PSW-361 Brazilian Musical Styles

Assignment 2b Alternative Choro

Composition: Receita de Samba, by Jacob do Bandolim
Album and Artist(s):
-Vibracoes, Jacob do Bandolim & Epoca de Ouro
-Receita de Samba, No em Pingo DAgua

Jacob do Bandolim is one of the quintessential Brazilian composers

that fostered the development of choro music in Brazil. He was first
trained as a violinist but changed to the mandolin at the early age of
12. He did not pursue a full time musicians career for a long period
of time, and took on various jobs like clerk, salesman, typist, etc.
Nevertheless, he did not cease to leave his mark on Brazilian choro
music history and his passion in the genre had kept driving him. He
became a prolific recording artist after writing several popular
choros like Treme Treme, Gloria, etc. In his music, one can
observe mandolin as the central solo instrument. His virtuosity at
the

instrument

performance.

differentiates

himself

from

others

in

choro

A number of his compositions like Assanhado,

Vibracoes, etc. remain as an integral part of the choro repertoire

nowadays. Jacob do Bandolim and the choro group Epoca de Ouro
(which he is a founding member) performs Receita de Samba by
himself on the album Vibraes.1
On the other hand, No em Pingo DAgua is a renowned five-piece
instrumental band rooted in Brazil playing the genre Choro Novo. It
is a new genre reinventing traditional instrumental choro music.
Formed by Celsinho Silva, Mario Seve, Papito, Rodrigo Lessa, Rogerio
Souza, the group embraces culture and influences from Brazilian
rhythms, instrumentations, and jazz improvisations, etc. As a result,
the sound that they produce is unique and refreshing to the ears. No
em Pingo DAgua performs Receita de Samba on the album
Receita de Samba.2 (Original Release Date: January 6, 1996)

The original recording of Receita de Samba by Jacob do Bandolim

and Epoca de Ouro features mandolin as the main melodic
instrument, with an acoustic guitar playing the bass line, a
cavaquinho playing chordal accompaniment, and a pendeiro as
percussion instrument. In terms of the instrumentation, this is
typical of traditional Brazilian choro performances. On the other
hand, the modern recording of the same piece by No em Pingo
DAgua features a different set of instrumentations, with an electric
guitar

and

saxophone

playing

the

lead

melody

alternately;

electric/acoustic guitar plays the accompaniment and fills under,

while we also have percussionist Celsinho Silva playing different
percussion instruments like the tambourine, bongos, as well as an
electric bass in support. The resulting sound is a much more
contemporary sound, at times echoing with modern jazz-fusion;
personally, it reminds me of the music of Pat Metheny Unity Group.
In terms of arrangement, the recording by Jacob do Bandolim and
Epoca de Ouro is precise and follows a more straightforward
manner, with a
accompaniment

clear intro,
is

quite

melody

consistent

and

improvisation.

throughout

with

all

The
the

instruments accompanying and interacting with the mandolin while

Jacob do Bandolim solos on it. On the flip side, the same track
performed

by

No

em

Pingo

DAgua

carries

more

varied

arrangement; for instance, instruments of mid and higher range

without the bass play the opening melody, and the bass entered at
certain hits later. The electric guitar and saxophone also alternately
plays the melody in the form to give variety of tone color and sound.
They also took turn to solo. There is another pleasantly surprising
dropout of the bass after the guitar solo, when the saxophone starts
soloing. It gives dynamic and an overall shape to the track sonically.

Musically, the Jacob do Bandolim recording is reflects the traditional

choro style a lot; for instance, the acoustic guitar behind the melody
would take up the role of the bass player and plays/improvises
various rhythmic figures alternately in support of the music. The
comping cavaquinho also follows a syncopated rhythm, surrounding
the central short-long-short rhythmic pattern. Nevertheless, the
latter recording presents something different musically; in this track,
we have the guitar being a chordal accompanist mainly, since we
have an electric bassist in the action. The bass line played has more
samba influences to it. Regarding improvisation, I personally think
that the lines played by the electric guitar and saxophone here have
more influences from jazz, e.g. bebop lines. It also features some
interesting harmonic treatments, such as the tonic sus chord at the
end instead of just ending it with the tonic major chord as in the
Jacob recording.
(Written by Chris Wing Nok Cheung)

Bibliography
1

Mair, Marilynn. "A History of Choro in Context." A History of Choro

in Context. Mandolin Quarterly, 2000. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.
<http://www.marilynnmair.com/articles/choro/2000/history-ofchoro/>.
2

"N Em Pingo Dgua." Cantaloupe Productions RSS. N.p., n.d. Web.

22 Sept. 2015.