Various Artists - Batucada Capoeira

Various Artists - Batucada Capoeira
Label - Soul Jazz
Recorded - 1969-1978
Style - Brazilian, Jazz, Funk, Batucada, Capoeira, Samba, Lee Library

Tracklist:
1. Luciano Peronne - Samba Quente (1:43)
2. Welcome To Rio - Ensaio De Escola (2:13)
3. Bateria Fantastico De Potela - Demonstracao De Som E Andiamento (6:15)
4. Mestre Bimba - Sao Bente Grande (2:17)
5. Mestre Geraldo & Sua Bateria - Mistura #2 (7:20)
6. Mestre Suassuna E Direceu - A Morte Do Capoeira (3:47)
7. G.R.E.S. Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel - Apresentacao (3:28)
8. Luciano Perrone - Berimbau & Capeoira (3:16)
9. Welcome To Rio - Ritmo De Brasil (2:26)
10. Mestre Suassuna E Direceu - Cavalaria (2:37)
11. Bateria Fantastica Da Portela - Demonstracao De Grupos (4:13)
12. Mestre Bimba - Santa Maria (1:51)
13. Luciano Perrone - Samba Vocalizado (2:27)
14. Mestre Nago - Hora De Renzar (2:24)
15. G.R.E.S. Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel - Repiquereza Forte (2:54)

(from AMG)
When looking for a collection of authentic Brazilian music, it is difficult not to end up buying an album of '60s exotica claiming to be pure Brazilian, or a new age guide to samba that sounds as authentic as "Blame It on the Bossa Nova." Soul Jazz remedies this problem by collecting acoustic tracks on Batucada Capoeira that sound like they were recorded in the center of the carnival. The intensity of live drumming and layered percussion are captured on the early recordings that span from 1969 to 1978. Nothing is diminished by the age of the recordings. The age of the recordings make them easy to compare to musical styles that came much later. Samba is essential dance music and foreshadows house music and other kinds of techno. The same breaks in drumming and build-ups that are used in samba are used in modern dance music to facilitate the dancers. Through the comparison of these early Brazilian dance tracks, it makes apparent the influence of dancers on the music. What truly separates Batucada Capoeira from modern dance music is that it is acoustic and the fact that it sounds so spontaneous. All of the tracks sound more like they occurred rather than were arranged. This adds to the album's feeling of authenticity. All tracks use traditional Brazilian folk instruments and manage to make music that outplays any programmed and supposedly crafted percussion-based music. Numerous comparisons of each track with its electronic counterpart could be made, but somehow it would seem to take away from the purity of these recordings. Of all the recordings on the excellent Batucada Capoeira collection, Mestre Suassuna e Dirceu's "A Morte do Capoeira" is paramount and deserves even wider recognition than this collection can offer. Soul Jazz has created a collection of recordings that does justice to a style of music that is so often ill-represented in an album format.

- Matt Whalley, All Music Guide

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