Azambuja & Cia / Baiano & Os Novos Caetanos

Release date: 8th June 2018

Also available on Bandcamp

Far Out Recordings proudly presents a double bill of cult Brazilian album reissues from the 1970s… with a twist! Based on characters devised by the prolific multitalented TV comedians Chico Anysio and Arnaud Rodrigues, Azambuja & Cia (1975), and Baiano & Os Novos Caetanos (1974) are comedy concept albums, fusing odd-ball jazz-funk, soulful samba-rock and MPB: essential for fans of deep, groovy Brazilian music. Both records feature Azymuth as backing band and renowned multi-instrumentalist and producer Durval Ferreira.

Azambuja and Cia, based on the ridiculous Carioca conman Paulo Maurício Azambuja (who would flog his own mother’s leg if he could) showcases Anysio and Rodrigues’ song writing smarts, with Azymuth’s futuristic funk sound combining with traditional Brazilian roots elements for a record equal parts organic and ahead of its time. With Fender Rhodes, Arp Strings, Arp Omni, Clavinet and Hammond Organ, Azymuth’s keyboard maestro Jose Roberto Bertrami, who also arranged the album alongside renowned conductor and composer Jose Menezes, elevates the music’s sexy weirdness to another dimension (check ‘Verde’ to see what we mean).

Baiano & Os Novos Caetanos is Anysio and Rodrigues’ satire on Brazil’s  Tropicalia movement. Having a friendly crack at the likes of Caetano Veloso and psychedelic rockers Novos Baianos, the musical characters ‘Baiano’ and ‘Paulinho Boca de Profeta’ played by Anysio and Rodrigues respectively, are righteous tropicalistas, poetically denouncing the dictatorship, while simultaneously mocking those who took themselves too seriously. Azymuth’s free and funky psych sounds combine with accordion, harmonica, brass and plenty of rural Brazilian rhythms, with Orlandivo who co-wrote many of the songs, and renowned multi-instrumentalist and producer Durval Ferreira also featuring.