Two thousand and the beat of samba
CD box sets and live albums were highlights in the samba market
Nana Vaz de Castro
28/12/2000
For the samba lovers, 2000 was a year to spend a lot of cash. There were plenty of box sets, re-issues, collections, compilations and new releases. The artists who put out new albums did not frustrate their fans. That was the case with Zeca Pagodinho (Água da Minha Sede 
, Bezerra da Silva (Malandro É Malandro e Mane É Mané , Martinho da Vila (Lusofonia), Jamelão (Por Força do Hábito and Délcio Carvalho (A Lua e o Conhaque . The latter had been in oblivion for the past few years and was the biggest surprise, his album featuring impeccable production.
As it happens with different genres, the live album format was largely explored whithin samba, this year. Beth Carvalho(Pagode de Mesa 2, Fundo de Quintal (Simplicidade , Jair Rodrigues (500 Anos de Folia - Vol. 2 , Leci Brandão (Eu Sou Assim , Alcione (Nos Bares da Vida ) and Arlindo Cruz & Sombrinha (Ao Vivo placed their bets on the heat of live audiences, pursuing the success achieved by Jorge Aragão's live disc. Aragão, by the way, released a second live CD in 2000, Ao Vivo II
Among the new acts, the first albums by Quinteto em Branco e Preto, Riqueza do Brasil, and by Marquinhos de Oswaldo Cruz, Uma Geografia Popular ; as well as Dorina's second release, Samba.com and Ione Papas' debut on disc, Noel por Ione . The veteran Zé Renato recorded Cabô , his first release as a songwriter since he became exclusively devoted to samba. Other artists who tried to innovate were the boys at the label Trama: Jairzinho Oliveira (Dis'Ritmia and Max de Castro (com Samba Raro .
Two tributes deserve being mentioned, both released on Jam Music: the excellent Ganha-se Pouco Mas É Divertido, by Christina Buarque and dedicated to the music of Wilson Batista, and Pra Fugir da Saudade , by Célia and Luiz Mazzioti, only with Paulinho da Viola's sambas. Rosa Passos also gave her contribution. After diving into the music of Ary Barroso and Tom Jobim, she paid homage to Dorival Caymmi in Rosa Passos Canta Caymmi . Vocal group Garganta Profunda, in their turn, chose an unmistakable repertoire with Chico & Noel em Revista . Without focusing on specific sources, Cauby Peixoto made a full samba album, Meu Coração É um Pandeiro , a disc filled with guest appearances - the same strategy was utilized by Nei Lopes, who showed extreme good taste with the record De Letra & Música .
Samba in a box
Box sets made samba fans spend way too much money. There were very expensive ones, such as Noel Rosa's (14 CDs) and affordable ones, like the three volumes of A Música Brasileira deste Século por seus Autores e Intérpretes, a series with 38 titles that include Zé Kéti, Cartola, Nelson Cavaquinho, Baden Powell, Paulinho da Viola, Adoniran Barbosa and Ismael Silva. Besides those, there were João Nogueira (4CDs), Dorival Caymmi (7 CDs) and Jacob do Bandolim (3 CDs) boxes, the later being dedicated to choro.
Other meaningful discs were released by the label Acari (Mauricio Carrilho; Índio do Cavaquinho and Arranca-Toco , which is slowly paving its way into the market and is expected to promote a true samba avalanche next year (Pedro Amorim, Amélia e Raphael Rabello, Paulo César Pinheiro, João Lyra). The greatest choro composer ever deserved new tribute-CDs:Pixinguinha de Bolso (Henrique Cazes and Marcello Gonçalves) and Pixinguinha Alma e Corpo (Carlos Malta).
Less hyped but equally good, Zé da Velha and Silvério Pontes released Ele e Eu , and the all-girl group As Choronas made Atraente .
The year was also receptive for re-releases of original albums or loose tracks grouped in collections. In the first case we can find Monarco, Zé Kéti and Wilson Moreira (Okolofé first LPs, besides Portela and Mangueira old school albums that had been released in Japan in the 80s and the 50 CDs of the series Bambas do Samba, featuring the first LPs by Jovelina Pérola Negra, Almir Guineto, Jorge Aragão, Raça Negra, Fundo de Quintal, Bezerra da Silva and Zeca Pagodinho. Compilations like Raízes do Samba, Dois Momentos and Enciclopédia Musical Brasileira swept the recording companies' archives so as to make rare tracks available.
For 2001
As the new year approaches, the market is still rocking. Three samba discs shall come out on Lua Discos (Guilherme de Brito, Macalé Canta Moreira and Casquinha, member of Velha Guarda da Portela - Portela Old School), as well as new albums by Elton Medeiros, Dona Ivone Lara, Luiz Carlos da Vila, Déo Rian, Guinga, Marco Pereira & Hamilton de Holanda, Nó em Pingo D’Água & Cristóvão Bastos and box sets for Clementina de Jesus and Galo Preto, among others.
, Bezerra da Silva (Malandro É Malandro e Mane É Mané , Martinho da Vila (Lusofonia), Jamelão (Por Força do Hábito and Délcio Carvalho (A Lua e o Conhaque . The latter had been in oblivion for the past few years and was the biggest surprise, his album featuring impeccable production.
As it happens with different genres, the live album format was largely explored whithin samba, this year. Beth Carvalho(Pagode de Mesa 2
, Fundo de Quintal (Simplicidade , Jair Rodrigues (500 Anos de Folia - Vol. 2 , Leci Brandão (Eu Sou Assim , Alcione (Nos Bares da Vida ) and Arlindo Cruz & Sombrinha (Ao Vivo placed their bets on the heat of live audiences, pursuing the success achieved by Jorge Aragão's live disc. Aragão, by the way, released a second live CD in 2000, Ao Vivo II Among the new acts, the first albums by Quinteto em Branco e Preto, Riqueza do Brasil
, and by Marquinhos de Oswaldo Cruz, Uma Geografia Popular ; as well as Dorina's second release, Samba.com and Ione Papas' debut on disc, Noel por Ione . The veteran Zé Renato recorded Cabô , his first release as a songwriter since he became exclusively devoted to samba. Other artists who tried to innovate were the boys at the label Trama: Jairzinho Oliveira (Dis'Ritmia and Max de Castro (com Samba Raro .
Two tributes deserve being mentioned, both released on Jam Music: the excellent Ganha-se Pouco Mas É Divertido
, by Christina Buarque and dedicated to the music of Wilson Batista, and Pra Fugir da Saudade , by Célia and Luiz Mazzioti, only with Paulinho da Viola's sambas. Rosa Passos also gave her contribution. After diving into the music of Ary Barroso and Tom Jobim, she paid homage to Dorival Caymmi in Rosa Passos Canta Caymmi . Vocal group Garganta Profunda, in their turn, chose an unmistakable repertoire with Chico & Noel em Revista . Without focusing on specific sources, Cauby Peixoto made a full samba album, Meu Coração É um Pandeiro , a disc filled with guest appearances - the same strategy was utilized by Nei Lopes, who showed extreme good taste with the record De Letra & Música .
Samba in a box
Box sets made samba fans spend way too much money. There were very expensive ones, such as Noel Rosa's (14 CDs) and affordable ones, like the three volumes of A Música Brasileira deste Século por seus Autores e Intérpretes, a series with 38 titles that include Zé Kéti, Cartola, Nelson Cavaquinho, Baden Powell, Paulinho da Viola, Adoniran Barbosa and Ismael Silva. Besides those, there were João Nogueira (4CDs), Dorival Caymmi (7 CDs) and Jacob do Bandolim (3 CDs) boxes, the later being dedicated to choro.
Other meaningful discs were released by the label Acari (Mauricio Carrilho
; Índio do Cavaquinho and Arranca-Toco , which is slowly paving its way into the market and is expected to promote a true samba avalanche next year (Pedro Amorim, Amélia e Raphael Rabello, Paulo César Pinheiro, João Lyra). The greatest choro composer ever deserved new tribute-CDs:Pixinguinha de Bolso (Henrique Cazes and Marcello Gonçalves) and Pixinguinha Alma e Corpo (Carlos Malta).
Less hyped but equally good, Zé da Velha and Silvério Pontes released Ele e Eu , and the all-girl group As Choronas made Atraente .
The year was also receptive for re-releases of original albums or loose tracks grouped in collections. In the first case we can find Monarco
, Zé Kéti and Wilson Moreira (Okolofé first LPs, besides Portela and Mangueira old school albums that had been released in Japan in the 80s and the 50 CDs of the series Bambas do Samba, featuring the first LPs by Jovelina Pérola Negra, Almir Guineto, Jorge Aragão, Raça Negra, Fundo de Quintal, Bezerra da Silva and Zeca Pagodinho. Compilations like Raízes do Samba, Dois Momentos and Enciclopédia Musical Brasileira swept the recording companies' archives so as to make rare tracks available.
For 2001
As the new year approaches, the market is still rocking. Three samba discs shall come out on Lua Discos (Guilherme de Brito, Macalé Canta Moreira and Casquinha, member of Velha Guarda da Portela - Portela Old School), as well as new albums by Elton Medeiros, Dona Ivone Lara, Luiz Carlos da Vila, Déo Rian, Guinga, Marco Pereira & Hamilton de Holanda, Nó em Pingo D’Água & Cristóvão Bastos and box sets for Clementina de Jesus and Galo Preto, among others.