Dominguinhos

[maugein96]

Well, my last thread on this board started off in Brazil and ended up in Italy. Wonder where this one will go?

There seems to be little doubt that the playing style and compositions of Dominguinhos from Brazil had an influence on some French musette players, particularly Joss Baselli. Some of the runs and techniques in the first clip crept into Basellis own style, although Dominguinhos never composed the tune. 

 

The second clip sounds nothing like Baselli played, but Im posting it just because I like it. The modern day Brazilian accordion can be a bit heavy on technique and embellishments. 



Dont ask me to tell you what Brazilian genre they are. I think they are both Choro, but Im sure if they arent somebody will put me wise.

Starting to get a bit clever in this more modern effort, and I sometimes wonder whether Im listening to Dominguinhos or Baselli. Basellis box had pinned reeds and thats about the only difference at times.



When Baselli played Brazilian music he tended to use a Brazilian backing band and only took accordion solos, so there is no like for like comparison with Dominguinhos.

 

[Dingo40]

Thanks Maugein,
Great tracks, entertaining and educational!

 

[maugein96]

Thanks Maugein,
Great tracks, entertaining and educational!

Dingo,

Im just waiting for somebody to ask me to demonstrate precisely how the two players sound the same, and the truth is they are just very similar in places. Joss Baselli came back from working in the US, where he was known as Jo Basile, and his style had changed a fair bit. He taught accordion in Paris along with Andre Astier, and their recordings were pretty advanced for their time. Baselli had to change over from Belgian to Stradella bass so that he could teach in Paris. He was the son of an Italian family who settled in Douai, fairly near the Belgian border, and accordions with Belgian basses were relatively common in the general area. 

All of a sudden those Brazilian chords were there and the tone of his instrument had changed. It all happened way before I had any real interest in the accordion, but I was old enough to remember how he sounded before he went to the US. A lot of French musette up until about the 90s was peppered with Latin American music, and many players recorded full albums of nothing but Latin music. The usual delivery was a backing band with the accordion just playing solo. Some of it was a bit tongue in cheek, but it was popular nevertheless.  

Dominguinhos ([font=arial, sans-serif]José Domingos de Morais) [/font]died in 2013. In later years he was famous for wearing a big white Brazilian hat, the name of which I cant remember. I had never heard of him until I discovered You Tube, a name that brings a smile to my face. 

In the west of Scotland, where Im originally from, a tube is/was a derogatory name for a person, akin to the word idiot. 

Every time I go on there Im reminded of what I actually am, and Im on it most days. What a tube!

 

[Dingo40]

Maugein,
All good!

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the info as usual John.

While I can't say I know anything of the relationship between Dominguinhos and Basile, I can say that I like the music and that in Brazilian Portuguese  the hat is called a "cangaceiro," named after the hat worn by the "Cangaceiros," rural dwellers of northeast Brazil back in the day.  The style is associated with forró music as it was popularized by Luis Gonzaga, the Bill Monroe of forró.   Gonzaga (left) was known as the "King of Baiao," the music that sparked forró.   

 

[maugein96]

Thanks for the info as usual John.

While I cant say I know anything of the relationship between Dominguinhos and Basile, I can say that I like the music and that in Brazilian Portuguese  the hat is called a cangaceiro, named after the hat worn by the Cangaceiros, rural dwellers of northeast Brazil back in the day.  The style is associated with forró music as it was popularized by Luis Gonzaga, the Bill Monroe of forró.   Gonzaga (left) was known as the King of Baiao, the music that sparked forró.   

Thanks Tom,

It was bugging me that I never knew what the hat was called. I had to look up Bill Monroe, and discovered he was the creator of bluegrass. 

There are so many Brazilian styles that all seem to cross over that it is extremely difficult to work out the less obvious genres. Id heard of some of them, but could never have told you which was which. When you live on a small tropical island paradise like the UK it is difficult to imagine the sheer size of countries like Brazil, and the wealth of different musical influences that are present there. 

Most of the music is alien to Europeans and few can be bothered to listen to it, let alone attempt to play it. The chord progressions are often very complicated and jazz like, and you sometimes wonder how they manage to get it all to work on an accordion. 

I have no idea whether Baselli actually met up with any Brazilian accordionists, but he made a lot of recordings in France, including one entire album on a Brazilian theme. The title Bossa appears to be misleading, as some Brazilian comments below the You Tube clip suggest that at least some of the tracks were jazz samba Sound track isnt great, but it was certainly a big departure from the norm in France. Remember youd find this album under French musette in European music stores:- 



This one is from 1963, and Baselli played as part of a 4 piece band with three Brazilian musicians on piano, double bass, and percussion. Perhaps not the best Brazilian accordion youll ever have heard, but not bad for a foreigner. He was one of the foremost accordionists in France and died of a heart attack whilst playing the accordion on stage, at age 55. I have the same birthday as he has, but unfortunately thats all we shared. Id have been happy to have 10% of his talent, but maybe 150% of his lifetime.

 

[nagant27]

Funny that you posted this, but lately Ive been listening a lot to Dominguinhos on youtube, and other younger Brazilian players. They are fantastic. The style is relatively new to me, but I am learning to really appreciate their technique, and enjoy it. I dont know enough of Basile to make a connection, but I will listen more.
It seems like a lot of our golden age accordions here in the US are ending up there, and put to good use. Another really good player is named- Mestrinho. ( ) I listen to one after another from him also. Great jazz too.
One last thing, whats the hat he is always wearing?

 

[maugein96]

Funny that you posted this, but lately Ive been listening a lot to Dominguinhos on youtube, and other younger Brazilian players.  They are fantastic.  The style is relatively new to me, but I am learning to really appreciate their technique, and enjoy it.  I dont know enough of Basile to make a connection, but I will listen more.
It seems like a lot of our golden age accordions here in the US are ending up there, and put to good use.  Another really good player is named- Mestrinho.  ( )  I listen to one after another from him also.  Great jazz too.
One last thing, whats the hat he is always wearing?

Hi,

I had to ask the same question about the hat, and member Tom answered it earlier in the thread. It is a regional style of hat known as a cangaceiro from north east Brazil. 

Joss Baselli/Jo Basile was a French virtuoso who never really specialised in one particular genre. You wont hear all that much Brazilian influence in most of his playing, and he made most of his money out of the French musette genre in France, as well as being the backing accordionist for the female French vocalist Patachou in the US. Like many French players he grew tired of all the traditional French musette repertoire, and branched out into various styles, including classical. 

Cracking stuff from Mestrinho. I think Ive heard him before. The modern Brazilian players really take it to the limits of accordion technique, without following any apparent rules. 

I was first drawn to Brazilian music by the bossa guitar, but there are so few players of that style in the UK that there was no scope to learn from others, and most books on the matter take a lot of working out. At the time I was completely unaware of the popularity of the accordion in Brazil, and never imagined that it was used in so many local Brazilian styles. 

I suppose if you were brought up listening to the music then it would be so much easier to assimilate to whatever instrument you play. You Tube has turned the tables on that to a degree, but I just wish I was a good few years younger so that I had youth on my side, and the enthusiasm to go with it. I make no secret of the fact that Im not much of a player, but I am great listener. 

Thanks for reminding about Mestrinho and his fantastic playing. Sadly, I havent really followed the progress of young players in any country, and there is a lot of talent out there if you know where to look for it.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Nagant! I didn't really know about Mestrinho, very interesting!

 

[Dingo40]

Nagant,
Nice instrument, great sound, lively and well played: thanks for the link!

 

[Eddy Yates]

Thanks for all the links! Terrific.

 

[AccordionUprising]

Theres a fantastic documentary, Dominguinhos from 2014. Covers the rural life of the Northeast (including the hats, part of an elaborate leather armor worn by the local ranch-hands to protect them from the spines in the local brush. (The horses wear similar protective gear.)

[video=youtube]http://https://youtu.be/0ek7W6w6nm0[/video]

As an introduction to the amazing variety of Brazilian music (including forró and other styles from the North East), I appreciated Chris McGowan and Ricardo Pessanhas book The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil. Im not knowledgeable about the subject at all, so I cant vouch for its authenticity, but it certainly gives a feeling for the different regions.

Its had a bunch of editions and covers. Worthwhile.


 

 

[maugein96]

Hi Bruce,

Many thanks for that info, and the links. 

This is the link to the full documentary:-



I havent had time to watch it yet, but will do ASAP. 

It seems that the music of Brazil has never really had much exposure and promotion outside of the Americas, and in my experience most Europeans have no real interest in it. I was well into my 50s before I even knew it existed at all. 

My attraction to it is the individuality of the players, most of whom score high in natural ability to vary it a bit and put their own stamp on the tunes. In some European styles that is frowned upon, and leaves a lot of excellent players having to play like automatons to satisfy audiences who are unforgiving of anything new. 

I once worked with a guy from Brazil after I had discovered the guitar and accordion music, and told him I was working through a guitar book on various Brazilian guitar styles. He shrugged his shoulders, told me to throw the books away, and go to Brazil if I wanted to learn about the music. He wasnt a musician, and I wasnt rich enough to follow his advice. 

Even if I had been, most of the superstars there are playing well before they are old enough to leave school. I would opine that it is the sort of stuff you have to grow up with, otherwise learning it from anybodys book would be a very tall order indeed.

 

[Eddy Yates]

Great info. Thanks, all!
I have many friends who have spent time in different cultures to learn the music. Admirable pursuit if you have the money or are willing to live like a pauper. We’re lucky to live in a time when all the world’s music, past and present, is available for us to hear, no matter our circumstance or home base. Books like this can be great introductions to another world, just like your book, Bruce.
Most, if not all, of the great music we have came from creators and innovators, not people who slavishly copy someone else’s style. I’d rather sound like me than someone else, but we all walk a different path.

 

[maugein96]

Great info. Thanks, all!
I have many friends who have spent time in different cultures to learn the music. Admirable pursuit if you have the money or are willing to live like a pauper. We’re lucky to live in a time when all the world’s music, past and present, is available for us to hear, no matter our circumstance or home base. Books like this can be great introductions to another world, just like your book, Bruce.
Most, if not all, of the great music we have came from creators and innovators, not people who slavishly copy someone else’s style. I’d rather sound like me than someone else, but we all walk a different path.

Hi Eddy,

I think that just about sums it all up. 

The thing I love about Brazilian accordion is there seems to be a very high proportion of players who do have a lot of individuality about them. Quite often we're a good few bars in before the melody becomes identifiable. I just couldn't imagine European players taking that approach at all, unless their main genre was jazz. 

I can only sound like me and nobody else, and that's what I share with those Brazilian guys. I don't know many people who could play as badly as I can, even if they listened to me every day and copied my every nuance!

 

[Tom]

True. Same could be said for any genre, nationality or style. We seek the ones with individuality and soul and click past the rest. A good teacher or friend will explain this to others who don't initially get it. It is the best service.

 

[maugein96]

True.  Same could be said for any genre, nationality or style.  We seek the ones with individuality and soul and click past the rest.  A good teacher or friend will explain this to others who don't initially get it.  It is the best service.

Tom,

Sad fact is most of us never initially got it, but the truth can be difficult to handle. 

I am a reasonably competent guitarist, but after I realised there were no tuning pegs on an accordion, I sort of knew I had made the wrong choice! I was determined to give it another 35 years, so I did. I'm still a "reasonably competent" guitarist, even after only 55 years of playing, but after hearing some of those Brazilian accordionists I reckon I might need about another 55 years before I would be competent enough to carry their accordion cases for them!

 

[Tom]

Maybe, but it doesn't matter how "good" you are to have fun playing with the other people. We would have a blast if I were on that little island over there. Take anything else, for example and apply it to cordeen. You probably never worry about how "good" you are at posting on the forum but look at the fun you are having!

 

[Eddy Yates]

Amen, Tom!

 

[maugein96]

Maybe, but it doesn't matter how "good" you are to have fun playing with the other people.  We would have a blast if I were on that little island over there.  Take anything else, for example and apply it to cordeen.   You probably never worry about how "good" you are at posting on the forum but look at the fun you are having!

Hi Tom,

I'm not saying I haven't had years of fun playing over the years.

The main issue over here is most people seem frightened to play anything other than the old favourites in the few genres we have. 

It takes a lot of nerve to pull an accordion out of its case and dare to have a go at the unusual. The audiences are part of the problem, as they don't expect to hear any other type of music from an accordionist.