Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Lucho Gatica - Inolvidables con Lucho Gatica (1958) with Arturo Castro

Hello, Good Evening! You are probably thinking that your green friend went nuts today opening this rainy Wednesday with a bolero album featuring a Chilean singer. Perhaps I'm nuts, but not for making this album available. Although it does not bring elements of the music from Brazil, this is one of those albums - such like Julie is Her Name and many others - that had a tremendous influence on Brazilian artists that created Bossa Nova as the way we know today.

This post also homage Carlos Braga, a new and already legendary Loronixer. Carlos Braga is one of the most knowledgeable Brazilian music friends at Loronix. He is responsible for this post and Caetano Rodrigues also for providing this album. Carlos Braga is providing a once in a lifetime opportunity to us writing his musical memories and connecting Loronixers at Quadradinho. He is responsible for showing us the way to this album, obscure and perhaps widely unknown, but really influential. I'm gathering from Quadradinho Carlos Braga's words, in Portuguese. English translation is on the way. Carlos, the word is yours:

"Em todos os livros que li sobre a história da Bossa Nova jamais encontrei qualquer referência ao EXTRAORDINÁRIO violonista Chileno ARTURO CASTRO. Não consigo entender a omissão histórica porque a sua influência sobre os violonistas da BN é indiscutível - tanto quanto a do igualmente genial BARNEY KESSEL. É só perguntar pro Oscar Castro Neves, Carlos Lyra, Nana Caymmi e Leny Andrade....Eu acho até que o violão do Arturo estava muito mais próximo do violão brasileiro do que a guitarra do Barney, e digo porque: O violão acústico foi a marca registrada da Bossa Nova. O estilo do Arturo era muito próximo do violão do Garoto e do Laurindo de Almeida - confiram aqueles acordes abertos que a gente já encontrava na harmonia do histórico samba-canção DUAS CONTAS, mais tarde reproduzidos pelo JOÃO GILBERTO no antológico solo do choro UM ABRAÇO NO BONFÁ....?. Ouçam Frenesi, Duerme, Como fué, são os mesmos de uma série enorme de composíções."

This is Lucho Gatica - Inolvidables con Lucho Gatica (1958), for Odeon. Loronixers are now invited to make the bridge between Arturo Castro guitar and Bossa Nova through this anthological Lucho Gatica album featuring Arturo Castro (guitar), Victor Ruiz Pazos (bass) and a discrete and not credited percussionist. My special thanks to Carlos Braga, Caetano Rodrigues, Geraldo Picanco (my very good friend and Loronix official tracker of Quadradinho posts) and all Loronix community. Tracks include:

01 - Noite de Ronda
02 - Tu
03 - La Borrachita
04 - Nocturnal
05 - A La Orilla de un Palmar
06 - Por que Llorar
07 - Noche
08 - Frenesi
09 - Duerme
10 - Nunca
11 - Alma Mia
12 - Dejame Llorar
13 - Verdad Amarga
14 - Arrullo