Thursday, August 17, 2006

Robertinho do Recife - Robertinho no Passo (1978) with Hermeto Pascoal

What an interesting LP! Robertinho do Recife and Hermeto Pascoal, Robertinho no Passo (1978). Two different artists together making a wonderful LP making an tribute to Frevo, which is a musical style originally from Recife (a Northeast Brazilian state) with an unique dancing played on fast tempo with tuba, trombone, trumpets and sax.

Robertinho do Recife is an authentic Brazilian guitar hero that has - as AMG says bellow - an adventurous career, playing several different genres with his one of a king guitar playing syle.

A great team was assembled to this set, which had Hermeto Pascoal as arranger and composer of most tracks on this LP. Personnel and track list follows with AMG Robertinho do Recife bio, as well.

Personnel

Hermeto Pascoal
Piano Fender 88, Poly Moog, Oberheim, Sax Soprano
Herman Torres
Bass, Badstone, Mutron II
Israel Semente
Bateria, Caixa, Tímpanos
Pelé
Pandeiro
Itiberê Zwarg
Bass (tracks 1 and 8)
Sergio Boré
Percussão
Robertinho de Recife
Guitarras, Ecoplex, Mutron III, Octavider, Talk Box, Big Muff, Mutron II


Tracks

01 - Robertinho no Passo (Hermeto Pascoal)
02 - Nem um talvez (Hermeto Pascoal)
03 - Vassourinha (Mathias da Rocha - Joana Batista Rocha) and Fogão (Sergio Lisboa)
04 - Caboclinho (Hermeto Pascoal)
05 - Frevo dos palhaços (Robertinho de Recife)
06 - Arrecife (Robertinho de Recife)
07 - Come e dorme (Nelson Ferreira)
08 - Mundo novo (Hermeto Pascoal)
09 - Abel (Hermeto Pascoal)

The first guitarist from Recife PE to achieve national success, Robertinho do Recife had quite an adventurous career (having played with Watch Pocket) before settling down as a renowned and successful producer in his own studio in Rio de Janeiro, where he produced performers such as Elba Ramalho, Geraldo Azevedo, and Zé Ramalho. As a session musician he worked with different movements represented by performers such as Jerry Adriani, Cauby Peixoto, Jane Duboc, Os Fevers, Rosemary, Hermeto Pascoal, and Fagner, among many others. He recorded eight solo albums from 1977 to 1990. After having been run over at age ten, do Recife had his femur fractured and had to stay at home, where he saw the Beatles and the Rolling Stones on TV. Impressed by the music and especially by the guitars, he insisted that his father buy one. The first group he joined was Os Príncipes, and the first band he formed (at age 12) was Os Ermitões, while he also performed in the Éforos. At 15, he was hired as guitarist for a cruise ship traveling to Rio. From there he went to São Paulo, looking for his uncle who played at the Stardust, the nightclub of Lanny Gordin's father. After that season he returned to Recife, where he played in several bands that were into Tropicália, Os Mutantes, and the Beatles, like Bambinos and Os Moderatos, which had its own show at the local TV station, Jornal do Commércio. When he was playing in the LSE, Arto Lindsay and Carl Kolb were in the audience. After that, do Recife played in the Contribution. In the early '70s, when do Recife was 16, he was invited by Carl Kolb to join the country music band, Candy Show String, from Mississipi. Soon after that he joined Memphis' Watch Pocket, who had had the international hit "Mammy Blue." He stayed with the band for nearly two years, until his visa expired. In 1973 do Recife returned to Recife, and in the next year, became Fagner's musician, recording Raimundo Fagner (1976), soon followed by his own first solo album, Jardim de Infância (1977). Depressed by the death of his second son and determined to abandon music, do Recife refused an invitation to join Chicago after its Brazilian percussionist Laudir de Oliveira suggested his name. At Fagner's insistence, he participated in his Quem Viver Chorará (1978), on the track "Revelação." The song became a hit and he started to get invitations. Soon he had his own national hit with "O Elefante." After several commercial works like the pop band Yahoo, do Recife built his own studio in Rio de Janeiro RJ, where he produced all kinds of works, including his fellow citizens Elba Ramalho ("Flor da Paraíba") and friends Geraldo Azevedo and Zé Ramalho, keeping a low profile. ~ Alvaro Neder, All Music Guide