothers," his father César Faria (a former member of the historic regional choro group Epóca de Ouro), here playing the seven-string violão. Da Viola's elegance meets a distinctive melancholy and a genuine simplicity, forging a peculiar and sophisticated sound in which the influences of the great masters of the hills – Cartola and Nelson Cavaquinho – are evident. "Quando o Samba Chama" evokes a strong symbolic image very dear to da Viola.

Born in Rio de Janeiro to a family deeply rooted in the samba tradition, Paulinho met and befriended much of Rio's samba elite as a child. His father César Faria was a guitar player, and musicians such as Pixinguinha and Jacob do Bandolim would often come to his house for rehearsals, which Paulinho watched for hours on end. After the rehearsals, Paulinho would pick up his father's guitar and strum the few chords he knew. Later, as a teenager, he was frequently seen at jams at mandolin master Jacob do Bandolim's house, quietly and attentively observing the older, more experienced musicians. He began writing his own songs as a teenager, but never considered a career as a professional musician until he met poet Hermínio Bello de Carvalho in 1964. By then, Paulinho was working as a teller at a bank in Rio de Janeiro, and recognized Hermínio from the jam sessions at Jacob do Bandolim's house.