Sweet Samba from the Cow's Hoof

It's Friday and we could all use a little sweetness to get the weekend started right. Proper. I remember picking up this album from a used record shop in a Rio de Janeiro Galleria. I was just starting to dabble in samba and this looked like as good a place as any to start. I was right. This album is from an old war-horse of rootsy samba. Manoel Conceição aka Mão De Vaca, which means cow's hoof, is ferocious guitar player who's been active since the 1950s, though finding any info about him's difficult. He released this album more than a decade earlier (I love this 1963 version of a fly girl in her short shorts - how scandalous!).

Manoel Conceição (Mão De Vaca) - Disse Me Disse
I absolutely love the production on this record. The whole thing swings like crazy, but it also sounds very clean. Like J Thyme says on his blog, "A real jewel in the crown of the RCA sound." Particularly, I love the female chorus, so sweet.

Manoel Conceição (Mão De Vaca) - Não Põe A Mão
The title of this one says, "Don't Lay a Hand" on my guitar. During the breakdown about 2/3 through Mão De Vaca says something like, 'you can dance the samba with my lady, but please don't touch my guitar.'

Peter Thomas Brasileiro

Not the German Peter Thomas, but the Brazilian organist. Sure, he looks old, white and decidedly un-funky, but listen for yourself. This guy made his name churning out 1960s organ dance records much like Ed Lincoln, but it wasn't until after he played keys for Tim Maia in the studio, that he really turned the funky corner.

The LP that these two tracks are drawn from is one of those impossible to google albums. It's obscurity is compounded by the artist sharing the same name with tens of thousands of other Peter Thomases, but also with a much more famous German Peter Thomas musician.

I might add a photo later if I can remember, but the cover to this one is awesome in that cheap-o photoshop style: an early 1970s keyboard, maybe an organ, floating in the deepest darkest space and the words: O Melhor do Peter Thomas (The Best of Peter Thomas). That's it. The whole album rules with these standout instrumental tracks leading the charge. The rest of the album is more samba flavored with that great female vocal chorus sound I love so much.

Peter Thomas - Afrikan Bossa

Peter Thomas - Pan-Latino

Update: Entire Newport in New York album here!

A quick post here to end the week on. I've been out sick with the flu for longer than I can remember being sick for a LONG time. four out of five days and the day I did go into work I had to leave an hour early because I was exhausted. I'm finally feeling well enough to rise out of my flannel sheets and make a quick blog post (or two - check WW&W for some countrified Arthur Russell)

I picked up this LP for cheap some time back mainly for Donny Hathaway's live version of "Valdez in the Country" but I was pleasantly surprised to find a handful of gems on this album. If you're curious about why Newport was in New York, I found this article from Time magazine backinthday. I've included my favorites here.

Ray Charles - Every Saturday Night (live)
Ray Charles in the seventies, still keeping with the times with this funky good times number. I wish ever saturday night was like this in my neighborhood! I'll pass this weekend as I'm still recovering, but this is gonna be my blueprint for next weekend.

Aretha Franklin - Brand New Me (live)

Ray Charles - Just a Man (live)

The Staple Singers - You're Gonna Make Me Cry (live)
My favorite deep soul weeper done to perfection originally by O.V. Wright, but Mavis and fam really stretch out the pain on this one and give an excellent reading.

Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered (live)
Sure, we've all heard this one a thousand times as its been featured in every rom-com in the last two decades, but have you ever heard it live and funky? I didn't think so. There's a bootleg out there of Steve live around this time by the sound quality kinda sucks and I can't say I listen to it very much. I was psyched to hear this, because this is what I would expect Stevie live in 1974 to sound like.

Donny Hathaway - Valdez in the Country (live)
Donny says something at the beginning of this tune about how we all know what "Valdez in the Country" stands for. Sadly, Donny, I for one have no idea what you're talking about. Anyone out there have any clue? Here's a link to an interesting article about Donny's live recordings.

The Staple Singers - And the Lord Will Hear (live)

I'm back with some moody Jazilian Brazz

Finally! I have an apartment, I have my records and last but not least I have internet connectivity in the form of DSL. I am ready to resume my duties as host of Soul Spectrum.

During my off and on hiatus many a blog idea has been thought of and then duly forgotten, but today we're gonna start back up with some Brazilian Jazz tracks inspired by my introduction to this incredible album by Pedro Santos called "Krishnanda." Photographer and music empresario Brian Cross, aka B+, turned me on to this record during the post-Azymuth BBQ/Party at his pad. He threw on the record, who's cover looked vaguely familiar from the blogosphere, and friends in tow Brion and Chris, as well as myself were blown away. I'm not the only one. The photo at the top of this post is Pedro with guitarist Sebastio Tapajos. Brazilian record collecting superman, Ed Motta, also has a liking for the record.

Pedro Santos - Agua Viva
To believe that this record was recorded in 1968 is astounding to me because the studio effects are used so subtly which was hardly common in 1968. I credit the ingenious merging of traditional Brazilian styles with advancements in studio technology and production, all under the helm of musician and producer Helcio Milito. According to B+, who's friends with Helcio, this album was made because Helcio secured a production deal with CBS records in Brazil and wanted to put his maestro in studio and cut loose. The album is utterly unclassifiable and when I played some tracks for fellow SS contributer Josh Nice he remarked (after picking his jaw up off the floor) something to the effect of, 'this is why I love music, because just when you thought you've heard everything worth listening to, you hear something like this and it renews your faith in music.' Maybe I overstated his sentiments a bit, but nonetheless its a great album and you can find the download here.

Moacir Santos - Coisa No. 10
I'm following that one up with another timeless Brazilian Jazz piece by another lesser known maestro, Moacir Santos. This is from a few years earlier, 1965. Listening to Pedro Santos I was reminded of this album and its effortless blend of North American traditions with Brazilian styles.

Baden & Vinicius - Canto de Ossanha
I like three songs in a post so I included this classic track from this classic album. Coincidentally, or not, Pedro Santos often played on Baden Powell's albums and Baden even had a song called, "Ao Amigo Pedro Santos."

Enjoy!