Brazilian music has always been characterized by
great diversity and shaped by musical influences from Africa and Portugal
and is still developing new and original forms.
Axe- Music (pronounce: AH-SH-EH) e.g. means "Good
Luck". A contemporary and relatively new Afro-Bahian pop style
influenced by samba, rock, reggae and others. It is a non-stop dancing
music on the carnivals throughout the country. Some of the well-known
performers are: Carlinhos Brown, Banda Olodum and Ivete Sangalo.
Choro is an improvisational instrumental style from the late
19th century. At the beginning Choro was closely connected with the
development of samba, and is typically played by a small ensemble. Early
stars of the genre include flautist Pixinguinha and the mandolin player
Jacob do Bandolim. Chorinho represents to Brazilian black people what
blues represents to American black people.
Bossa Nova - Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music created
by Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto and first introduced
in 1958 by the recording of "Chega de Saudade". Its most popular
song is 'The Girl from Ipanema'. Bossa Nova was strongly influenced
by North American jazz, but its' grounded - no doubt about it - in Samba.
MPB - Música Popular Brasileira (Brazilian Popular Music)
is a post-Bossa Nova popular music from big cities like Rio de Janeiro
and Belo Horizonte. It combines original songwriting and updated versions
of music styles like samba and samba-canção, from folk
to rock and pop. Signifying much more than the sum of the three words
would indicate, "MPB" brought to the Brazilian society in
the 60s criticism of social injustice and governmental repression, progressive
opposition to the political scene characterized by military dictatorship
and the concentration of land ownership. Few of the well known composers,
like Chico Buarque, Caetano and Gilberto Gil, had to leave the country
for many years. "Transforming from a left-wing musical movement,
MPB became the core of Brazil's urban middle-class music, and the term
still indicates a certain aesthetic quality in modern Brazilian music."
(Wikipedia) Other popular names from MPB: Milton Nascimento, Adriana
Calcanhoto, Marisa Monte, Djavan, Luis Gonzaga, Joao Bosco.
Samba - Created by former slaves and free black people, Samba
had its high time in Rio de Janeiro in the 1930s. Until today it is
like an icon of Brazil worldwide. Its most famous exponent was probably
Carmen Miranda, internationally known for diffusing Brazilian music
abroad. Some of the well-known performers are: Paulinho da Viola, Alcione,
Zeca Pagodinho e Martinho da Vila. Nowadays there is a well know form
of Samba, that atracts lots of people to bars on weekends: Pagode.
This relatively new music style is harmonicaly easier than Samba
and its texts are normaly short, romantic or sensual, and people learn
them by heart quickly. This makes it even more popular than Samba or
other styles.
Popular regional music includes the forró ( "for
all"), frevo , both from the Northeast , Música Sertaneja
from the Centralwest the and state of São Paulo.
Tropicalismo - Tropicalismo is a mix of musical influences that
arrived in Brazil in the 1960s and led to a more blended style of international
and national rythms. Some of the well-known performers are: Caetano
Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Tom Zé.
Axe - Music (pronounce: AH-SH-EH) e.g. means "Good
Luck". A contemporary and relatively new Afro-Bahian pop style
influenced by samba, rock, reggae and others. It is a non-stop dancing
music on the carnivals throughout the country. Some of the well-known
performers are: Carlinhos Brown, Banda Olodum and Ivete Sangalo.
