4 Ases e 1 Coringa - Tudo É Baião from RCA Victor 78rpm (1952)

4 Ases e 1 Coringa sound like they belong to another era. They were the bridge between Luiz Gonzaga and the next generation of acts. In the United States, the era of 4 Ases e 1 Coringa also belonged to crooners like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and the Mills Brothers. The Brazilians had their own close harmony vocal stylings. These days, DJs are unlikely to spin 4 Ases e 1 Coringa and you won't hear anything like them on the radio. What was once mainstream now sounds completely strange, with a touch of classical polish. I feel that way about a lot of pre-rock n' roll music. Some of the oddest modern recorded music was released between 1950-1960. 

4 Ases e 1 Coringa - Tudo É Baião from RCA Victor 78rpm (1952)

4 Ases e 1 Coringa - Tesouro E Meio (baião) 1951 from Boneca de Pano - RCA (1960 or 1961)

The 4 Ases e 1 Coringa recording of the Luiz Gonzaga composed Tesouro E Meio originally appeared on a 78rpm in 1951. Gonzaga's version was not released until 1956. I assumed that Gonzaga's version was released first, but his recording was not pressed onto shellac until 1956. I am uncertain if Gonzaga played the song on the radio, live or he gave the song to 4 Ases e 1 Coringa to record. Please comment if you know the answer. Tesouro E Meio has a wonderful, bluesy and shadowy chorus sounding like much of Luiz Gonzaga's most wistful and haunting cowboy songs. 

The LP, Boneca De Pano, is a collection of 4 Ases e 1 Coringa 78rpm singles. Their 2nd LP, É Com Esse Que Eu Vou, was credited to their full name written as Quatro Ases E Um Coringa and featured a collection of new recordings. For whatever reason, Boneca De Pano is far less common. 4 Ases e 1 Coringa was written about 4 different ways on releases and is a total pain to search for. They just weren't made for these times.

4 Ases e 1 Coringa - Boneca de Pano - RCA (year unknown)

4 Ases E Um Coringa - Não Posso Nem Comigo, O Samba Agora Vai & Onde Estão Os Tamborins? from É Com Esse Que Eu Vou - Odeon (1950s)

4 Ases E Um Coringa - Não Posso Nem Comigo, O Samba Agora Vai & Onde Estão Os Tamborins? from É Com Esse Que Eu Vou - Odeon (1950s)

The history of forró, which started out in the 1940s with Luiz Gonzaga as baião, a term that later became a sub-genre of the entire forró genre, was just one of many styles for groups in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Most acts didn't stick to their genre exclusively and mixed up styles. As a result, some LPs from the 1950s sound more musically sophisticated than records from later eras. A group like 4 Ases E Um Coringa would play sambas, marchas, côcos, frevos, rancheras, baiãos and basically any other genre, as long as they could interpret the songs in an interesting way. This mixing of styles was far less common in the 1970s. By then, groups usually stuck to one genre. The point is, Quatro Ases E Um Coringa were an amazing act with sophisticated arrangements and singing that defied convention. They classed up the joint. É Com Esse Que Eu Vou is a killer record and far too off the radar for fans of Brazilian music. 

Note that in O Samba Agora Vai, they reference "Miami and Copacabana", which could be a nod to Chiclete Com Banana by Gordurinha and Jackson do Pandeiro, or the writers of the later song were referencing this one? 

4 Ases E Um Coringa - Não Posso Nem Comigo from É Com Esse Que Eu Vou - Odeon (1950s)


4 Ases E Um Coringa - Onde Estão Os Tamborins? from É Com Esse Que Eu Vou - Odeon (1950s)



4 Ases E Um Coringa - O Samba Agora Vai from É Com Esse Que Eu Vou - Odeon (1950s)

4 Ases E Um Coringa - É Com Esse Que Eu Vou - Odeon (1950s)

4 Azes E 1 Coringa - Calango Mineiro from 78rpm - Odeon (1947)

4 Azes E 1 Coringa (also called Quatro Azes E Um Coringa) - Calango Mineiro from 78rpm - Odeon (1947)

4 Azes E 1 Coringa, a group with multiple spellings of their name, were one of the earliest acts performing baião, which was later married into the family of forró, along with rojão, xaxado and numerous other sub-styles. This is the earliest song that I have posted on this blog, but in many ways it's more masterful, albeit at a lower fidelity, than some of the music played by later forró groups. It's clear that 4 Azes E 1 Coringa were brilliant musicians. The devil was in the details. The arrangements were brilliant and they had the prowess of session musicians. Calango Mineiro, pulled from 78rpm, was co-written by Luiz Gonzaga. Gonzaga, the father of baião and forró, released his first song in 1941.

4 Azes E 1 Coringa - Calango Mineiro from 78rpm - Odeon (1947)