Genre
Afro-samba and MPB. The eight songs have a rich and unique musicality: a mix of candomblé and umbanda instruments — atabaques and afoxés — with timbres common to Brazilian music: agogôs, flute, and tambourines. The result is a fusion of Bahian samba de roda, Candomblé liturgical tradition, and bossa nova harmonic sensibility that stands entirely apart from any other album in the Brazilian canon.
Release
Released by Forma Records and recorded on January 3, 1966, this original studio recording remains the definitive version, even though Baden Powell rerecorded the material in 1990 following the death of Vinícius, taking over the lead vocals himself.
Production
Produced and with artistic direction by Roberto Quartin and Wadi Gebara Netto. Recording technician was Ademar Rocha. Arrangements and conducting were by Guerra Peixe. Vocalists were Vinícius de Moraes, the Quarteto em Cy, the Coro Mixto, and Pedro Luiz de Assis. Baden Powell played guitar throughout. The liner notes were written by Vinícius de Moraes himself.
Reception
The live album version is ranked No. 29 on Rolling Stone Brasil's list of the 100 Greatest Brazilian Albums. Os Afro-Sambas is Vinícius de Moraes's response to the commercialisation of the bossa nova movement in the mid-1960s, combining Baden Powell's melodic gifts with Bahian folk traditions and Gregorian chant. Jazz Messengers described it as "one of the best and most important albums of Brazilian music." AllMusic described the recording as "reportedly the product of an epic drunken spree."
Vinícius de Moraes / Baden Powell
Vinícius de Moraes (October 19, 1913, Rio de Janeiro – July 9, 1980, Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazilian poet, lyricist, and diplomat, the principal lyricist of bossa nova, co-author with Antônio Carlos Jobim of "Garota de Ipanema," "Chega de Saudade," and "A Felicidade." Baden Powell de Aquino (August 6, 1937, Varre-Sai, Rio de Janeiro – September 26, 2000, Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazilian guitarist widely regarded as one of the greatest in the history of Brazilian music. The two were introduced by Tom Jobim in 1962 and immediately developed a deep artistic friendship based on their shared fascination with Afro-Brazilian culture and the Candomblé. Their collaboration produced some of the most celebrated songs in the MPB canon, including "Canto de Ossanha," "Berimbau," and "Consolação," before Os Afro-Sambas brought their partnership to its defining artistic statement.
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