Your favorite Brazilian song

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Yazmin_Salinas

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In my case, my favorite Brazilian songs are "Agua de beber" and "Aguas de marco". I also like all songs on Lani's recording "A brazileira".
 
"Laia Ladaia (Reza)" by The Carnival, Tamba 4 (I can sing it like them, too!) and Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66--in THAT order, ranks as MY #1, favorite Brasilian song!



Dave
 
Meu Pao by Astrud Gilberto...while I'm at it...does anyone know what this means in English? Also, could anybody translate the lyrics? It hin the title can be translated to ..."My Pao"...does Pao mean Paul? Is the song about a person? I have the song on a greatest hits compilation of hers, and there is scarcely any info on who wrote it.



Dan
 
Two of my current favourites have already been mentioned -- Laia Ladaia and Aguas do Marco -- but I'm currently getting particular joy out of Your Smile (Sergio's and Sarah Vaughan's versions) and The Frog (Brasil '66 original).
 
There are so many songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim that are just magnificent - too numerous to mention.

Besides those, though, I have to name a couple which come to mind: Dory Caymmi's "O Mar é Meu Chão", recorded by Sergio Mendes, but even more magnificently by Herb Alpert as "The Sea Is My Soil".

I like a lot of Edu Lobo's stuff too, but his "Festa" as recorded by Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 grabs me every time.

Harry
 
Boy, it's sure difficult to choose-but it has to be something from Jobim. My top three, in no particular order, Aguas De Marco, Wave, Insensatez. But how can I leave out Desafinato, Corcovado, Chega De Saudade, etc... What about Dindi, Bonita, and Vivo Sonhando? THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! Jobim's music is THE music of the 20th century for me. As a true top contender, I would also give my regards to Resa, Laia Ladaia, by Edu Lobo. I absolutely love the recording by Carnival, as well as Sergio and Brasil 65 and Sergio with Brasil 66.
 
Zanzibar by Edu Lobo (the sergio presents version)...
Aguas de Março by Elis e Tom...
Cais by both Milton Nascimento e Elis Regina
Zazueira by Bossa Rio
Tiro Cruzado by Sergio Mendes and Brasil '88
Aos Nossos Filhos by Elis Regina

There are more...

Very tough question to narrow down to just 1 answer...
 
Jobim is my favorite composer and many of his best songs, are NOT that well known. Ex.: "Olha Maria", "Canta Mais", "Passarim", etc.
Djavan, the Caymmis, Caetano Veloso, Vinicius, Gilberto Gil, Donato, Ivan Lins, Roberto Menescal, Edu Lobo, Marcus Valle, all have fantastic Brazilian songs...this IS Mission Impossible. I see Brazilian music as a sort of musical mine, where the more you dig, the more musical strata you will find. Cuban music is like that as well...
 
my faves all come from "the fool on the hill" album. "upa, neguinho," "lapinha," & "laia ladaia." i would also add "dois dias" from "crystal illusions." i think this is brazilian music at it's height. such joy and melody has never been surpassed by anyone in my book. (in any language, actually.)

i'd go so far as to say that these 4 songs (and yes, there are a few others), make the horrors of this awful world melt away and one is once again reminded how wonderful life can be, how lucky we are that the fates brought together these talented artists at one magical point in the 60's to give us this gift from God.
 
I remember being impressed with a Sound Sample of "Samba Blim" by Tamba 4; --couldn't wait to get hold of the ALBUM! "Berimbau", isn't exactly "Tamba 4's song", but their version works OK, as does other versions I have owned--by Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, as well as Kenny Rankin and Gary McFarland... (Hey, EVERYBODY has done it in one form or another, eh?!)

I like "Bridges", and I think I have only heard it sung in English --by the likes of Session Drummer-turned-Vocalist, Grady Tate and suprisingly, I think Milton Nascimento's version wasn't in Portugese, either; don't really remember...



Dave
 
My favorite Brasilian song is Chega De Saudade, which Brasill 66' never did. There are great versions by Joao Gilberto, Nara Leao & Lisa Ono
 
rickster said:
Hands Down --- "Dindi" by Jobim -- a stunning, breathtaking, gorgeous tune.

I am in total agreement with you about Dindi. Although, I’m not too impressed when it’s sung by a guy (e.g. Frank Sinatra on the Sinatra & Jobim album).

Edit to add: Wow, I just noticed that I have 777 posts. If only this were a slot machine...

Mike
 
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Mike said:
rickster said:
Hands Down --- "Dindi" by Jobim -- a stunning, breathtaking, gorgeous tune.

I am in total agreement with you about Dindi. Although, I’m not too impressed when it’s sung by a guy (e.g. Frank Sinatra on the Sinatra & Jobim album).

Edit to add: Wow, I just noticed that I have 777 posts. If only this were a slot machine...

Mike

Interesting that this old thread should come up again for me, because just a few weeks ago my bossa nova group was performing and we did "Dindi" (instrumentally) and this very attractive lady who had been sitting next to me listening said, "Oh, that's Junior's favorite off of his Dad's album." At first I thought I hadn't heard her right, and asked her to repeat herself and she said it again and it just suddenly dawned on me she was talking about Sinatra. So we got to talking at it turns out she is the publicist for the Sinatra kids and handles all the licensing of their dad's images. She hadn't known about the second Sinatra/Jobim LP ("& Company") or the unreleased singles like "Sabia." It was a fun evening.
 
JMK said:
Mike said:
rickster said:
Hands Down --- "Dindi" by Jobim -- a stunning, breathtaking, gorgeous tune.

I am in total agreement with you about Dindi. Although, I’m not too impressed when it’s sung by a guy (e.g. Frank Sinatra on the Sinatra & Jobim album).

Edit to add: Wow, I just noticed that I have 777 posts. If only this were a slot machine...

Mike

Interesting that this old thread should come up again for me, because just a few weeks ago my bossa nova group was performing and we did "Dindi" (instrumentally) and this very attractive lady who had been sitting next to me listening said, "Oh, that's Junior's favorite off of his Dad's album." At first I thought I hadn't heard her right, and asked her to repeat herself and she said it again and it just suddenly dawned on me she was talking about Sinatra. So we got to talking at it turns out she is the publicist for the Sinatra kids and handles all the licensing of their dad's images. She hadn't known about the second Sinatra/Jobim LP ("& Company") or the unreleased singles like "Sabia." It was a fun evening.


JMK, that's a great story! I have the CDs, "Sinatra & Jobim" and "Sinatra & Company". I consider them a big departure from his normal style. I think it speaks volumes of how popular and influential Jobim was/is to have someone of Sinatra’s stature recording his music.

One of my favorite instrumental versions of "Dindi" is Pete Jolly's from the album "Herb Alpert Presents, Pete Jolly".

Mike
 
DAN BOLTON said:
Meu Pao by Astrud Gilberto...while I'm at it...does anyone know what this means in English? Also, could anybody translate the lyrics? It hin the title can be translated to ..."My Pao"...does Pao mean Paul? Is the song about a person? I have the song on a greatest hits compilation of hers, and there is scarcely any info on who wrote it.
Dan

"Pão" (with "~") means "bread" in Portuguese though it could occasionally mean something else. Don't know the song though but I could translate the lyrics if you could put them in here. Couldn't find them on Google at all.
 
It is simply impossible to list just one favorite song. Once the Great American Songbook was no longer being written by the 1960's, into this void stepped the Brazilians with their Great Brazilian Songbook which is so deep and rich. But here are my favorite Brazilian composers with a selection of my favorite songs.

Jobim--the greatest of them all--a Brazilian composer without peer. Two of his greatest for me are "Chega de Saudade" and the rarely heard "Dinheiro em Penca"
Benjor--the greatest for upbeat, uptempo songs, Veloso said that no one puts on a greater show. I saw him perform here in San Diego in 2004 and I heartily agree with Veloso. You can't beat his "Mas Que Nada' and "Take it Easy My Brother Charlie".
Lobo--"Laia Ladaia" and the "Circle Game" are tops for me.
Valle--"The Face I Love" and "Terra de Ninguem" are superb.
Powell-- "Samba da Bencao" (Vinicius de Moraes who wrote the lyrics has a perfect vocal), "Canto de Ossanha" (the Sandpipers version on A&M in English as "Let Go" is super), but Vinicius and Caterina Valente have versions in Portuguese that are supreme.
Lyra--"Lugar Bonita" and "Maria Ninguem".
Caymmi--"The Sea is my Soil" (Mendes' version using the harpsicord is haunting on his "Favorite Things" album) and "Like a Lover" (the vocal and instrumental arrangements are so sublime on the Brasil 66 version that the other versions--even Dori's--in my opinion are vastly inferior).
 
Just learned that there is a Brasilian artist by the name of Mina that did "Laia Ladaia (Reza)", and even Marvin Gaye did, too (and recorded his Live, no less)...



Dave
 
There are a ton of wonderful recordings of this song, many of which we've discussed through the years. I love The Carnival's rendition, and the one on the Edu Lobo Songbook is incredible (we're moving and CD's are packed, but I want to say the group is called We Happy or something like that). Elis recorded a wonderful rendition, and don't roll your eyes when I say this, but Percy Faith did two really top notch arrangements of this tune on two different albums.
 
I'd never roll my eyes at you, JMK! I am a big fan of Percy Faith's arrangements and count his Viva album among my all-time favorite instrumental recordings. Yokosuka Mike can tell you how excited I was when I found it on CD at the Tower Records in Yokohama on one of our music-hunting trips while I was stationed in Japan...

--Mr Bill
 
Faith was one of the best ambassadors of latin music, recording early albums (like Viva) that popularized the music in the US, and continuing with a number of fanstastic albums in the 1960's (Bim Bam Boom and Brazil!, one of which has the first arrangement of Reza--sorry can't check right now) and 1970's (the incredible Black Magic Woman, which contains his second arrangement of Reza). Faith and Sergio lived near each other in Encino.
 
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