In the early '70s, a Cor do Som was responsible, in great extent, for the revival of the choro
idiom, influencing many musicians who were young at the time and who
would later develop noted careers in this style, like the brothers Henrique Cazes, Beto Cazes,
and many others. A Cor do Som were formed by accomplished musicians who
modernized the venerable and rich genre through a mix with rock,
bringing to it new arrangements and electric instrumentation. The group
(almost unnoticed as a supporting band for Os Novos Baianos, which took all the fame) gave new breath to choro and also later created (when they ceased to be an instrumental band) the formula that would be employed by axé
music only seven years later: strong musicianship in the performance of
a mix of Northeastern rhythms and rock, and vocal themes dealing with
sensuality, summer, happiness, and love. It was written that in the
band's path there would be success and prestige; they played for 60,000
people in one occasion and also performed on a memorable night in the
12th edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival where John Mclaughin, Billy Cobham, Sammy Figueroa,
and Alvim Batiste participated in the jam session. But the tension
between tie and jeans was too much for them, resulting in naked feelings
and cold separation. At the end of that hibernation, though, a Cor do Som struck again, winning the prestigious Sharp prize and implying that they are were to stay.
A Cor do Som were created in 1977 to accompany Os Novos Baianos. Named after a song by Morais Moreira and Galvão, A Cor do Som was formed by the experienced and talented musicians Armandinho (electric guitar, electric cavaquinho, and electric mandolin), Dadi (bass), Mú (keyboards), and Gustavo (drums). When Moreira left Os Novos Baianos and departed for his solo career, he took the band away with him, as well as inviting the percussionist Ary Dias, who formerly played in the Orquestra Sinfônica da Universidade Federal da Bahia. In 1975, Morais Moreira recorded his first solo album, accompanied by a Cor do Som. After a little more than one year as a supporting band for Moreira, the group decided to put out a solo work. Sergio Carvalho, Dadi and Mú's
brother, who was a producer for Phonogram, invited them to record a
demo, which didn't bring any results. It was then that WEA's producer, Guti Carvalho (Mú's and Dadi's
cousin), arranged for them to be hired. They signed the contracts
without having any material; they had to rehearse for one month to have
stuff for one album. The guys became appalled when they discovered that
they had been inscribed by the recording company in the First National
Choro Festival, organized by TV Bandeirantes, with the choro "Espírito Infantil" (Mú), as choro
was always regarded by Brazilians as an object of cult popularity. On
top of that, the jury of the festival was dominated by
nationalists/traditionalists (with the exception of Roberto Menescal) led by the feared and combative José Ramos Tinhorão and by the choro monster Waldir Azevedo.
The big surprise was that, while they feared not leaving the premises
alive, they were placed fifth in the festival under applause of the
public and praised by the two illustrious figures as Brazilian players
who used electric and electronic instruments to create a very Brazilian
sound. Their first album came out in 1977 amid enthusiastic reviews but
sold only 6,000 copies, though that's not a bad cipher for instrumental
albums in Brazil, especially at that time. Soon they opened for the Liverpool Express, also WEA artists at the time, in a WEA convention at the Hotel Nacional in Rio. The convention was being attended by Nesuhi Ertegun and Claude Nobs. Impressed by what he heard, Nobs
invited the group for the Viva Brasil! Night at the 12th edition of the
Montreux Festival (1978), where their energetic and historic live album
Ao Vivo em Montreux was recorded. John Mclaughin, Billy Cobham, Sammy Figueroa,
and Alvim Batiste participated in the animated jam session that
followed, and the enthusiastic and tumultuous concert of the "Brazilian
night" made headlines around Switzerland. Selling out the 4,000 tickets,
Nobs was obliged to program another show with the group (which also had, as special guests, Aroldo and André at the percussion).
In Brazil, "Arpoador" received good airplay. In that year, the
band performed around 150 shows throughout Brazil, including 21 in the
Pixinguinha project. They also participated in the soundtracks of the
films A Dama do Lotação and Os Sete Gatinhos and in the recording of
"Hino de Duran" with Chico Buarque in his Ópera do Malandro.
The next album, Frutificar, was the first to bring vocal tracks, the
only ones that played on the radio. "Beleza Pura" was the first big hit,
written by Caetano Veloso, who was a longtime friend and consultant, having been together with Jorge Ben, the best man in Dadi's
marriage -- in fact, he was his godfather in the Brazilian usage, which
means a lifelong commitment. This period coincides with the beginning
of their commercial success that would also bring, some years later, the
band's dissolution due to a very strict and extenuating schedule and
rigorous contracts with a clothing sponsor.
The record was appointed by the readers of Playboy magazine as
the best instrumental album of the year, winning the third Playboy Best
of Brazilian Popular Music prize. Having reached the masses among the
youth market in Brazil -- preceding in seven years the explosion of axé
music, which used basically the same elements of an electrified and
energetic fusion of Northeastern rhythms with rock, and now lyrics
dealing with love, sensuality, summer colors, Brazilianess, the whole
works -- in April 1980 a Cor do Som
was invited by São Paulo's mayoralty to play at the Ibirapuera Stadium
in a show that intended to be a call-back to the classes after the
summer vacations (in Brazil, December to February). Instead of the
expected 3,000 people, though, 60,000 attended and danger of a terrible
catastrophe surrounded the band's aura when the throng got restless due
to technical problems with the sound -- the crowd had invaded the space
reserved for the monster cables and damaged some of them. Fortunately
the group was good enough when the situation got tense, and the
spectators, instantly pacified, sang along with them, going home later
in beatitude.
In July 1981, A Cor do Som played in much calmer conditions, for
an audience of 1,000 Wall Street suits at the Battery Park in New
York,. When they reached the peak (in 1982 they played 50 shows in two
months) Armandinho,
tired of the excessive work and discipline and of the small pay,
decided to overlap his actuation in the group with his father Dodô's Trio Elétrico de Dodô e Osmar.
Facing resistance by the sponsor, he left the band. It was a terrible
shock for the remaining bandmembers, but the work wasn't abandoned. Armandinho was replaced by Victor Biglione and the next album, Intuição (1984), also with Egberto Gismonti, Tulio Mourao,
and Peri Santana as special guests, was a return to their instrumental
path. A Cor do Som recorded two other albums but they didn't find their
way to success again. In 1987 WEA didn't renew their contracts. The band
was dissolved to everybody's regret, but it was inevitable.
In 1994, though, Armandinho was invited to play at the Jazzmania (Rio de Janeiro) and invited Mú, Dadi, Gustavo, and Ary.
Playing for a packed house with standing ovations, they decided to team
up again. Their next album was recorded live in the same year under the
good vibes of the Circo Voador in Rio, where the Brazilian rock of the
'80s was born, being forever connected with freedom in the imaginations
of the people who attended its shows. The album, Ao Vivo No Circo, was
released only in 1996, but that hadn't prevented the band from being
awarded the Sharp prize of 1997 as the Best Popular Group of 1996. It
was the start of a new beginning that the fans of a Cor do Som hope never ends.
Source: All Music.