In 1989, I bought a fascinating compilation of forro music from Brazil, Music For Maids And Taxi Drivers (Rounder Records, USA/Globestyle, UK). The music on it bubbled with an infectious dance beat that was created by sanfona (accordion), zabuma (big bass drum) and metal triangle.
Forro music comes from the dusty, dry northeastern region of Brazil and the genre encompasses three main rhythms, the classic syncopated Baiao, the polka inspired Xote and the fast-paced Arrasta-pe. I was instantly hooked to this catchy, irresistible music. For the classic era of this music, check out the music of Luiz Gonzaga.
In recent years, an electronic variant of forro has emerged -- pisadinha (sometimes called piseiro), which has become popular all over Brazil due to the success of musicians like Joao Gomes, Os Baroes da Pisadinha and Ze Vaqueiro.
I was introduced to Joao Gomes on a trip to Isan to hear some molam music by a Brazilian academic who is making a comparative study of the northeastern regions of Brazil and Thailand.
Gomes, still only 23 years old, is immensely popular in Brazil. He made his breakthrough with his first album in 2021, Eu Tenho A Senha, which featured a nationally popular song, Meu Pedaco De Pecado. The album reached number 40 on the Billboard Global 200 Chart in the same year.
His next album, Digo Ou Nao Digo, in 2022 really underlined his breakout from the northeast and established his national popularity. Also worth checking out is his 2023 album, De Norte A Sul. His latest record, Meu Piseiro Brasileiro was released this year.
As a fan of other accordion-style music found in the Americas -- zydeco from South Louisiana and vallenato from the Caribbean coast of Colombia -- I really like Gomes' music. On some songs he uses two accordions, one as a bass sound, the other counterpointing the melody. With the complex rhythms of the region and the accordions driving the music, and Gomes telling his stories, the music is about having a great time. Highly recommended.
Perhaps an enlightened producer or festival organiser will bring Gomes and his friends to perform in Thailand. A collaboration between the two northeastern regions -- molam from Isan and forro/piseiro from Nordestino Brazil -- would sound wonderful.
Peruvian chicha legends Los Mirlos have released an adventurous new album, The World Meets Los Mirlos, that features collaborators like Bomba Estereo, Los Bunkers and 311. They are still grooving with their distinctive guitar and Farafisa organ sound but this time, they have blended it with electronic and tropical pop sounds. Look out for 311's Amber and Eres Mentiroso with Bomba Estereo. Very groovy.
The klong yao (long drum) band Khun Narin Electric Phin Band have a new album out on the Innovate Leisure label. The band toured the US in 2024 and have not released an album since their second studio recording in 2014. To be reviewed in a future column.
Fans will know that May 26 was the 100th anniversary of the birth of jazz pioneer Miles Davis. From bebop to hip-hop, Davis was always pushing musical boundaries; he changed his focus and style more times than a chameleon, creating new genres before moving on, always forward thinking.
This is a great opportunity to look back on an astounding career -- the two great revolutionaries of jazz music are trumpeter Louis Armstrong (liberating the soloist from the ensemble) and Miles Davis (jazz funk, jazz rock, hip-hop jazz etc) -- and marvel at how he used space in his music. There are many festivities planned, including dedicated websites, festivals and radio shows celebrating his music. A good place to start would be his bebop period with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, before luxuriating in the coolness of the best-selling jazz album of all times, Kind Of Blue.
Five years younger than Miles, saxophonist Sonny Rollins died this week aged 95. He was the last living member of the 57 jazz greats who featured in Art Kane's A Great Day In Harlem photo from Esquire magazine in 1958. He was known for his improvisational solos and his powerful sound.
Of the two great styles of jazz sax playing -- Coleman Hawkins' hard and passionate sound and Lester Young's more reflective, cool sound -- Rollins was very much in the Hawkins camp.
I saw Rollins perform at the Juan Les Pins jazz festival in the South of France in 1978, and I can still vividly remember the awesome sound he created.
One jazz great is still very active in his senior years: Ethiopian multi-instrumentalist (piano, vibraphone, congas and many other percussion instruments) Mulatu Astatke, who is sometimes called the "godfather of Ethio-jazz", which he built around Ethiopian raditional music, jazz, funk and Latin rhythms.
His new album on Strut Records, Mulatu Plays Mulatu, features both his London-based and his Ethiopian bands reinterpreting some of his early great songs and tunes. Highly recommended.
John Clewley can be contacted at clewley.john@gmail.com.
