Baden Powell & Vinicius de Moraes - Afro-Sambas

In the early sixties Vinicius de Moraes was given by Carlos Coqueijo Costa a copy of the LP sambas de Roda e Candomblés da Bahia  a record that deeply impressed the poet, revealing to him an aspect of popular music that he had not yet discovered. Vinicius then showed the record to his friend and partner Baden Powell who was  also dazzled. In 1962 Baden visited  Bahia to present a show with Silvia Teles at the Country Club,and got  acquainted with some artists and intellectuals from Bahia and as he demonstrated his interest in Bahia's African traditions he was  presented to capoeirista mestre Canjiquinha. with Canjiquinha Baden visited the terreiros and the  rodas de capoeira   where the most  important performances of  the songs and the sounds of Candomblé where given. Baden was fascinated, not so much by the mystical sense of what he had seen, but with the beauty of the harmonies he had heard.
When Baden was   reunited with Vinicius  started composing berimbau sambas  and resolves to start composing a series of songs about African culture in Brazil.Around that   time Baden Powell was studying Gregorian chants with the conductor Moacyr Santos and realized there were some resemblances to the afro songs he had heard  in the terreiros of  Bahia and inspired by these two influences he came with   a series of themes composed by merging them with the beat of samba. the result is splendid and of great melodic beauty, giving rise to a new kind of music, the african sambas in the words and the lyrics of Vinicius de Moraes that would be the hallmark of the musical work of Baden Powell

 Luiz Américo Lisboa Junio

Afro Sambas


probably you know it already since a long time,most likely you have it too in one form or another-it's everywhere too thanks to all good fellow bloggers,definitely one of the,or THE, modern samba  milestone-s, and as  I feel like revisiting   familiar and loved sounds I share this age long affair here too and  I propose a fresh listening for today , take it or leave it.

Vocais: Vinicius de Moraes, Quarteto em Cy e Coro Misto
Sax tenor: Pedro Luiz de Assis
Sax barítono: Aurino Ferreira
Flauta: Nicolino Cópia
Violão: Baden Powell
Contrabaixo: Jorge Marinho
Bateria: Reisinho
Atabaque: Alfredo Bessa
Atabaque pequeno: Nelson Luiz
Bongô: Alexandre Silva Martins
Pandeiro: Gilson de Freitas
Agogô: Mineirinho
Afoxé: Adyr Jose Raimundo


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