Biography, rhythms and music of Bahian and Northeastern composers such as Gilberto Gil, Ivete Sangalo, Dorival Caymmi, Caetano Veloso, Daniela Mercury and Maria Bethania.
Various genres of composers and singers have emerged in the Northeast over the years.
One of the most important composers of the northeast was the Pernambucan Luiz Gonzaga was the precursor of baião, rhythm that alongside others like xote, xaxado and côco are part of the so-called forró.
Several artists have continued Luiz Gonzaga’s legacy, such as Dominguinhos, Sivuca, Jackson do Pandeiro and Waldonys.
Frevo, most common in the states of Pernambuco and Paraíba, is characterised by its fast pace and capoeira-like steps.
This genre has already revealed great musicians such as Alceu Valença, Elba Ramalho and Geraldo Azevedo. These three, along with Zé Ramalho, have mixed frevo, forró, rock, blues and other rhythms.
The quartet usually performs under the name O Grande Encontro (The Great Encounter).
In the 1960s, tropicalism emerged in Bahia, inspired by the anthropophagic movement that would become a landmark in Brazil. This group included artists and other composers such as Tom Zé, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, among others.
Bahia would once again be the birthplace of another musical genre in the 1980s, with the creation of axé music, whose precursors were Luiz Caldas, Chiclete com Banana, Daniela Mercury, Timbalada and Olodum.
The genre revolutionised the Bahian carnival, since frevo, a rhythm from Pernambuco, had been used in Salvador’s festivities until then.
Currently the Bahian music industry is the one that generates more stars in Brazil and already has a “constellation” with national and international notoriety as mainly Ivete Sangalo who is considered the most popular singer in Brazil today and sales leader in the national phonographic industry, has the ability to drag a legion of fans wherever she goes, including in international lands. An example of this was Rock in Rio Lisboa in 2004, where the singer broke the record for attendance.
Singer-songwriter Ivete Sangalo is the owner of Caco de Telha, an entertainment company that holds the title of largest company in the industry in the North-Northeast and among the five largest on the national scene.
Caco de Telha has already brought major events to Brazil such as the I am… tour of pop singer Beyoncé. tour of pop singer Beyoncé, The End tour of the musical group Balck Eyed Peas, The Grand Moscow Classical Ballet show and Cirque du Soleil performances in Brazil.
In addition to these events with international artists, it has provided the state of Bahia with major shows with national artists such as the Roberto Carlos 50 years of music tour.
Through Caco de Telha, Ivete Sangalo was the star of a mega-production at Madison Square Garden, the temple of modern international music.
In Bahia, João Gilberto was born, considered among all the other composers and forerunners of Bossa Nova: Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes and Luiz Bonfá Bossa Nova is the best-known Brazilian rhythm in the world. João Gilberto is considered the main creator of the Bossa Nova rhythm.
In the 1980s, the first great reference of Punk / Hardcore music in the region appeared in Pernambuco and the main name is the band Câmbio Negro HC, also being the pioneer in the style and the first to produce the first discs of the genre in the region, in addition to being a great reference of undergroud music in the country.
In the 1990s, Mangue beat emerged in Pernambuco, a rhythm that brought together rock, hip hop, maracatu and electronic music.
Chico Science and Nação Zumbi are the main names of the genre.
The repente is widespread in the interior, with Cego Aderaldo from Ceará standing out. The Cabaçal Band of the Aniceto Brothers, a fife band from Ceará, is internationally renowned.
In Ceará, Fagner, Belchior and Ednardo, icons of MPB, also stand out.
It was also in the Northeast that brega was born, whose main composers and representatives are Reginaldo Rossi from Pernambuco and Waldick Soriano from Bahia.
Maranhão has a great diversity of rhythms, such as: Tambor de Crioula, Tambor de Mina, Tambor de Taboca, Tambor de Caroço, the four accents of bumba-meu-boi, besides being one of the main Brazilian strongholds of reggae. Tribo de Jah, one of the main bands of the genre, emerged in the state.
Other outstanding composers and singers from Maranhão are: João do Vale; Cláudio Fontana; Rita Ribeiro; Catulo da Paixão Cearense; Lairton dos Teclados; Zeca Baleiro (MPB), and Alcione (Samba).
The composer and singer Raul Seixas, born in Bahia, is considered the main name of rock music in Brazil.
He was part of the Jovem Guarda movement as a composer.
Nowadays, Pitty, also from Bahia, is very successful in rock music.
In addition to the groups Cordel do Fogo Encantado and Pedro Luís e a Parede, they have made a significant mark on contemporary Brazilian popular music.
Biography, rhythms and music of Bahian and Northeastern composers
José Gomes Filho, known as Jackson do Pandeiro (the King of Rhythm), was an important instrumentalist, composer and singer who recorded a series of forrós and sambas and helped popularise northeastern culture. Jackson do Pandeiro the King of Rhythm popularised the dizzying rhythmic division and sharp metrical lyrics. “Chiclete com […]
Forró has its origins in the popular dances that were held at the end of the 19th century and were called “forrobodó”, “forrobodança” or “forrobodão”. At that time it was necessary to wet the floor of the place where these parties took place, because they were made of “beaten floor”, that […]
The bossa nova, which had been drawing itself up since 1962 and was finally consolidated with the Getz/Gilberto album – Stan Getz & João Gilberto featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim. I don’t remember seeing anything significant in the Brazilian media about the 50th anniversary of the release of the album that […]
João Gilberto do Prado Pereira de Oliveira (Juazeiro, June 10, 1931), better known as João Gilberto is a Brazilian musician, considered the creator of the bossa nova rhythm. Biography of João Gilberto João Gilberto was born in Bahia, in the backcountry town of Juazeiro, João got a guitar at the age […]
Born in São Luís do Maranhão, the singer lived her youth in Rio de Janeiro and started her professional career at the age of 20. Since she was a little girl, thanks to her policeman father and member of the band of his corporation, João Carlos Dias Nazareth, inserted in […]
Alceu Paiva Valença better known as Alceu Valença is Brazilian and was born on the first day of July 1946, in São Bento do Uma – Pernambuco is a composer and singer. From a very young age he already liked music and was always very encouraged by his grandfather who […]
Elba Maria Nunes Ramalho or Elba Ramalho, fourth daughter of the couple João Nunes de Souza and Maria Geni Ramalho. The couple’s children, in order, are: Everaldo, Everton, Ednovalda (Vavá), Elba, Eracliton and João Nunes Filho, all born also in Conceição/PB. Elba Ramalho was born August 17, 1951, in the […]
Carlinhos Brown, stage name of Antônio Carlos Santos de Freitas, (Salvador, November 23, 1962) is a Brazilian singer, percussionist, composer, producer and cultural agitator. In Spain he is also known as Carlito Marrón. His stage name is said to be a tribute to James Brown and H. Rap Brown, leaders […]
Gal Costa, stage name Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos, (Salvador, September 26, 1945) is a Brazilian singer who has sold about 500 million records throughout her career. Gal Costa is the daughter of Mariah Costa Pena, who died in 1993 and was her great promoter, and Arnaldo Burgos. Her […]
José Domingos de Morais (Garanhuns, February 12, 1941), known as Dominguinhos, is a Brazilian instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. Dominguinhos was an excellent singing, had as masters names like Luiz Gonzaga and Orlando Silveira. His musical background includes influences from baião, bossa nova, choro, forró, xote, jazz etc. Luiz Gonzaga set […]
Forró pé-de-serra is the fastest growing style of music in the country today. There are houses specialized in forró and a real phonographic industry exploring the rhythm throughout the country. In São Paulo it is a fever. But DJs and other rhythms are a far cry from the authentic forró, […]
The style of forró has gone through three major phases since it emerged in the 1940s. Evolution causes dispute, but formats can coexist, say critics. This week begins the main moment of the forró marathon at the São João festivities in the Northeast. As the official night of the saint’s […]
Luiz Gonzaga (1912-1989) was a Brazilian musician. He was an accordion player, singer and songwriter, and received the title of “King of Baião”. He was responsible for the valorization of the Northeastern rhythms, took the baião, xote and xaxado, to the whole country. The song “Asa Branca” made in partnership […]
It is impossible to think about the culture of Brazil without considering the music and rhythms of the Northeast, the themes and inventiveness of Northeast music – a mix of influences in which tradition and renewal coexist. In all of Brazil, the Northeast is the region that most zealously preserves […]
Biography of Gilberto Gil Gilberto Gil is one of the greatest personalities in Brazilian music, recognised worldwide. His international career has already earned him a Grammy in the Best World Music Disc category in 1998 and a Latin Grammy in 2003. Gilberto Gil (born Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira) was born […]
Samba de roda is a more primitive musical variant of samba, originating in the Brazilian state of Bahia, probably in the 19th century. The traditional Afro-Brazilian musical style is associated with a dance, which in turn is associated with capoeira. It is played by an ensemble of pandeiro, atabaque, berimbau, […]
Ivete Sangalo was born in Juazeiro, in the interior of Bahia, into a family of musicians. She started singing as a child and, at school, took advantage of her breaks to play the guitar. At family soirees, he played percussion. He moved to Salvador when he was 17 and worked […]
Salvador’s carnival is today the biggest festival of popular participation on the planet. During six days of carnival, around 2 million revellers walk the circuits, baptised Batatinha, Dodô and Osmar. But it wasn’t always like this. Until the end of the 19th century, the petty bourgeoisie and the elite enjoyed […]
The band Olodum paid tribute to Michael Jackson in Salvador today. At Largo do Pelourinho, where the American star recorded part of the clip for the song “They Don’t Care About Us” with the group in February 1996, 30 musicians from the band gathered to play for those passing by. […]
With a body of work characterised by beach themes and songs that highlight the beauty of his homeland, Dorival Caymmi is considered one of the greatest composers of Brazilian popular music. The grandson of Italians, his grandfather came to the state to work on the renovation of the Lacerda Elevator, […]
Biography of the Bahian Caetano Veloso (Caetano Emanuel Viana Telles Veloso) who never imagined that, coming out of a small town in the Recôncavo Baiano, he would be so successful throughout Brazil and be one of the main expressions of Brazilian Popular Music. But that’s what happened. Born on 7 […]
Daniela Mercury, stage name of Daniela Mercuri de Almeida (Salvador, 28 July 1965). Daniela Mercury is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, dancer, producer, actress and television presenter. Winner of a Latin Grammy for her album Balé Mulato, she has also received six TIM Music Awards, one APCA award, three Multishow awards […]
Maria Bethania Viana Teles Veloso, better known as Maria Bethânia (Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, 18 June 1946). Maria Bethania is a Brazilian singer who has the record of being the second best-selling female artist in Brazil, and the biggest in MPB, with 26 million copies. She goes by the […]
Singer Simone Bittencourt was born in Salvador, the capital of Bahia, at Christmas 1949. She was therefore to be baptised Natalina, but the name Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira prevailed in the final decision. The family doctors said that the newborn Simone Bittencourt would have a characteristic common to the other women […]
The Novos Baianos was formed in Bahia in the 1960s by Paulinho Boca de Cantor, Pepeu Gomes, Moraes Moreira, Dadi, Galvão, Jorginho, Baixinho, Bolacha and Baby, and debuted with the show “Desembarque dos Bichos Depois do Dilúvio Universal” in 1968. The Novos Baianos took part in TV Record’s V Festival […]
The origin of Carnival is a controversial subject. Some historians associate the beginning of the carnival festivities with the cults performed by the ancients to praise good agricultural harvests, ten thousand years before Christ. Others say that it began later, in Egypt, in honour of the goddess Isis and the […]
Antônio Carlos Moreira Pires (Morais Moreira) was born in Ituaçú BA on 8 July 1947. Raised in the backlands of Bahia, from an early age Morais Moreira played the accordion, which he later replaced with the guitar. In 1966 Morais Moreira moved to Salvador BA and came into contact with […]
When in 1939 Carmen Miranda recorded one of her most famous renditions, “O Que É Que a Baiana Tem”, composed by the novice but already brilliant Dorival Caymmi (who also took part in the recording), both she and he (and his studio colleagues) considered the sound quality of the discs […]
Rual Seixas (Raul dos Santos Seixas) was born in Salvador, Bahia, on 28 June 1945, the son of Raul Varella Seixas and Maria Eugênia Seixas. Rual Seixas is from the same region and generation as Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa, among many others who defined the movement called […]
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