Gostosa . . . It's Only the Beginning

I'm thrilled to have a good buddy Freddy Anzures of P-R-O-P-S.com working with Jacob (aka DJ Guillermo) and yours truly on our new look for the monthly Brazilian affair at Casanova in the Mission. If it's not already crystal claro . . .

Gostosa = Hot or if you want a more prosaic answer, read this.

So, for each monthly party we're gonna feature a different Artista Brasileira (Brazilian artist of the musical variety) on our flyer, eventually culminating in a calendar. It'll be way classier and collectible than a Snap-On Tools cheesecake/soft-porn affair - we're talking only the best of the best from classic Brazilian album covers, back covers, wherever we can find images that cry out "Gostosa".

For our first month we have the lovely and criminally underated Astrud Gilberto. She may have started her career on a fluke: she just happened to be in the recording studio with her then-husband Joao Gilberto during the recording of the classic Getz/Gilberto album and at Creed Taylor's suggesting she sang the English version of "The Girl from Ipanema" lyrics because Joao refused, but she has proven herself to be a classy interpreter of Brazilian and American/Anglo pop songs as well. Her first solo album is a real treat with both Jobim and Donato providing arrangements and she was also responsible for being the first to release many classic Brazilian songs in the US.


Astrud Gilberto - Beginnings
DJ Guillermo hipped me to this tune after wrongly thinking there was nothing worth hearing on some of these late 60s Verve albums. Damn, was I wrong. This, the opening cut off her "September 17, 1969" album is a surprisingly good Brazilian-style cover of the Chicago Transit Authority tune. I was sure Airto was in on this, especially given the percussion breakdown, but its some unknown Italian producer who put this together.

Great Songs (Now With Lyrics!)

I am certain there are a million and one other examples of this phenomenon (classic instrumental songs getting new lyrics), but this post stems from my relatively recent fascination with jazz vocalist Mark Murphy. I never in my boringest dreams thought that I would have anything resembling a fascination with a "jazz vocalist." Sure, I showed my sensitive side in college with my "best of" Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday CDs and how can you not like a little Frank Sinatra now and then, but somehow these icons escape the labeling of "jazz vocalist". Partly, I think it's the fault of all those too-smooth (Al Jarreau), silly (Bobby McFerrin) crappy-ass jazz vocalists that are ruining it for the truly artistic and inspired examples out there still doing their thing (check out Jose James).

I first heard Mark Murphy on a mix made by my man Greg Caz. The song was "Sunday in New York" and no doubt the slightly funky rhythm section, hot horns and because I lived in NYC at the time allowed me to listen deeper. After a few listens it was all about Mark's vocal style and delivery. I've been tracking down his catalog ever since. Something I noticed on a few of his albums was how he would take a classic jazz track and write lyrics for it so that the listener could immediately relate to the tune, but now there was a new element, a new soloist doing their thing in an unfamiliar way over a familiar song. Sure, there's "Watermelon Man" with its latin/vocal version by Mongo Santamaria (though there aren't many words to this lyric, "Hey, Watermelon Man!") or Carmen McCrae's vocal take on "Take Five", but Mark picks some tracks that clairvoyantly speak to the hip-hop generation as they are classic sample cuts. But before we get into some "serious" jazz music, I asked my co-worker, Eric, for any ideas on this theme and he suggested this classic lyrical interpretation of a familiar instrumental tune:



Mark Murphy - On the Red Clay
This is a killer album, possibly my favorite of Mark's so far and it took me getting out-bid a couple times before I secured my own copy. While the Freddie Hubbard version (below) is not the one that Tribe sampled (that was Jack Wilkins), it's a great tune and I feel Mark really captures the energy of the song taking only the title and extrapolating from there.



Mark Murphy - Canteloupe Island
A more obvious choice, but a great song nonetheless and Mark's lyrics seem to fit the tropical mood painted by Herbie's original version.



Mark Murphy - Sly
This was a strange choice I thought as "Sly" was not an obvious pick from Herbie's classic "Headhunters" album, but Mark really finds a bouncing vocal style to play around with Herbie's musical structure. This is from another great album my Mark Murphy that features one of the best versions of Tom Jobim's "Waters of March". Please chime in on the comments if you have any favorite instrumentals-turned-vocal tunes.

M.J. Tribute - Trying To Be Like Mike

It's interesting that for an artist as monumental as MJ there were not that many imitators trying to rip his style or even cover his songs. I mean, you hear more Prince wanna-bes than you do M.J. clones, but just because they don't try to fuck with his musical style doesn't mean they don't try to cop his visual aesthetic. Props to Sterling for sending me this great link. That being said, I did track down two interesting covers of some classic MJ tunes. Enjoy. This now concludes my MJ Tribute.




Os Tarantulas - Saiba Ser Feliz (Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough)

Slingshot - Do It Again/Billie Jean

Promo Only! These jamz are not for sale.

Here are two great sides from A&M of the Brazilian variety that for whatever reason never made it out as a commercial release. The promotional only white label release is an interesting thing as the reason for its limited release can be a result of a number of different situations. Maybe they tested them out as promos to see if there was interest and there wasn't . . . Maybe the group switched record labels, which could be the case for both of these as the Sergio track was supposedly recorded during the sessions for the "Primal Roots" album on A&M and the following album, Love Music, came out on Bell in 1973. Tamba 4 released two albums on A&M before moving back to Brazil and while I have no idea when this single came out, I think it was after their two albums as the song "California Soul" didn't see the light of day until 1968 when the 5th Dimension and Marvin & Tammi recorded it. We may never know why these records were never released commercially, but I think it's fair to say it wasn't because of poor quality.

Sergio Mendes & Brazil '77 - The Crab (Karan - gai - jo)
This song is great for a number of reasons: 1) It's a Joao Donato original tune that was far as I know was never recorded by anyone other than Sergio's troop; 2) It comes from the sessions for one of Sergio's most underrated albums "Primal Roots" which saw Sergio getting back to roots and its the one album that actually sounds like some other stuff being released in Brazil from the same time period; and lastly, 3) It's freakin' weird. Listen to that strange scream in the background!

Tamba 4 - California Soul
Sure, there's no shortage of cover versions of "California Soul", but how many feature whispy portuguese accented vocals and strange organ sounds? Just this one.

Roberto Carlos . . . yes, that Roberto Carlos (unless you're referring to the soccer player)

My foray into Tim Maia mania brought us to one of Tim Maia's early band-mates from the Sputnik's, Roberto Carlos. This led to me dragging out the few Roberto Carlos LPs I own and ripping the best tracks from them. We're gonna have another Roberto Carlos post in a little bit, where we compare versions of one of his most famous songs, "Se Voce Pensa." But for now we're gonna sample some of his best songs from the three albums I own.

Roberto is like the Elvis of Brazil and maybe because of this is referred to as "O Rei" or "The King". Along with his brother-from-another-mother Erasmo Carlos and Wanderlea, they formed the holy trinity of Jovem Guarda, or Young Guard rock n' roll in mid-60s Brazil. I've been seriously researching and enjoying Brazilian music for over ten years now and only recently have I come to really appreciate Roberto's work. He's best known for his often syrupy, romantic ballads so that was an initial turn-off, but when I chanced upon his 1969 album with "Nao Vou Ficar" (among other great tunes) my interest was piqued. What I like about this period of his, honestly the only period I know, is that 1) the up-tempo number really swing with great horn arrangements and some killer songs with great melodies and memorable lyrical hooks. The hits among these songs are iconic hits that most Brazilians know by heart. Roberto's voice is an acquired taste; it's simultaneously fragile and urgent. The combination of his vocals and the great band make for some interesting Brazilian rock gems. According to DJ Greg Caz, the execs at CBS spared no expense on Roberto's records and from as early as the late 1960s sent Roberto to L.A. to record his albums with session musicians there. That might explain why Roberto's records showed a funkier, tougher R&B sound earlier than contemporary Brazilian recordings from some of his Jovem Guarda peers, Tim Maia being one of them.

Roberto and his songwriting partner, Erasmo, were adored and jokingly mimicked by Tropicalistas Caetano, Gil and Gal. Gal covered most of Roberto's hits from this period and you'll get a taste of one of those in the next Roberto Carlos post. That's probably how I first heard of him, specifically Gal's namedropping of Roberto and Erasmo following her shout-outs to her Tropicalista comrades on her tune "Meu Nome e Gal", which was actually written by Roberto and Erasmo! So, clearly, the lines were blurred between the Tropicalists and the Jovem Guarda crews. Erasmo's 1971 record would blur the lines even more by employing Sergio Dias and Lanny Gordin to play on his album.

Roberto Carlos - Não Há Dinheiro Que Pague
A classic record from 1968 with some huge hits such as "Se Voce Pensa" and the following song, "Eu Te Amo". I don't think this one was a huge hit, but it's pretty great nonetheless!



Roberto Carlos - Eu Te Amo, Te Amo
A great slow-burner that's a Jovem Guarda classic.

Roberto Carlos - As Curvas da Estrada de Santos
Another slow-burner from this classic album that also includes Tim Maia's "Nao Vou Ficar."






Roberto Carlos - Se Eu Pudesse Voltar Ao Tempo
This album has a couple great tunes, but I couldn't recognize any "hits" that I'm aware of as far as being covered by others. The opening horn arrangement on this one reminds me of "Baby" from Erasmo Carlos' 1976 album. It's also screaming out to be sampled . . .


Sonia Melo - Eu Te Amo, Te Amo
I can't even remember when or how I got this record, but I picked this tune out from the mostly crap selection. Sonia's version has a great hyperactive bass player and some very groovy keyboards. Just to show how prolific and popular Roberto and Erasmo were, this album was made up entirely of their songs.

Check out some AWESOME Roberto Carlos videos on Soul Spectrum Videos!