Download Women of Brazil Liner Notes

Women of Brazil Liner Notes
It is likely that many people outside Brazil were first exposed to the appealing music of Brazil
through a woman’s voice. The first international Brazilian music star was Carmen Miranda, whose
fruit-ladened headdresses, delightful humor and distinctive, heavily accented singing style
charmed Hollywood, leading to a successful film career in the 1940s and 50s. Through her films
and live performances, she brought Brazilian samba to an international audience. In the 1960s,
the sensual whisper of Astrud Gilberto launched the global popularity of bossa nova, and her
rendition of “The Girl from Ipanema” on the groundbreaking Getz/Gilberto album of 1964 remains
the definitive version of this often-covered classic. In recent years, successful singers such as
Marisa Monte and Bebel Gilberto have topped the charts at home and abroad and kept the
female Brazilian voice in the global spotlight.
Women of Brazil features some of our favorite young voices, which are taking Brazilian music in
inspired new directions. Some of the artists featured here are based outside of Brazil and serve
as ambassadors abroad for Brazilian music and culture. Others are rising stars in Rio or São
Paulo but may not yet be familiar to an international audience. We hope this collection offers
some new discoveries and reveals the continued importance of Brazil’s women as artistic leaders
and cultural icons.
Nossa Alma Canta
Bossanova
Venice, Italy, is 5,869 miles (9,445 km) from Rio de Janeiro as the crow flies, but the group Nossa
Alma Canta bridges the gap by bringing Brazilian music and culture to the City of Canals.
Founded as a trio in Venice in 1998 and fronted by singer Rosa Bittolo Bon, Nossa Alma Canta is
now a sextet and has helped spark a renaissance of bossa nova in a country where Brazilian
music has long been particularly popular. The “bossa boom” of the 1960s deeply impacted the
Italian music scene, and in recent years a revival of the classic bossa sound has occurred at the
hands of hip Italian artists such as Montefiori Cocktail, Nicola Conte, Gabin, Rosalia de Souza
and many others. Indeed, bossa nova is arguably more fashionable and cutting edge in Italy
today than it is back in the country where it was born.
As the title implies, “Bossanova” is an ode to the immensely influential blend of samba and jazz
that first became popular in Rio in the late 1950s and early 60s. “Bossa nova lifts you up / Bossa
nova has a way / Bossa nova takes your sorrow away / Bossa nova has no problems / Bossa
nova from Ipanema / Bossa nova, I know you are going to love it.”
Graça Cunha
Saudade e Solidão
Graça Cunha is a singer-songwriter from São Paulo, Brazil, whose versatile voice can often be
heard on film soundtracks, television jingles and radio commercials. As a young singer, she
performed everything from African-American spirituals and blues to samba and rock. She first
performed professionally as a soloist in the musical Nocturne in 1994. Since then, she has
released two solo albums and recorded with popular Brazilian artists such as Skank and
Rita Lee. She currently works regularly as a member of the house band on the popular TV variety
show Altas Horas.
“Saudade e Solidão” (Longing and Loneliness) appeared on Cunha's debut solo album De
Virada, released in 2006. The song was co-written by Cunha and Gui Afif and produced by Dino
Baroni. She sings, “Dare to feel love / Without crying when seeing me leave / Do you believe my
half-truths and unhappiness / You ignore how it feels to suffer in solitude / I, like a fool,
always return / For now, I can’t live without you / You are merciless / You took willingly / From this
poor heart.”
Clara Moreno
Balanço Zona Sul
The daughter of legendary Brazilian singer Joyce and composer Nelson Angelo, Clara Moreno
was born in Rio in 1971 and instantly immersed in a life of music. “Every night, my mother would
rehearse, and we used to go to all her concerts,” remembers Moreno, “I grew up listening to
music.” As a young child, she participated in children’s choirs, backing famous artists such as
Milton Nascimento, Egberto Gismonti and Originais do Samba. Moreno relocated to France at
age 18 to study music. She has since moved back and forth easily between Europe and her
native Rio, establishing a successful career in both worlds. She has released four solo albums,
exploring everything from traditional samba and bossa nova to more contemporary electronic and
jazz sounds.
“Balanço Zona Sul” (Swinging Zona Sul) is an ode to the beautiful, bikini-clad women who stroll
liltingly down the beach of Zona Sul in Rio. “She swings while she walks / She even swings when
she talks / She swings so much that she swung my heart away.” The song was written by Tito
Madi, a respected composer of the pre-bossa nova era of the 1950s. Moreno’s rendition is from
her 2009 album Miss Balanço, which featured renditions of classic sambas and bossas popular in
Rio in the 1950s and 60s.
Flavia Coelho
A Foto
Before she was born, Flavia Coelho’s parents moved to Rio from Northeastern Brazil, a region
rich with an influential and distinctive musical heritage that deeply impacted her future sound.
Coelho was performing professionally by the time she was 14 years old and toured Europe in
2002 as a member of a traveling carnival. She moved to Paris in 2006, where she met
Cameroonian musician Bika Bika Pierre and her manager and producer Victor Vagh. Together,
they produced her debut album Bossa Muffin, released in 2011 to great acclaim. Coelho’s catchy
blend of Brazilian samba, frevo and forró with reggae, rumba flamenco, African grooves and
international pop has catapulted her to stardom in France.
While most of Coelho’s songs are upbeat, “A Foto” is a laid-back, reggae-bossa with a
melancholy subject. “Daddy, don't cry / The time has come / You have done so much / The time
has come / I take with me Mommy’s picture / Where she is smiling / Only she gave you / Tender,
loving and care / Daddy / You did not ask for me / Maybe I was not planned / I forgive you, it’s all
forgotten / When I was born / You cried / And my mother loved you.”
Maguinha
Gema
Magda Machado, a.k.a. “Maguinha,” is originally from the landlocked state of Goiás, in central
Brazil. She grew up in a rural setting, learning to sing from her parents and developing a deep
love for the striking canyons, savannahs, forests, rivers and waterfalls of her region. Her family
left Brazil in 1970 during the brutal military dictatorship. Maguinha studied in New York City, lived
in Italy for 10 years, then moved to Miami in 2007 and recorded with legendary Haitian musician
Manno Charlemagne. Maguinha is now living in China, and working on a new album of original
songs, which will be recorded in Goiás and Hong Kong. Maguinha visits her beloved Goiás at
least once a year, and in 1981 she founded the Boavista da Mata Azul ecological reserve and
wildlife sanctuary.
On the Caetano Veloso composition “Gema” (Gem), Maguinha is joined by musicians Paulo and
Ivo de Carvalho on guitar, Pat Gullota on trombone and Felipe Souto on percussion. She sings,
“In the black goblet of the forest / A drop of light on the grass / My beloved / Moon-sun / Core of
my thoughts / My song inside the wind / In search of you / Am I to forget you? / No / Am I to hide
from you? / No.”
Aline Morales
Pra Que Sambar
Born and raised in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Aline Morales began her performing career as a child
training in the Brazilian martial arts and dance form capoeira. By the time she reached her 20s,
Morales had performed in a variety of traditional and modern bands including one of Brazil’s bestknown maracatu groups. She moved to Toronto, Canada, in 2003 and leads the 30-member
percussion group Baque de Bamba. Morales released her first album Flores, Tambores e Amores
(Flowers, Drums and Loves) in 2011, and the eclectic mix of samba, forró, Northeastern folk
music and 1960s tropicália earned it a Juno nomination, Canada’s equivalent of a GRAMMY, for
Best World Music Album.
On her original composition “Pra Que Sambar” (Why Samba), Morales muses on the nostalgia
she feels for her native country. “Why samba? / This samba only makes me melancholy /
Memories which linger for days / Only sadness in my heart / I wrap myself in this sad melody / A
point of hope / Born this way in the song / A poet once said, samba is born of pain / It’s the story
of sorrow / Which turns into joy.”
Luísa Maita
Mangue e Fogo
Sultry, seductive and infused with that inimitable samba swing, the music of Luísa Maita
embodies the modern spirit of Brazil. Inspired by the bustling urban life found in her native city of
São Paulo, Maita’s music has a contemporary vibe with influences from alternative pop and
downtempo electronic music melded with an acoustic foundation deeply rooted in samba, bossa
nova and MPB. Maita’s tropical, progressive sound and sensual yet soulful voice have earned her
accolades at home and abroad, and in 2011, she was selected as Brazil’s Best New Artist at the
local equivalent of the GRAMMY Awards. Cumbancha released her debut album, Lero-Lero, in
2010.
“Mangue e Fogo” (Mangrove and Fire) is a collaboration with her partner – musical and personal
– Rodrigo Campos, a gifted songwriter and guitarist in his own right. The song tells the tale of two
poor children: Marina, a crab seller who lived in the mangroves beyond the military school, and
Fabrício, a vendor of firewood and charcoal who works from dawn until dusk. “Is that a life?”
Maita sings, lamenting the poverty that steals the childhoods of far too many Brazilians.
Juliana Kehl
Ele Não Sabe Sambar (Pedrarias, Prata e Pó)
Although she had been involved with music since she sang in the choir at her Waldorf School in
São Paulo, even traveling to New York to perform with the group at Carnegie Hall, Juliana Kehl
chose to focus on the study of visual arts and dance. After earning a degree in fine arts at one of
Brazil’s most prestigious universities, she participated in a tribute concert for legendary Brazilian
composer Vinicius de Moraes, which inspired her to return to music and begin composing her
own songs. At the age of 32, she released her first album and has quickly become one of Brazil’s
most talked-about young singers, influenced by classic Brazilian samba, bossa nova and MPB as
well as French chanson, African melodies and subtle electronica. Kehl’s decision to return to
music has been a blessing for us all.
“Ele Não Sabe Sambar (Pedrarias, Prata e Pó)” (He Did Not Know How to Samba [Jewels, Silver
and Powder])” is one of the standout tracks on her debut album. Backed by the plucked strings of
a mandolin, a seven-string guitar, the tapping of a box of matches (a traditional samba percussion
instrument) and gentle flugelhorn accents, Kehl sings, “I went down to the avenue just to watch
him dance / I found out he did not know how to dance samba / He does not want me to cover
myself in jewels, silver and powder / To prove I am the only one.”
Mart’nália
Pára Comigo
The daughter of one of Brazil’s greatest samba voices, Martinho da Vila and singer Anália
Mendonça, Mart’nália Mendonça Ferreira, whose unique name is derived from a mix of her
parent’s names, has samba in her blood. Born and raised in Vila Isabel, a neighborhood in Rio
that is a venerated bastion of samba, Mart’nália is a virtuoso percussionist, and she has also
inherited the husky, soulful voice that is her father’s trademark. As a member of a musical royal
family, Mart’nália has benefited from her parent’s connections; the legendary Caetano Veloso
produced her first album and his sister, the equally legendry Maria Bethânia, produced her
second. Mart’nália has the talent to merit the support and she has earned praise as one of
Brazil’s most captivating young musicians.
Co-written by Mart’nália and Paulinho Black, “Pára Comigo” (Stops with Me) tells of a late night
lover’s tryst. “It is late / I will not sleep / I’ll go out with you with no direction in mind / Perhaps into
the solitude / I could be happier / Dawn / It is coming bit by bit / Smiling, singing / And waiting for
the two of us / To enjoy it.”
Miriam Aïda
Por Causa de Você Meninha
While you’d never know it from hearing her music, Miriam Aïda was born in Sweden, where she
still lives. Since 2002, she has released more than 10 albums that explore samba and bossa
nova as well as jazz, funk, blues and soul. In 2004, she brought some Brazilian warmth to
Stockholm with the highly praised album Meu Brazil (My Brazil), which featured some of Rio’s
finest musicians along with an inspired roster of Scandinavians. As well as fronting her own jazz
quintet, Aïda sings in the group A Bossa Eletrica, which blends Brazilian sounds with electronic
influences.
“Por Causa de Você Meninha” (Because of You, Girl) is a classic by Jorge Ben, one of Brazil’s
most famous samba soul singers, perhaps best known internationally as the composer of the
iconic Sérgio Mendes song “Mas Que Nada.”
Miriam Maria
Boi de Haxixe
Miriam Maria has had a long career in São Paulo as a backup singer and collaborator with some
of the city’s most innovative musicians, including Chico César and Itmar Assumpção. She
released her first solo album in 2000, Rosa Fervida Em Mel (Rose Boiled in Honey), which
includes guest appearances by Zeca Baleiro, Chico César, Lenine, Andres Abujamra (leader of
the band Karnak) and other members of São Paulo’s neotropicalismo movement. Her work is
founded on traditional Brazilian rhythms coupled with drum and bass, Portuguese fado and AfroBrazilian references.
“Boi de Haxixe” was written and arranged by Zeca Baleiro, a popular Brazilian singer and
composer who has appeared on a number of Putumayo collections. “When I step on flowers /
Flowers of many colors / Red, green, blue / It makes me want to fly over the planet / I unsheathe
my glittering sword / Studded with diamonds / Swordfish / I’m going out to sea.”