Trio Banzú's Meu Boné is a classic bit of shellac samba from the Rozenblit label, República. Although the Rozenblit label is common, I have not seen República used with vinyl. This label may have been specific to the 78rpm era. For those less familiar with the different styles, which are always rooted in rhythm in Brazilian music, samba is perhaps the broadest. Most popular Brazilian music has primarily come from branches of samba, including Bossa Nova and MPB. Outside of the rhythm, samba instrumentation can be very similar to forró recordings. With a slight change in rhythm, Meu Bonécould easily be a forró single.
As Filhas Da Viúva is the second album from Pinto Do Accordeon, who had a prolific career through the 1980s. It is unclear how long Pinto continued to record into the 1990s and beyond. Thousands of Rozenblit Passarela recordings were lost in a flood / fire a number of years ago, so cherish the remaining vinyl copies from that label.
Pinto Do Acordeon - As Filhas Da Viúva - Passarela (year unknown)
Databases and discographies for forró artists are improving, but haven't been as heavily researched as they need to be. My information about the careers of many of these folks is woefully incomplete. Alas, much of the information from this blog will be revised as more complete histories are published.
What is starting to surface is how intertwined the work may have been. While I knew that there was a tight scene around forró, suggested by the cross-collaborative nature of 1970s CBS records, it seems to be traditional for forró musicians to collaborate and cross-pollinate. Many people like Pedro Sertanejo, Abdias and Carlos Diniz may have been producers, engineers, label owners, songwriters, collaborators and session musicians. Forró from at least the 1950s through the 1970s, seemed to be similar to scenes in Nashville or Los Angeles, with lots of the same brilliant session players popping up on multiple records. Forró was more traditional, like the country Nashville scene, and never got quite as weird as the more experimental records coming out of LA in the 1960s.
Carlos Diniz's career as a recording artist spanned from the late 1950s on 78rpm (some reissued on compilation LPs) until the late 1960s with a string of great compactos and a single LP. Forró Do Bom is one of the stronger albums from the period. Diniz also collaborated with and/or wrote songs for a number of important artists from the day, including Luiz Gonzaga, Gordurinha, Zé Gonzaga, Trio Nordestino and Trio Nortista, indicating that he continued working into the early 1970s.
Carlos Diniz - Côco No Rio from Forró Do Bom - Rozenblit (1968)
Carlos Diniz - Pá Pul (baião) from Forró Do Bom - Rozenblit (1968)
Carlos Diniz - O Pinto Piou from Forró Do Bom - Rozenblit (1968)
Na Base Do Tamanco (côco) sounds like what Jacinto Silva is best known for. This song came out on a Mocambo 78rpm in 1964, which is absolutely amazing. I would not be surprised if this is one of the last 78s to ever be released in any region. It is also interesting that this is the amazing, futuristic, forward-sounding forró that Jacinto Silva would become famous for. If this is the last 78rpm ever, the format went out with a bang. By 1965, Silva was began recording his incredible solo trilogy of LPs for CBS. The original 78rpm records are agonizingly rare. Fortunately, this tune was reissued on a compilation on the Rozenblit Passarela label in 1973 along with other scarce sides from the early 60s by other northeasterners.
Na Base Do Tomanco O Bom É Êsse - Rozenblit Passrela - 1973
Novinho Em Fôlha had been sitting on my want list for a while. It is fantastic and compacto only, making it very difficult to find and valuable. According to the Dicionário MPB, Diniz's first of 6 known 78 rpm singles was released in 1960. Many of these singles were reissued across volumes of the late 60s Viva São João LP series, preserving early Mocambo 78s from a variety of artists, including Genival Lacerda. Diniz also had a full length LP released on Rozenblit Passarela in 1968. He also appeared on numerous LP compilations. Although it is possible that his career continued into the 1970s, I have not been able to find evidence of this. He passed away in 1982. Carlos Diniz - Novinho Em Fôlha (Xaxado) from compacto - Mocambo (1968)
Part Two: Genival Lacerda - Forró Do Zé Lagoa - Mocambo 78rpm (1962) Rozenblit Passarela (1973) vs Jackson do Pandeiro - Forró Do Zé Lagoa - Philips LP (1963)
This is a rare example of two forró giants, Genival Lacerda and Jackson do Pandeiro, at the height of power recording the same song: Forró Do Zé Lagoa. Both versions are fantastic and showcase the strengths of each. Genival's version is heavy, ballsy and ferocious, featuring his embolada-flavored phrasing powers. Jackson's version is cooler and elegant. Jackson probably had access to fancier recording studios, thanks to Philips.
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.
