More Magic from Brazil

[maugein96]

Ive liked Brazilian accordion for quite a while but never made much inroads into playing the music.

Discovered this guy a while ago. Hes a superb player, but every time I tried to find a clip of his music to post on the forum the sound quality was pretty rough.

Then I found this one and decided it was worth posting, even if he wasnt wearing his best clothes and hadnt tidied up his music room.


Track is called Perigoso (Dangerous)

Dont ask me what specific genre it is. All I know is its Brazilian and I like the music.

 

[Dingo40]

Thanks john<EMOJI seq="1f642">?</EMOJI><EMOJI seq="1f44d">?</EMOJI>
What’s that with his bass board? Looks a little unusual<EMOJI seq="1f642">?</EMOJI>!

 

[maugein96]

Hi Dingo,

Not entirely sure but looks like Giulietti version of bass couplers (probably with repeats). The treble couplers on that box are a bit unusual as well.

He plays a cracking version of Noites Cariocas, one of the very few Brazilian tunes I've managed to learn (almost) but all you see is his right hand.

Brazil is full of older Italian boxes, with various unusual features. Wouldn't know how old that one is. I learned some Brazilian stuff on guitar years ago and got a feel for it, but it isn't easy. You'd really need to go and get into the vibe with local players otherwise, as a lot of us can sound a bit wooden when we try that type of music on any instrument.

I was posting a fair bit of South American music for a while, but there is no board to cater for it. There were several South American members around at that time, who were kind enough to explain the different styles to us. I asked for a board devoted to it so that we could all get to know the music a bit better, but it would appear that it's not going to happen. I don't think there were enough people interested to justify a dedicated board, and some of the South American members haven't been active for a while. I sort of lost heart, but IMHO the music and quality of the playing is just too good to leave in limbo.

Perhaps South American music is not well enough known to be appreciated by most of us who are defined as "English speakers", but I just don't know. I'm well past the stage where I feel the need to try and play every style I hear, and just tend to listen to most of it these days. I know that I'd never be good enough to polish the guy in the clip's accordion straps, so I just appreciate what he does.

Glad you liked it.

 

[mlineguy]

Nice music! Very relaxing! Unusual bass side ?

Of course people enjoy the South American accordion styles, Tango was a hit in Europe!

 

[losthobos]

Superb...and nice he'd managed to keep that awful backing track low enough not to diminish or crowd the rich warm and round drone that Guiletti sings with...
I think the bass layout is normal stradella and the rows above are free bass notes... Laid out same as top section of a French 3x3,system... We're popular for a while... Think Simon King on here had one for a while...

 

[maugein96]

Yes, tango was embraced by many accordionists worldwide, and several European countries even developed their own versions of it.

We've had bossa, lambada, samba, and various other styles all breaking through with international hits, although we're maybe going back quite a while.

I just tend to post stuff from anywhere in the world on the off chance that people will appreciate the variety. By the time I started taking an interest in playing the accordion I had already decided that I never really cared much for most of the music that is standard fare here in the UK, accordion or otherwise, and consequently have always tended to look elsewhere for inspiration. I was kind of hoping we'd have Martian accordion music by now, as I'm running out of ideas with the World stuff!

Glad you liked it.

Terry,

Still not sure what that bass side is, but somebody might know. Any time I think I've found something unusual in a box somebody usually tells me that it was very common in instruments exported to Greenland and the Faeroe Islands for short sighted long distance lorry drivers, or something like that, and I am as bad as the next person for quoting mountains of trivia at times, as you'll know.

I agree with you about backing tracks, although they seem to be used very often by Brazilian players when playing solo on You Tube, and IMHO do tend to enhance the overall atmosphere, provided they aren't overdone.

Incidentally, "You Tube" was a former term of endearment in the Glasgow area, which translated as "You idiot!" so there is yet more trivia for you. The term probably fell out of favour about 20 years ago, same as I did.

 

[nagant27]

I believe that is a regular stradella bass layout, and the first row are simply the bass couplers, they look slightly larger. Very nice sounding accordion for sure.

 

[JIM D.]

Tastefully done on what looks like a well taken care of an early Serenellini made Giulletti accordion.
His bellows control is flawless - try listening to the video without watching it.

 

[Dingo40]

How about this for making the most of what you’ve got???

 

[maugein96]

How about this for making the most of what you’ve got???

Dingo,

I love most South American music, and thanks very much for posting the clip. Your observation about making the most of what hes got is interesting. 

I dont know enough about Brazilian music to know whether playing that type of music on a 2 row melodeon is unusual or not, but I have seen other players on You Tube doing the same. 

Most Brazilian accordionists tend to opt for the huge Italian instruments of the 40s and 50s with the built in coffee makers and bread ovens, but Luizinho proves you dont need to lift a box the size of a garage onto your chest to get great sounds. 

In the days when all the macho French players would only play standing, Joss Baselli found the Cavagnolo Vedette 10 was too heavy for carrying around while playing. He went to Cavagnolo, got them to throw away one of the tone chambers and the piccolo reeds, and ended up with the Vedette 5, which became his trade mark for a while. I have one and its still pretty heavy, with no fewer than 58 treble notes crammed in. He was later involved in the development of Cavagnolo electronic and digital accordions, presumably in another effort to get the accordion weight down.Tragically he died whilst standing playing an accordion on stage at the all too young age of 55. Most French players who use instruments of that size and weight play them seated these days, with the left knee taking most of the weight of the box. I would play lying down if I could get away with it! 

Never saw Joss Baselli play jazz on an oito baixe though, but Luizinho could probably have shown him how!

 

[Dingo40]

Dingo,

I love most South American music, and thanks very much for posting the clip. Your observation about making the most of what he's got is interesting. 

Thanks John!