The Second Case of Samba Surgery

Today we have another case in the operating theater... one more chance to deconstruct samba rhythms from Brazil.

Samba is famously a blend of African religious drumming traditions and the jazz craze of the early Twentieth Century. Today we will focus on the African roots of samba. The early part of the show is dedicated to traditional African religious music and dances in Brazil: candomble, cacuria, bambae de caixa. This is spare music for voice and percussion, occasionally accompanied by guitar or cavaquinho. After that primer, we will devote the balance of the first hour to a sampling of African flavored samba classics.

The second hour today examines the modern samba diaspora as the famous rhythm has mingled with mid-century popular music such as soul, funk, reggae, and rock. We will hear from a pair of noteworthy current acts: Brazilian pop siren Ceu, and Coladera; a trio of musicians hailing from Brazil, Cape Verde, and Portugal, respectively.