Revista do Samba is based in São Paulo and was formed in 1999. Since then, the trio, with Leticia Coura, Beto Bianchi and Vitor da Trindade, has been performing throughout Brazil and Europe.
The music arose out of research into repertoire, which extended into the origins of samba and an exploration of how sambas written in the 1920s and 1930s are still fresh in the minds of so many Brazilians and are still a part of the ‘repertoire’ of ordinary people, people who were never alive when samba was everywhere in Brazil.
Revista do Samba do samba returns to the time when samba was the main cultural expression of the Brazilian people and brings it up to the moment. The trio performs the songs of the greatest of the samba composers. The songs are part of the personal history of every Brazilian – familiar to everyone.
The musicians recorded the first album of the group, produced by Wolfang Loos, for the label Traumton of Berlin, released in September 2002. From their own repertoires, Coura, Bianchi and da Trindade have made a collection of beautiful old songs for this first CD. Some, incredibly, were never a national success – but are remembered generations later.
In performance, the trio plays with humor – with each other and with the audience. Samba is theatrical´. It depends on – and generates a buzz between the stage and the floor. The lyrics and the turns of the songs are often funny, as is felt by anyone listening, no matter of what nationality. The melodies are somehow light and immediate – yet distant and haunting.
With the lightest of modern sensibilities, Revista do Samba revive the feeling of what samba was like at its height, both live and on album.
Discography:
Revista do Samba (Traumton Records, 2004)
Outras Bossas (Traumton Records, 2005
Revista Bixiga Oficina do Samba (Tratore, 2006)
Hortensia du samba, with Tante Hortense (Les Disques Bien, 2017)
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.
