Rubens Bassini was born January 26, 1933, in Rio de Janeiro; he passed away in September 1985.
Bassini was a percussionist who played bongos but above all, congas. He played along side many people including Os Ipanemas, Joao Gilberto, Sergio Mendes, Dom Salvador, Eumir Deodato and Dave Grusin; all predominantly Bossa Nova. Rubens’ main influences came from the Cuban exile Mongo Santamaria who recorded regularly on the San Francisco based Fantasy label; the influence of America was partly due to a lack of modern Brazilian influences at the time.
Rubens Bassini recorded his debut album “Rubens Bassini E Os 11 Magnificos” in 1960 which was later reissued by What Music.
In 1961 Philips A&R man Aloysio de Oliveira convinced the very young and hardworking Sergio Mendes to make a record for ‘the kids to dance to.' The result was a not very danceable, but a very excellent LP called ‘Dances Moderno.' The record featured a hip young mod couple on the cover, versions of ‘Love for Sale’ and other standards. This album is a perfect example of Rubens Bassini’s prominent percussion play in the mix. From there he became very much part of Sergio Mendes band through out the 60s and into the 70s.
With the rise of Bossa Nova it seemed everyone was recording in a rush to cash in on the ‘new thing’ but the Jazz guys were still sneaking in their own Latin-inflected sounds. In the early 60s Bassini took part in the legendary Os Ipanemas sessions. Their CBS record, despite its very Bossa Nova name, was like a Brazilian heavy Latin session, similar to Mongo’s “Our Man in Havana” LP but with ‘Candomblé’ chants replacing those of ‘Santeria.' As part of the exciting new Brazil 66 (Sergio Mendes and his group) Rubens Bassini was back in a line-up of musicians which would go on to sell incredible numbers of records worldwide and take Brazilian pop music to new heights not seen before, nor ever reached since.
From the early 70s onwards, Bassini became a fixture in the West Coast session scene. As ubiquitous as Victor Feldman or Ralph Macdonald, Bassini’s list of credits is immense (Spyro Gyra, Michael Franks, Luiz Bonfá, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Gap Mangione, Average White Band, Dave Grusin – the list is endless) as well as recording with more studio-bound Brasil 77 and 88 incarnations.
It has been forty years since the first limited release of ‘Rubens Bassini E os 11 Magnificos;’ sadly Rubens isn’t around to see the fantastic response his debut album and somewhat overlooked masterpiece is now receiving. The album remains as an impressive milestone in Brazilian percussion discography. He has remained a god to other percussionists who have followed in his footsteps to shape the rhythms of Brazilian music over the last three decades.
Discography
1960 - Rubens Bassini E Os 11 Magnificos – Latino Fantastico
