GUITAR CHORO

part four

 A select List of Recordings

by

Jørgen Larsen

 The “Tributo a Garoto” CD (FUNARTE, ATR 32081, released 1998 in Brasil and still available) is a result of a project initiated by Radamés Gnattali, who took the initiative to recreate and record some of Garoto’s own compositions besides Gnattali’s own “Concertino para violão” in a duo setting together with guitarist Rafael Rabello. You’ll hear five of Garoto’s compositions on the CD (- three of them in the choro genre) performed by Gnattali on a concert grand piano accompanying Rabello taking Garoto’s part on a 7 string acoustic guitar. The music is definitely worth listening, but the balance of the recording is not the best, as Rabello’s guitar sounds a bit muffled and is almost ‘drowned’ by the sound of Gnattali’s piano once in a while.

Jørgen Larsen

If perfect sound and balance is requested, however,, you’ll be rewarded when listening to the shown CD by Paulo Bellinati. This CD is a result of Bellinati’s devotion to Garoto’s music, he devoted 8 years of research and rewriting of Garoto’s compositions for guitar before recording this excellent CD of solo guitar. Bellinati is a highly skilled and classical trained Brasilian guitarist, here recreating all of Garoto’s own guitar works in a convincing and most enjoyable way. The CD is issued 1991 by GSP Recordings of California (GSP 1002) and is still available. Furthermore, the written scores of Garoto’s compositions by Bellinati are also available from GSP.

Jørgen Larsen

Now leaving Garoto behind, some hardcore choro-fan still with us might burst out with a long held ‘at last’, claming that more of the compositions by Garoto do not fit into the general concept of the choro style held by the true admirer and connoisseur of the choro, so why waiste more time and attention on this ‘kid’? The answer to that question should be the simple one that Garoto’s own music reflects the development of the choro into ‘new’ areas besides summing up a life’s experience with and knowledge of the different and changing music trends of Brasil and the demands these would lay upon ever active musicians and creative minds that actually were an indispensable part of the success of these different trends. So much said as an argument for not neglecting Garoto’s compositions outside the mainstream conception of choro I should like to take the opportunity to point the still sceptical reader to a recently published work of significance documenting the story of choro on solid research, shown below.

This book by Tamara Elena Livingston-Isenhour and co-writer Thomas George Caracas Garcia, “Choro, A Social History of a Brazilian Popular Music” (Indiana University Press, iss. 2005) is worth a study, definitely. The book is available at Indiana University Press and may be ordered online

Jørgen Larsen

Links:  Paulo Bellinato | Guitar's Gentle Giant 

Guitar Choro part one | part two | part three | part four | part five | part six