Customer Reviews

Mandolin Master Of Brazil: Original Classic Recordings, Vol. 2

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The cd is great, and lots of people from Brazil, the home of Jacob do Bandolim, are buying it through internet, because the local industry doesn't pay attention to the artist. So, I am patching here a note (in Portuguese language) from Paulo Eduardo Neves, the creator of the homepage 'Página do Samba e Choro' (...), one of the best places to visit if you love Brazilian samba and chorinho. There, he says that both cds (number 1 and 2) are jewels that everybody should get.The man is an authority in samba and choro, so it's a good opinion to follow. --------- "A inexistência da obra do Jacob em CD é uma vergonha nacional. Até hoje, a única edição decente das obras do Jacob foi feita nos EUA. O bandolinista americano David Grisman se apaixonou pela sua música e bancou a edição dos discos. A qualidade da remasterização é impressionante, põe no chinelo tudo o que já se lançou em CD do Jacob por aqui. São dois CDs, o volume 1 e o volume 2" -- Paulo Eduardo Neves, Agenda do Samba e Choro.

Jacob do Bandolim did for the mandolin what Segovia did for the guitar. Beautiful collection of Brazilian "choros". David Grisman deserves much credit for making this available to US audiences. I would recommend this CD highly to anyone who appreciates fine lyrical tunes. (and the same goes for vol. 1)

It is good that this set of classic choros are again available; I had purchased them in 1991 and 1994 when bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman first issued them. Choros, a unique musical form known for is speed, virtuoso solos, and tight ensemble work, arose in late 19th and early 20th centuries and is having its second renaissance. It is a form that refuses to disappear. With its sometime syncopation and its 16th notes in 2/4, choros resemble ragtime and is equally joyful and rhythmic. In its early years, it was performed informally by a trio or quartet of flute or bandolim (Brazilian mandolin) , 7-string guitar or guitars, and pandeiro (Brazilian tambourine), but by mid century, large formal bands and orchestras were playing choros. Among its greatest stars was Jacó do Bandolim (Jacob Pick Bittencourt), who lived between 1918 and 1969, and composed 130 pieces, many of which are still performed. One of his most popular appears on this Volume 2, Noites Cariocas (1957). The two volumes consist of recordings between 1952 and 1966. I personally prefer Volume 1 but both are excellent. Listening to these works, you can appreciate why he was a popular musician and band leader: he has incredible dexterity, improvisational skills, and a talent for harmony. Today many samba bands include choros. Should you obtain these albums, you will understand way.