Rough Guide to Samba [Second Edition]

Liner Note Author: John Armstrong .
Translator: Irène Rognier.
Samba and Brazil. It's the perfect pairing, and the samba schools provide the soundtrack for Rio's annual carnival. But samba, as this excellent compilation shows, comes in so many different shades. There's the sweet, swinging gentility of Luisa Maita; the rock-samba of Mané Sagaz (a combination that works better than it might seem); the electronica of Loop B, who takes the music to places never originally imagined, making noise part of the fabric; and the rampant, proud traditionalism of Samba Chula de Sao Braz, who hark back to the early days of samba. And in between there's everything else, with a fair selection on display here. As a primer it's pretty much essential, with superb sleeve notes, putting the music, and the musicians, in context. ~ Chris Nickson