Part One: Genival Lacerda - Côco da Cajarana from Tomaram Meu Amor - Mocambo 78rpm (1962) Rozenblit Passarela (1973)

Part One: Genival Lacerda - Côco da Cajarana from Tomaram Meu Amor - Mocambo 78rpm (1962) Rozenblit Passarela (1973) 

My introduction to forró was David Byrne's Luaka Bop CD. Because I loved O Fole Roncou, I tried to absorb everything that I could by Luiz Gonzaga. Since Jackson do Pandeiro was given near equal reverence (their statues share a square in Campina Grande), in the way that Chuck Berry is given a status that is close to Elvis's, it was clear that Jackson's work was the next stop on my journey into forró. After Jackson, there were hundreds of paths that lead to other great forró artists: Ary Lobo, Marinês, Gordurinha... many of the people who appear in this blog, One of my favorites is Genival Lacerda.

Using my early rock n' roll analogy, I would compare Genival Lacerda to Little Richard. This is incredibly imprecise, but there are some parallels. While Gonzaga is stately & somewhat reserved and Jackson's music is delivered with mesmerizing rhythm & sophisticated cool, Genival Lacerda's records are wild, enthusiastic, funny, fast and frantic, like a forró freight train.

Tomaram Meu Amor is an incredibly rare, but very important, compilation of Lacerda's pre-1963 work, when his releases were 78rpm only. The quality of the recordings vary greatly. It seems likely that transfers came directly from the 78's and not the masters. Recordings from the later years generally sound great. Considering how rare his 78's are now, nearly 50 years after they came out and 40 years after this LP was released, we are lucky that this LP exists. Côco da Cajarana is an awesome song. It was originally released in 1962 on the Mocambo label.

Click on the video above to play the song.
iOS? click here: http://youtu.be/jkELL_0-Yjg

Genival Lacerda - Tomaram Meu Amor - Rozenblit Passarela (1973) 

Mocambo - Brazilian indie label - An early home to forró artists like Genival Lacerda, Jacinto Silva & Camarão, 

Crate Digging For Forró In Brazil: Vinyl and Record Stores in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador (da Bahia) & Recife

Crate Digging For Forró Vinyl In Brazil: A short guide to vinyl (vinil) record stores in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador (da Bahia) & Recife featuring Celsom Discos, Disco 7, Praça quinze (XV), Bazar Som Três, Minisom & Musikantiga

Update at the bottom of the page.

In June 2013, exactly one year ago, I took a holiday with my sweetheart to Brazil. We had a wonderful vacation, ate well, drank caipirinhas and made a little time for forró vinyl hunting. Generally, like anywhere in the world, shops and markets are picked over by savvy record dealers, but it's not impossible to find great records. Stores vary greatly in quality. You may not find the rarest Tropicalia, MPB, Bossa Nova, psychedelic, forró or Tim Maia piece for a steal, but if you do some research about where to shop, you may find some of the vinyl on your want list for much better prices than eBay. Generally, I've discovered that you have to connect with the handful of private dealers in Brazil that trade in top shelf vinyl to get the stuff you want, but shops can sometimes surprise you.
São Paulo I loved São Paulo. A lot of the record stores in São Paulo are found in indoor / outdoor markets, or arcades, like the ones below. All over Brazil, sidewalks have distinctive Portuguese tile, also called Portuguese pavement.

Outdoor shopping mall in São Paulo.

A shopping arcade in São Paulo.

I have a lot of affection for Cel-Som Discos in São Paulo. Celso, the owner, was the first person that I connected with in Brazil for purchasing vinyl. After a few bad experiences on Gemm, Celso was a welcome contact. He's honest, has a great selection of forró, MPB, Bossa Nova, Tropicalia and many other genres. He's great at assessing condition (ask before you buy online, though), will mail orders worldwide and takes Paypal. Best of all, Celso has a lot of contacts with other dealers, so if there are records that you are looking for, send him your want list. http://www.celsomdiscos.com.br/

 Cel-Som Discos / Records in São Paulo 

Celso at Cel-Som Discos / Records in São Paulo 

Celso and our friend Marcelo at Cel-Som Discos / Records in São Paulo.

Admiring the wall of forró LPs at at Cel-Som Discos / Records in São Paulo

Disco Sete, or Disco 7, in São Paulo is legendary. For fetishists, DJs and collectors, Disco Sete is often the first stop that they recommend. The owner, Carlinhos, is incredibly personable, generous and his prices are unbeatable. Disco Sete is not just a store, it's a place to meet up with collectors from all over the world. Not surprisingly, Disco Sete yielded my best finds in all of Brazil, thanks to Carlinhos. Disco Sete is tops. http://disco7vinil.com

Disco Sete (Disco 7) in São Paulo

Disco Sete (Disco 7) in São Paulo

Dorival Discos was a record store that we stumbled upon in São Paulo. Just like used vinyl shops in the States and Europe, bins were mostly stuffed with bargain LPs. If you like mining for finds, you'll be able to shop for days. We skimmed most of these places, mainly because the chances of finding great forró records hiding in a bin is very remote. I was about 10 to 15 years too late for that.

Dorival Discos in São Paulo

Rio de Janeiro

I didn't spend much time crate digging in Rio. We mainly vacationed. There are a few shops that I wish that I had a chance to hit, like Supernut Mara http://mararecordsdata.com/. We did take a jaunt to downtown Rio and browsed through the Praça quinze (XV) flea market, which is underneath a highway. Rio is not known as a big forró town, so my expectations for vinyl scores were minimal. I found a rare Benedito Nunes LP that Celso was selling for $300R for $1R, so I figured that I had a good day.

Praça quinze (XV) flea market in Rio de Janeiro

Praça quinze (XV) flea market in Rio de Janeiro

Benedito for a buck at the Praça quinze (XV) flea market in Rio de Janeiro

Salvador (da Bahia)

We had a ball in Salvador (da Bahia). We landed right in the middle of the São João festival, which was live forró heaven. The architecture and the food was amazing. Salvador had the best restaurants in Brazil. The food was a mix of spicy African and the best possible local cuisine. We stayed in old district of Salvador (da Bahia), called Pelourinho. Little record stores, like Mini Som or Minisom, are scattered throughout the old city.

São João Da Bahia 2013 - live forró heaven

Bazar Som Três is a beloved and highly recommended shop in Salvador. It's slightly outside of the old city and down a few side streets and an alley, so map out your trip before you go. Even with a map, we still needed help. Thanks to some friendly folks who pointed us in the right direction, we found the joint. Bazar Som Três was rich with vinyl stacked to the ceiling. Although I didn't find any amazing scores, I walked out with a bag full of decent, inexpensive forró LPs. They had a nice Genival Lacerda record on the wall.

Bazar Som Três in Salvador (da Bahia)

Crate digging at Bazar Som Três in Salvador (da Bahia)

Crate digging at Bazar Som Três in Salvador (da Bahia)

A city of vinyl at Bazar Som Três in Salvador (da Bahia). Genival is hiding on the upper right.

MINISOM was one of many stores scattered throughout Pelourinho. I found a few classic LPs in the store, including a beat up copy of O Dono Do Forró. The owner was incredibly helpful.

Recife

Aníbal Queiroga owns the wonderful Musikantiga. Musikantiga was challenging for us to find. His little shop was on the 5th floor of an older building in downtown Recife. It was well worth the search. Aníbal was incredibly generous and threw in some few lovely freebies. He had a wonderful selection of classic forró vinyl. I found some great records in his shop. Thank you to Samuel for the recommendation!

Directions: http://guiadovinil.blogspot.com/2010/09/musikantiga_15.html

The entrance to Musikantiga in downtown Recife. 

 Musikantiga - A few of Aníbal's amazing LPs.

 Musikantiga - A vinyl dig.

Update September 2016: This is a newer article on the same subject focused on São Paulo. It looks excellent and features a few places from this post:

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SAO PAULO’S BEST RECORD SHOPS

http://thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-releases/the-definitive-guide-to-sao-paulos-best-record-shops/

Azulão da Bahia - Saudade de Bahia from Sobe balão que é noite de São João - Premier 1972

Azulão da Bahia - Saudade de Bahia from Sobe balão que é noite de São João - Premier 1972
In the confusing, somewhat poorly documented world of Brazilian forró, figuring out who's who can be challenging. For example, there are 2 different Trio Nordestinos with equally prolific catalogs. There are multiple Gonzagas. It's unclear if they are related to the great Luiz Gonzaga, or if they simply have a common last name. Azulão da Bahia is one of two Azulãos. Fortunately, this Azulão adds da Bahia to help distiguish them. Sobe balão que é noite is a compilation LP on the Premier label. The biggest act on Premier was most likely Trio Nortista, featured on this blog in January of 2013. Saudade de Bahia is a standout track, from the golden age of early 70s forró.

Azulão da Bahia - Saudade de Bahia from Sobe balão que é noite de São João - Premier 1972

Click on the video above to play the song.

iOS? click here: http://youtu.be/pGv9Xa1LpqY

Sobe Balão Que é Noite de São João 

Azulão da Bahia