Tribute to Roberto Ribeiro

(Roberto Ribeiro 1940-1996)


(Musicians from left to right: Peterson, Felipe Pipa, André Orelha [percussion], Fofão [cavaco], João Paulo [7-string], Dudu [flute], Alex Ribeiro and backing vocalist [name?])

Last Friday night I was fortunate to be invited to photograph a special tribute to one of my favorite singers, Roberto Ribeiro. You can hear a beautiful song by him in a previous post here and also below. The event was led by the late singer's son Alex Ribeiro.


(Monarco / Alex Ribeiro)

The highlight of the evening was none other than Monarco from the Velha Guarda da Portela. You can read up a bit about them and hear some music in a previous post here. In true Velha Guarda fashion, Monarco never makes a public appearance without representing his beloved Portela colors of blue and white. The traditional straw hat with blue trim is also representative of his status as part of the "Old Guard." I also posted a song from Monarco's debut album from 1976 in another post here.


(Monarco)

Also among the invited guests was the legendary drummer and composer Wilson das Neves. For those of you who enjoy and collect samba and bossa recordings from the 1960s-80s, you might (or might not) be surprised to find that Wilson was the most in-demand session drummer (and still is) who has recorded on almost every samba album for the last 40 years. Check for yourself. I am still amazed at how many recordings he appears on. Unfortunately he did not perform on drum set but only sang.


(Wilson das Neves)

In the band were several of my friends who regularly play at various sambas around town. It is always fun to see these guys getting great gigs with such legends.


(Monarco and the crew)

My man Orelha do Pandeiro is as big as a linebacker and could surely destroy a pandeiro with his brute strength! Kidding, of course... He is as gentle as a teddy bear and a talented percussionist.


(Orelha do Pandeiro / Fofão da Serrinha)

Pipa (gotta love these nicknames) is quite the character and a versatile percussionist as well. He was surely in good spirits for this photo!


(Pipa)

The singer Fátima Candeias also appeared in a side tribute to the late singer Clara Nunes (1942-1983), who died tragically young. Ribeiro and Nunes were very good friends and frequently appeared together in shows and on each other's albums.


(Fátima Candeias)

Clara Nunes debuted her incredibly successful recording career in 1965 in the post-bossa era and later, once she adopted a more traditional Afro-Brazilian style, became one of Brazil's most beloved voices in samba. The resemblance (not to mention her choice of dress) was a bit eerie in my opinion.


(Clara Nunes)

I would like to share some music from the BetoVault (I just came up with that!). First up is Wilson das Neves on drums with a ridiculous rhythm section, as you can see on the album cover.




"Berimbau" (Baden Powell/Vinícius de Moraes) by Wilson das Neves e Conjunto
from the album O som quente é o das Neves (1976)

Next is one of my favorite (I have so many!) compositions by the oft-cited Nei Lopes and Wilson Moreira. See the last post on this legendary sambista. Are you starting to notice the numerous connections between musicians, composers and interpreters in the samba world? Have you been keeping up?


"Coisa da Antiga" (Wilson Moreira/Nei Lopes) by Clara Nunes
from the album As Forças da Natureza (1977)

I would also like to share a recording with Clara and Roberto together. Their voices are both amazing and together they're incredible.


"Artifício" (Paulo Cesar Pinheiro/Mauro Duarte) by Clara Nunes with Roberto Ribeiro
from the album Brasil Mestiço (1980)

Finally, I would like to share one of Monarco's most famous compositions interpreted by Roberto Ribeiro. Again, see the connections? It's like samba in Rio is one big happy family, no? I especially like this song because of the way it illustrates how cariocas live to get together to play samba, eat and drink.


"O quitandeiro" (Paulo da Portela/Monarco) by Roberto Ribeiro
from the album Arrasta Povo (1976)

Wow... big post. Enjoy!

*Since the lighting at the show was not particularly good, I played around with different color variations of the photos. I hope the inconsistency is not too distracting. Please let me know with a comment!