History

Samba developed as a distinctive kind of music at the beginning of the 20th century in Rio de Janeiro (then the capital of Brazil) under the strong influence of immigrant black people from the Brazilian state of Bahia. The title "samba school" ("escola de samba") originates from samba's formative years. The term was adopted by larger groups of samba performers in an attempt to lend acceptance of samba and its performance; local campuses were often the practice/performance grounds for these musicians and "escola" gave early performers a sense of legitimacy and organization to offset samba's somewhat controversial social atmosphere. Despite some similarities, it is not an offshoot of jazz and has distinctively different origins and line of development.

"Pelo Telefone" (1917), by Donga and Mauro Almeida, is generally considered the first samba recording. Its great success carried the new genre outside the black ghettos. Who created the music is uncertain, but it was most probably the work of the group around Tia Ciata, among them Pixinguinha and João da Bahiana.

In the 1930s, a group of musicians led by Ismael Silva founded the first Samba School, Deixa Falar, in the neighborhood of Estácio de Sá. They transformed the musical genre to make it fit better the carnival parade. In this decade, the radio spread the genre's popularity all around the country, and with the support of the nationalist dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas, samba became Brazil's "official music".

In the following years, samba has developed in several directions, from the gentle samba-canção to the drum orchestras which make the soundtrack of carnival parade. One of these new styles was the bossa nova, made by middle class white people. It got increasingly popular over time, with the works of João Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

In the sixties, Brazil was politically divided, and the leftist musicians of bossa nova started to gather attention to the music made in the favelas. Many popular artists were discovered at this time. Names like Cartola, Nelson Cavaquinho, Velha Guarda da Portela, Zé Keti, and Clementina de Jesus recorded their first albums.

In the seventies, samba got back to radios air waves. Composers and singers like Martinho da Vila, Clara Nunes and Beth Carvalho dominated the hit parade.

In the early 1980s, after having been sent to the background due to styles like disco and Brazilian rock, Samba reappeared in the media with a musical movement created in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. It was the pagode, a renewed samba, with new instruments, like the banjo and the tantan, and a new language, more popular, filled with slangs. The most popular names were Zeca Pagodinho, Almir Guineto, Grupo Fundo de Quintal, Jorge Aragão, and Jovelina Pérola Negra.

Samba is extremely popular in Japan, specially in its more tradicional forms; so much that some sambistas like Nelson Sargento, Monarco and Wilson Moreira have recorded specifically for the japanese market, and spent a lot of time on tours to that country.

Nowadays, samba is still one of the most popular musical genres in Brazil.

Subgenres

Common Samba

Samba is characterized by a rhythm section containing the main beat, usually surdo or tantan, the `heart of the samba', and its most important nucleus is usually regarded as cavaquinho, or cavaco, and pandeiro. The cavaquinho is the connection between the harmony section and the rhythm section, and is often regarded as one of the most percussive harmonic instruments existent; its presence commonly differentiates real samba from softer variations such as Bossa Nova (although some samba recordings do not use the cavaquinho, including many by Chico Buarque). The pandeiro is the most present percussive instrument, the one whose beat is the most complete. A violão is always present, and the samba way of playing violão popularized the 7-string violão, because of the highly sophisticated counterpoint lines used in the genre in the lower pitch strings. Lyrics talk about mostly anything, from love songs through football to politics, since samba is the Brazilian national rhythm. This subgenre supersets all others.

Famous artists: Beth Carvalho, Paulinho da Viola, Zeca Pagodinho, Wilson Moreira, Teresa Cristina & Grupo Semente

Partido alto

This phrase is used to name a type of samba which is characterized by a highly percussive pandeiro beat, with use of the palm of the hand in the center of the instrument for snaps. Partido alto harmony is always in a Major key. Usually played by a set of percussion instruments (surdo, pandeiro, tamborim) and accompanied by cavaquinho and/or violão, partido alto is commonly divided in two parts, a chorus and the verses. Partideiros often improvise on the verses, with disputes being common, and highly skilled improvisors have made their fame and career on samba, as Zeca Pagodinho, who is not only a great overall sambista but one of the best improvisors.

Famous artists: Candeia, Jovelina Pérola Negra, Grupo Fundo de Quintal, Zeca Pagodinho, Leci Brandão, Bezerra da Silva

Pagode

This is the most widespread form of samba in Brazil. It started as a movement in the 1980's where three new instruments were introduced with Grupo Fundo de Quintal and others at Cacique de Ramos: the tantan - a more dynamic surdo; the banjo - equivalent to a cavaquinho, but with the sound of a banjo guitar; and the repique de mão - used for percussive turnarounds. Usually sung by one singer and accompanied by cavaco, violão and at least one pandeiro, pagode is sung at most parties and informal meetings, being quite universally found at open-air bars and cafés. Lyrics are playful, usually around love engagement or some funny stunt.

Famous artists: Grupo Fundo de Quintal, Leci Brandão, Jorge Aragão, Almir Guineto, Zeca Pagodinho, Revelação

Neo Pagode

This is a newer manifestation of pagode, often frowned upon by the most serious sambistas, and considered to have started gaining force in São Paulo. It has strong use of what many consider apelative love lyrics, and the way of singing changed to a more delicate, sensually appealing tone, although artists who perform these songs sometimes sing some more traditional sambas in between too. It became very popular among lower classes and somewhat popular among the urban middle classes in Brazil.

Famous artists: Alexandre Pires, Raça Negra, Molejo, Só Pra Contrariar, Karametade, Kiloucura

Samba de breque

A now defunct type of samba that had as a distinctive feature being interpolated with spoken parts, often dialogues. Singers had to have an excellent vocal gift, as well as ability to make different voices. Lyrics usually told stories and were funny. Breque does not mean "to break": it was the old Brazilian slang for "brake" because the songs featured many "stops".

Famous artists: Moreira da Silva

Samba-canção

Radio-friendly romantic and slower variation of the rhythm, samba-canção was mostly the Brazilian counterpart to popular Latin American rhythms like Tango or Bolero, both very popular in Brazil until the 1960s. Themes ranged from lyrical to tragical.

Famous artists: Ângela Maria, Nélson Gonçalves, Cauby Peixoto, Agnaldo Rayol.

Samba-enredo

A samba-enredo is a song performed by a samba school in Rio de Janeiro during its yearly Carnival parade. The term also refers to particular style of samba music typical of such songs. Samba-enredo is well known internationally due to Rio de Janeiro's longstanding status as a major tourist destination during Carnival and to the fact that many percussion groups have formed around the world inspired by this type of samba.

Sambas-enredo are recorded and played on the radio during the period leading up to Carnival. They are generally performed by male vocalists accompanied by cavaquinho and a large bateria (percussion group) producing a dense, complex texture known as batucada. They heavily emphasize the second count of the measure driven by the bass notes of the surdo drums.

Rio de Janeiro's baterias have provided inspiration for the formation of percussion groups around the world, especially in Western countries. These groups generally do not use vocals or cavaquinho, focusing instead on percussion grooves and numerous breaks. These groups operate year round, unlike in Brazil where activity is now confined to the months preceding Carnaval.

Samba-enredo used to be played year round, though often as an exercise on virtuosity.

Famous artists: Neguinho da Beija Flor, Jamelão, Martinho da Vila.

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