I want to jump into something totally alien to me. Can anyone recommend any Samba music with cool basslines. Are there any Samba classics?

Thanks in advance.

I guess I'm not the only one this music is alien to. :) One bump - and then it's on to Salsa.

"Mas Que Nada" is probably the most well-known Samba 'classic'! Written by Jorge Ben and made famous by the Tamba Trio.

Actually there is a sense in which this might be seen as a "trick question"...:p

So - strictly-speaking "Samba" is the music which accompanies the Carnaval and is for percussion and voices only - certainly no bass guitar!

The bass would be played by the Surdo - the Brazilian bass drum, which can be played by several people strung round the neck/shoulders and is the heart of the Samba percussion section!

So the idea is that everybody is marchng along with the Carnaval Procession and the Surdo gives the pulse of the music - outlining a 2 bar pattern of long and short beats in 2/4 time.

Of course that's how it started and is the basis of Samba - but since then a lot of Brazilian and other musicians have created fusions of the Samba percussion and other instruments - including some pretty funky basslines!!

The thing is that most true Brazilian Samba is pretty hard to find in recordings outside of Brazil. So unless you have Brazilian friends, you are left with commercial compilations that just skate over the surface and often - even if it says Samba - it isn't!

Buy Marisa Monte's Universo ao Meu Redor, her take on Samba. Also Marcus Valle, more samba jazz.

But the key my friend is the clave'

1-2-3 1-2, and 1-2 1-2-3. over two bars. Internalize that till it hurts.

That beat is the key. There are some great books on this.

i like Spain by chic, try it!

cool

i like Spain by chic, try it!

cool

Great tune - but is it Samba ...hmm?

So it is a fusion of Jazz and Spanish influences - like Rodrigo's music which Chick quotes in the intro.

It starts in Spanish mood and when the rhythm section come in - it is far more complex than any Samba would be!

It settles down briefly into a typical Samba bassline by Stanley Clarke - but it is much busier and less funky - with all sorts of Jazz and Spanish chords.

There is a Samba feel in the blowing - but it's definitely a Jazz-tinged Samba and much busier than anybody could dance to!! :p

More Jazz than Samba IMO! ;)

i mean, al jareu on vocals! it's a samba jazz feel!

Are you looking for Samba specifically or Samba based (like bossa nova)? I second Mas Que Nada. Also Cravo e Canela by Milton Nascimento is another classic.

I recommend the album, Elis Regina Live at Montreux. Excellent bass playing on that. I recall there being some clips on youtube a while back. I don't know if they're still there.

There are also classic songs like Canto de Ossanha, Samba do Aviao, and Aguas de Marco although those tend to fall into the Bossa Nova category.

it's a samba jazz feel!

I think there is a big danger if you are new to all this and are looking for something that is "Samba", to then listen to something which is a fusion of Jazz ,Samba and other things!

So - how do you know which parts are typical of Samba and which are the Jazz or Spanish parts etc....:hmm:

Of all contemporary brazilian artists, Chico Buarque is the one who's written the most Sambas. He's considered the link between the old school and modern brazilian music. Some of his best are:

Vai Passar
Meu Caro Amigo
Cotidiano
Samba de Orly

Buarque is part of the same generation that followed the Bossa nova generation, who called their songs "samba" even if they really weren't, such as the "one note samba".

Then you have the "street" samba, which is associated with the poorer segments of the population. Usually, this kind of samba features percussion instruments primarily, along with the cavaquinho a small four string guitar. The surdo, or bass drum is the primary bass instrument. Their themes are also usually connected with the life of the street smart hoodlum, although that's very common regardless of social class.

A couple of good representatives of this style are;

Bezerra da Silva
Martinho da Vila