Samba Luzia!

(Moacyr/violão, Wandinho/repique de mão, Jorge Alexandre/tantam, Winter/ganzá)

This is one of the best sambas in town! Located right on the edge of Guanabara Bay under the stars, Samba Luzia is led by Moacyr Luz. See my post from a few weeks ago for a clip of an interview where Moa played a new song for me. I don't yet have live video of this event, but will soon! This event takes place on Fridays, so it is a great weekend starter for cariocas. The band is essentially the same group that plays the "Samba do Trabalhador" that draws about a thousand people on Monday afternoons/evenings every week on the other side of the city.


(Daniel Sete Cordas)

What makes this samba so good? First, the musicianship is top notch. Most of the group members are actually pretty young guys, mostly in their 20s. Even with such a large ensemble, the sound quality is amazing, due in large part to the sound tech! Also important to point out how the musicians play together without trampling on each other. Some groups, even with half of the number of musicians, sometimes can't maintain such quality in a roda.


(Jorge Alexandre/tantam)


(João Martins/cavaco)

Young João Martins, 22, has recently joined the group. He is a talented composer and is already having several of his songs recorded by local samba groups. Check out his blog for some insights and song lyrics.


(Nilson Visual/surdo)


(Serginho Pitoco/balde)

This unusual instrument is simply called a balde, or bucket. I've also heard it called xequebalde. The instrument and its name borrow from the xequerê (or shekere, gourd rattle with beaded netting used in Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian). The balde is basically a metal bucket with holes and loose rivets that act like an industrialized, hybrid version of a traditional xequerê! The instrument seems quite rudimentary (can ethnomusicologists use that word anymore?), but is amazing when played well. And this gentleman certainly makes this thing groove. I will post video of this soon. It's really a fascinating sound.


(Luiz Augusto/repique de anél/atabaque)

This is, of course, my favorite instrument of all time. Luiz Augusto is one of the best young players I have ever seen. At 24 he is by far one of the few people that I think can play this instrument with so much swing and groove, like the late and great Doutor. He also adds the sound of the Afro-Brazilian atabaque to the percussion section, which brings another layer of dynamics to the samba. Again, video to follow...


(Júnior de Oliveira/pandeiro [right] / guest ? musician/banjo [yellow shirt])


(Wandinho in the foreground, Abel/bandolim, João)



Here is a song recorded live at the Monday samba some years ago. Most of the group members are the same as above.


"Cabô, meu pai" (Moacyr Luz, Aldir Blanc, Luiz Carlos da Vila)
from the live album Samba do Trabalhador (2005)

*Note about photos: All photos were taken with a fixed 50mm lens! Hence, why I don't have any wide angle shots. People always ask. Also, none of the photos are cropped or altered, except for minor exposure adjustments in post-processing.