Product Review

Vinicius de Moraes was the principal lyricist of Bossa Nova, ('Girl from Ipanema', 'Chega de Saudade' and 'Insensatez' are amongst the famous international hit songs he wrote with Tom Jobim), and Os Afro-Sambas is his response to the commercialization of the movement in the mid '60s. Co-written with the brilliant Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell and eventually released in 1966, these eight songs combine Powell's melodic gifts with Bahian Folk traditions and Gregorian chant. With the joyous vocalizations of Quarteto Em Cy, the atmosphere is at once haunting and spontaneous. The music hasn't even begun to date. Recorded at a time when musicians around the world were looking to break down barriers - between Classical and Pop, East and West - but the Afro-Sambas appear to recognize no such barriers in the first place. El. 2008.