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Advantages: Some great recordings of rare tracks Disadvantages: Misses some of Romica's best works
From 1864 and the abolition of slavery, many homeless gypsies settled on the outskirts of southern towns of Romania, these areas were called "mahalas" and it was where the songs "cantece de mahala" (songs of the suburbs) originated. People met in the local cafe or "carciuma" and a group of local musicians the "taraf" which usually consisted of violinist, double bass player, cobza, accordian and tambal and vocalist would entertain everyone else. This ... ...in 1926 in Bucharest and started singing in cafes by the age of 14 but it wasn't until 1964 that she actually recorded an album, The Gore Brothers (famous Romanian musicians - Aurel and Victor) who also grew up in the same mahala and were in fact cousins to Puceanu helped her become famous by organising gigs for her.
She has a strange voice, sometimes incredibly high other times really low - quite similar to a black male blues artist. She was infact ...
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Anybody can recognize "The Girl From Ipanema", it's a classic. But where did it come from? Where did Bossa Nova spread its roots?
Pianist Tom Jobim is credited for the composition of most of the classic Bossa Nova standards, but is was Joćo Gilberto who took these standards, and interpreted on the guitar what we now identify as Bossa Nova. By harmonizing the chords on the guitar with the traditional Brazilian Samba rhythm, Gilberto evolved Jobims' ... ...virtuous, but what really captures me is his voice. He sings with a "blown" quality as if he is blowing air from his gut, which produces an intimate close-to-the-microphone sound. It's possible to hear his lips smacking dryly during the pronounciation of certain words, and he has an excellent vocal amplitude, using mostly low-pitched but well chosen notes.
This album is fun to compare to his other work, as over the years his performances have become ...
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