5 out of 5 stars Beauty Before Beat
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2025
When we think of Carnival in Brazil, we conjure batteries of drums, loud sambas, heavy beats, glittery costumes on parade, but historically a tamer side of Carnival involved contests for the most beautiful songs. Antonio Adolfo — pianist, band leader, composer, arranger, and educator — looks back to his youth and the era of these songwriting/performance contests, circa 1920 to 1950, and presents nine favorite examples. Free translations of the song titles are provided. as the tender "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not" for "Mal-me-Quer". Rhythms are marchinhas, marchas-rancho, frevo, and of course samba. The rich jazz styling of the familiar augmented quintet of Adolfo, piano, Jorge Helder, bass, Lula Galvão, guitar, Idriss Boudria, alto saxophone, and Rafael Rocha, trombone, with frequent guests Rafael Barata on drums and percussion, Jesse Sadoc, blowing trumpet and flugelhorn, Marcelo Martins handling tenor saxophone and flute, and Andre Siqueira on percussion, offer a different side of Brazilian music. Because of the lyricism, the solos of horns and guitar are sweet and joyous. Whatever the beat and tempo, the selections cry out for sing-alongs. While As Pastorinhas and Mal-Me-Quer are the slow, reflective ballads, the more lively tracks send us cheerfully to the dance floor. Some of these melodic tunes are almost extinct. Aldofo and his musicmakers make a case for their renaissance and perhaps a return of these particular Carnival contests.