Word: samba
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...There have been a number of musical movements in the last century or so in Brazil. Samba got its start in the early 20th century as many former slaves moved to central Rio, taking with them their traditions of batucadas (percussion jams) and fusing the rhythms with influences from more formal musical genres such as marcha and maxixe. In the '50s there was the bossa nova, a cooler, more streamlined genre partly derived from samba that was championed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and others. And in the mid-'60s, in the wake of the Beatles and psychedelia and political oppression...
...very few American or international artists on display - no Britney, no 'N Sync, no Limp Bizkit, no Eminem. Instead there was a huge section of MPB that featured such younger artists as Marisa Monte (a fine young vocalist who is a bit like Dido or Beth Orton with some samba thrown in), the ska-pop-reggae band LS Jack, and such veterans as Chico Buarque, Ivan Lins and Gal Costa...
...eager to talk to Max de Castro, a Beck-like performer who blends samba, hip-hop and bossa nova into something fresh and interesting. I bought his CD, the terrific and inventive "Samba Raro" on Amazon.com, but since it was taking too long to arrive, I just downloaded the whole thing from Napster. It's well worth getting, but I recommend you give the guy a break and pay for it (my hard copy is on its way via overnight mail) since it's not like he's making Metallica money. Those guys, you can feel free...
...Castro says his album "Samba Raro" is a tribute to the artists of the past he feels deserve recognition, including Edison Machado, Eumir Deodato, Moacir Santos, Jorge Ben and Baden Powell. Each song focuses on a different act or group of acts; the title track, for example is dedicated to Brazilian acts from the '60s. While he draws from the past, he's also looking to the future and considers the album his "way of baptizing the style" he's developed...
...thought it "looked like a loaf of sugar"). I gradually tune her out and I try to use what I've seen to come up with a deep think. When Jobim helped launch the bossa nova boom in 1956, it was considered a radical new style, upsetting to the samba-ruled old order. The "new way" (one translation of "bossa nova") was smooth, stripped-down music, but full of strange harmonies and unusual syncopation. While other musical acts of the period were singing and performing in more overtly expressive ways, the vocals and guitar playing in Jobim's work were...