Grupo Falso Baiano – Depois (Massaroca Records, 2017)
Depois is the third album by Grupo Falso Baiano, an American ensemble specialized in choro, an early form of instrumental music in Brazil that brought together European melodies and African rhythms.
On Depois, Grupo Falso Baiano delivers a set of choro classics as well as original pieces composed by the band’s multi-instrumentalist Brian Moran. However, there is more than choro on Depois. You’ll also find sambas, frevo and baião, American jazz and they even sneak in a little flamenco.
The musical pieces feature various solo instruments such as clarinet, harmonica, mandolin, flute, saxophone and cavaquinho that interact with each other, sometimes in a call and response way. It’s mostly lively music accompanied by Afro-Brazilian percussion, although there are also slow tempo melancholic moments.
Even though most of the music is instrumental, Grupo Falso Baiano invited two Brazilian vocalists who perform on various tracks, adding a Rio flavor to this San Francisco-based band.
The lineup on Depois includes Ami Molinelli on pandeiro, percussion and vocals; Jesse Appelman on mandolin and vocals; Brian Moran on guitars, cavaquinho and vocals; and Zack Pitt-Smith on reeds and vocals.
Guests: Moyseis Marques on vocals; Ana Carbatti on vocals; Ilya Portnov on harmonica; Jeff Cressman on trombone; Henry Hung on trumpet; and Kasey Knudsen on alto saxophone.
Buy the Depois CD from store.cdbaby.com or the digital download version.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
