Coronel Ludru - Sanfoneiro Do Bom from Coronel Ludru - Musicolor (1975)

Coronel Ludru is a forró artist that I basically counted out entirely. He is primarily known for nasally comedy records from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The badly dated material is reminiscent of Genival Lacerda's (thankfully) sparse comedy output from the late 1960s and early 1970s. That said, Sanfoneiro Do Bom is a nice little nugget hiding on his 1975 self-titled LP. Outside of this tune, it is worth the search for Coronel Ludru to take a gander at his ludicrous and often excellent album covers, but don't expect to find many classic forró songs. 

Coronel Ludru - Coronel Ludru - Musicolor (1975)

Ataulfo Alves - Pai Joaquim d'Angola from Suas Pastoras e Seus Sucessos - Sinter (1958)

Lots of great records came out of Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s. Unusually, Suas Pastoras e Seus Sucesso, in various forms, got descent distribution outside of Brazil along with other albums from Alves. He was a major influence on Jackson do Pandeiro. There were echoes of Ataulfo Alves' 60s album sounds on O Dono Do Forró, which I will feature here in the coming year. Today, shake a tail to Pai Joaquim d'Angola. Oh Baby....

Ataulfo Alves - Suas Pastoras e Seus Sucessos - Sinter (1958)

Coroné (Coronel) Narcizinho e Sua Gente - Os Cabelos De Maria - Hora Sertaneja - Discobrás (1970)

Os Cabelos De Maria by Coroné (Coronel) Narcizinho e Sua Gente is one of the major classics of forró. Unusually, Hora Sertaneja has been reissued multiple times. The LP is still popular, arguably on the strength of this track and the way it celebrates the diverse styles of northeastern Brazilian music, including música sertaneja / sertanejo. Sertaneja / sertanejo also called gaucho (cowboy music) is reminiscent of Mexican folk music. The big difference between música sertaneja / sertanejo and forró is rhythm. Forró incorporates multiple rhythms that trace back to African roots, while música sertaneja / sertanejo doesn't. Both genres feel rootsy, but música sertaneja / sertanejo reminds me of great grandparents singing on the porch.

Coroné (Coronel) Narcizinho e Sua Gente -Hora Sertaneja - Discobrás (1970)

Jota Fonseca - Deixei Meu Cariri (baião) - Cantagalo compacto (late 1960s)

Deixei Meu Cariri is a rare compacto-only cut by Jota Fonseca, an artist who may have been slightly lost in the shuffle during the transition from 78rpm to vinyl. While his output is somewhat negligible, his work is well regarded during the period in which the sound of forró exited the old world and entered the new. 

Jota Fonseca - Deixei Meu Cariri (baião) - Cantagalo compacto (late 1960s)

Jair Alves - Cangote Cheroso from Canta O "Barão Do Baião" - RCA (1957)

In the 1950s, baião was not yet forró. Eventually, the instrumentation, arrangements, and genre would become more tightly defined. The 1950s may be the most experimental decade for baião. Artists added strings, harmony groups incorporated baião rhythms (this began in the 1940s, actually), Gilvan Chaves & Volta Sêca (and later Coroné Narcizinho) infused spoken word storytelling in song and some folks were downright formal by later rootsy genre standards. Jair Alves' Canta O Barão Do Baião may be the most successful melding of baião and classical orchestration. Perhaps more experimental contemporary forró artists will return to Canta O Barão Do Baião for inspiration. It truly is special and unusual. 

Jair Alves - Canta O "Barão Do Baião" - RCA (1957)

Luiz Vieira - Meus Canarin (baião) from Retalhos Do Nordeste - Copacabana (1958)

Like Luiz Wanderley, Vieira has a fantastic and interesting voice. Retalhos Do Nordeste, one of the great LPs during the second wave of forró, has been reissued on vinyl and much of Luiz Vieira's work has been anthologized on LPs and CDs. One of the reasons that I started collecting forró vinyl was because of the paltry amount of reissues on CD. I don't particularly like vinyl. it's fragile, noisy and most forró vinyl was abused or badly pressed. Collecting the genre is frustrating. Viera is one of the few artists during the 1985-2005 big reissue period who had a few remasters here and there, but his classic albums did not get reissued completely on CD, so yet again, I am stuck with the vinyl. 

Luiz Vieira - Retalhos Do Nordeste - Copacabana (1958)

Luiz Gonzaga - Forró do Zé Buchudo from Aquilo Bom - RCA (1972)

Thanks to his official website, Luiz Gonzaga's catalog was the first one that I explored when I started my forró adventures. Little did I know how vast the world of forró really was. Because I had a heavy Gonzaga phase, I don't return to his catalog as much as I should! Zé Buchudo is a track that I didn't play much back then and I've grown to love. It has a really neat descending backing vocal and a wonderful tuba bass line. Like Jackson do Pandeiro, some of Gonzaga's early 70s records rank amongst his best.

Luiz Gonzaga - Aquilo Bom - RCA (1972)