Samba Raro [Import]

Max De Castro | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 17, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Trama
• ASIN: B0000506N5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #547,941 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

CD > BRAZILIAN MUSIC > MPB - BRAZILIAN POPULAR MUSIC

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond the Bossa Nova, January 21, 2001

By 

Christopher John Farley (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Samba Raro (Audio CD)

28-year-old Max de Castro is a terrific singer-songwriter-guitarist who is leading Brazilian music into a new age. He comes from a musical family--his brother, Wilson Simoninha released a CD entitled "Volume 2" in South America and his father, Wilson Simonal, is a well-known bossa nova singer (his stuff is available on Amazon). The title "Samba Raro" means what it sounds like: "Rare Samba." I had the opportunity to talk to Max De Castro on a recent trip to Brazil (I was attending the Rock in Rio megaconcert) and he told me that, on this album, he wanted to search out rare and out-of-print recordings, and examine the legacy of various musical greats, updating and adding to their work and presenting it to a new generation of listeners (the liner notes show Max shopping at used record stores). De Castro may be inspired by the past, but his work is original and sounds like the future. Each of the songs on the album is dedicated to a particular performer or group of performers--"Samba Raro", the title track, goes out to Jorge Benjor, a rhythm and samba guitarist-songwriter who was a pioneer in stylistic fusion. The song "Afrosamba" is dedicated to revered Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell. Each of the songs on this CD also represents a specific sonic hybrid--"Pra Voce Lembrar" is billed as "samba lounge"; "Ela Disse Assim..." is "drum 'n' bossa"; and "Rapadura" is "soul rap." De Castro can croon like Marvin Gaye, sway softly like Tom Jobim, and lay down phat hip-hop beats that Dr.Dre would envy. Samba, bossa nova, hip-hop, electronica and soul are all thrown into the mix. The songs are mostly midtempo, but the drum 'n' bass and hip-hop flourishes keep the pace moving along. De Castro wrote, produced and arranged the album--I've seen live footage of him, and he's very good in concert as well. I should add that De Castro is Brazilian and this Cd is in Portuguese--but, like a great foreign-language film, it doesn't matter if you can't speak the language, the art carries you away. If you can read Portuguese--or want to hear some samples off this album--De Castro has a cool, if confusing website that has lyrics, soundclips, a short video, and more.. This is an excellent album and certainly among the finest debuts in South America or North America in the last couple years.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The new old samba, June 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Samba Raro (Audio CD)

Max de Castro brings a new freshness to traditional Brazilian music forms, by incorporating funky, soul, drum n bass elements. This is an exceptional piece of music, for people who like exciting music from every corner of the planet.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Really Have To Get This Album..., May 6, 2001

By 

Colin R. Griswold "cafe_con_leche" (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Samba Raro (Audio CD)

I first came across Max De Castro's music at the huge and chaotic Rock in Rio festival this past January. Although music was blaring at me from all directions (there were like 3 or 4 stages), the smooth sounds of Max De Castro drew me like a magnet. After the show, I ended up buying the CD, which blew me away. I had managed to find what I would describe as the best urban music CD I've heard in years. The fusion of hip hop, electronic, samba, and bossanova sounds flows perfectly on this album. Listening to this album is truly a unique experience.

By the way, I would also recommend similar artists such as Wilson Simoninha, Luciana Mello, Pedro Mariano, and Jairzinho. All of these artists appear on the same label that puts out Max De Castro: "Trama". The Sao Paulo-based Trama is starting a whole new movement in contemporary Brazilian music.