Summer Jams: Midnight Samba Bloggin'

Eliana Pittman-Bezouro Mangangá


Clara Nunez-Banho de Manjericã


Sapoty da Mangueira-Sirié


Clara Nunes -Meu Sapato Já Furou

This post was suppose to go up when I was in Sao Paulo, but with the last minute pre-departure rushing. . .I had no time to get it up. In any case, it's a good thing it didn't go up because I've had a little more time to sit on this one.

Of all the music I came across when I was in Brazil, nothing satisfied my soul and moved my bootty more than Samba. Don't get me wrong, I love it all: Samba Rock, MPB, Black Rio. . .all of it. But Samba just rocks my musical chakra. And for me, the perfect summer soundtrack would have a substantial amount of Samba. Funny thing is that my proper schooling to the music form actually took place during the Brazilian winter (which really doesn't mean much except for some cold nights).

I could dedicate a whole blog to tasty Samba tracks. In fact, it's not such a bad thought. But for the purpose of this entry, I decided to choose three of my favorite female Samba vocalist. They're not the obvious choices, but these three women know how to rock it and rock it right. With these tracks I tried to mix it up and give you all a taste of the different styles. Eliana Pittman's track is more of a Samba Rock track (note the funky baseline break somewhere in the middle of the song). The first Clara Nunez track is a proper Samba track, complete with fast paced cavaquinho, call and response vocals, and my favorite, the killer rhythm section that changes just a few times to make sure you're awake. Sapoty's track is a bit slower, but has some beautiful vocals and has some references to Afro-Brazilian culture in the lyrics. And as a bonus I'm throwing in an extra Clara Nunez track just for shits and giggles.

Enjoy these for now. . .but I promise there will be more samba in the near future.