I really miss the musician life I used to have in Brazil. In order to compensate that, I started a musical research some time ago. Actually, this is making a huge difference for me. I never thought I would miss music so much… So, here are the highlights of the tons of things I’ve been listening to:
Jazz
I found a very nice old CDs store in Helsinki (I’ve heard from a friend that there are others). I’ve found many interesting albums there. For now, my main focus is on the work of John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Miles David and Charlie Parker but I’m listening to lots of other things as well. I really enjoyed albums of the drummers Max Roach and Roy Haynes. Next: continue the infinite and pleasant jazz research. :-)
- A Love Supreme (John Coltrane)
- Afro Blue Impressions (John Coltrane)
- Money Jungle (Duke Ellington, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus)
- Afro Cuban Jazz Moods (Dizzy Gillespie)
- Shack Man (Medeski, Martin & Wood)
- Out of the Afternoon (Roy Haynes Quartet)
Acid Jazz
I’m a big fan of acid jazz movement in general. I already have Jamiroquai’s discography but I wanted to have deeper view of the “big picture”. I’ve listened to The Brand New Heavies, Incognito, James Taylot Quartet, Jaga Jazzist, Jazzanova, Corduroy, and others. Looking forward to listen to Azymuth, Roy Ayers (one of the fathers of Acid Jazz!) and other cool stuff in the “acid” area.
- Room at the Top (James Taylor Quartet)
- Positivity (Incognito)
R&B and Neo Soul
I never really understood what soul and R&B were in practice. It always sounded to be too generic and umbrella-ish. So, I went through the discographies of some good modern artists in this field. Now I got a more clear idea of this whole R&B/soul thing. Special mention goes to Mama’s Gun (Erykah Badu): it’s one of the most “musical” (in the artistic sense) albums I’ve ever listened to.
- Mama’s Gun (Erykah Badu)
- Voodoo (D’Angelo)
- Introducing Joss Stone (Joss Stone)
- Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds, Vol. 1 (Jill Scott)
- Like a Star (Corinne Bailey Rae)
Funk and P-Funk
I’ve been going through Earth Wind & Fire’s (EWF) and Funkadelic/Parliament’s discographies. It’s just amazing to listen to the roots of most of things we see today in the funky field. Interestingly, I watched documentaries about both groups and they don’t mention each other. It seems there are (kind of) three different “branches” in the funk history: James Brown’s, Funkadelic/Parliament’s and EWF’s.
- All ‘n All (Earth Wind & Fire)
- Maggot Brain (Funkadelic)
- Mothership Connection (Parliament)
- Live on Planet Groove (Maceo Parker)
- Good Old Funky Music (The Meters)
Sertaneja and Caipira
I always try to keep prejudice away when the subject is music. In Brazil, the sertaneja music has become too superficial, crappy and commercial in most of the cases. The fact is that the first albums of those famous sertanejo artists are quite nice. They still have some kind of connection with their roots. This is definitely the case of the first album of Zezé di Camargo & Luciano. It’s simple and “truthful” in a very interesting way. On the caipira music area, it’s always an intense experience to listen to artists such as Renato Teixeira and Almir Sater. Next: Pena Branca & Xavantinho, Tião Carreiro, and others.
- No Auditório Ibirapuera (Renato Teixeira)
- Zezé di Camargo & Luciano (Zezé di Camargo & Luciano)
- Sete Sinais (Almir Sater)
That’s all for now! I hope to come with new stuff very soon. :-)
