Marcos Valle - Retratos '2004

Tracks list

Tracklist:

1. Sonho De Maria (03:31)
2. Ela É Carioca (02:28)
3. Gente (02:18)
4. Preciso Aprender A Ser Só (03:31)
5. Samba De Verão (02:29)
6. Viola Enluarada (03:09)
7. Bloco Do Eu Sozinho (02:59)
8. Terra De Ninguém (02:31)
9. O Amor É Chama (03:37)
10. Mustang Cor de Sangue (03:24)
11. Dia De Vitória (03:17)
12. Quarentão Simpático (Renatão) (02:18)
13. Pigmalião 70 (02:51)
14. Com Mais De 30 (02:33)


 moreBorn in Rio de Janeiro in 1943, Valle studied classical music as a child
but listened to many different types of music, especially jazz. He began writing
songs with his brother Paulo Sérgio -- Marcos was the tune writer, Paulo the
lyricist -- in the early '60s, and after Tamba Trio had a hit with his "Sonho de
Maria," Valle was named Brazil's Leading Composer of the Year at the age of 19.
A recording contract soon followed, and in 1964 he released his first album,
Samba Demais, for EMI Brazil. A tour with Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 the
following year got him his first show business connections in America (via Merv
Griffin), and in 1966, Walter Wanderley took Valle's song "So Nice (Summer
Samba)" into the U.S. Top 40. Valle soon earned his own American contract, and
in 1967, Warner Bros. released the instrumentals album Braziliance! One year
later, his Verve debut, Samba '68, became a Brazilian classic thanks to simple,
infectious pop songs like "Batucada," "Chup, Chup, I Got Away," and "Crickets
Sing for Anamaria" (all of which featured spot-on harmony vocals by his wife
Anamaria).

Despite the incredible promise revealed by Samba '68, it was his last American
album to date. That same year, the Brazilian-only Viola Enluarada became a big
hit in South America, thanks in part to the title track (with vocals by a young
Milton Nascimento). The rock & roll era that had already influenced
tropicalistas like Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, and Gilberto Gil soon began
inspiring Valle as well. With albums like the irresistible 1971 classic Garra,
he moved away from native Brazilian forms like the bossa nova and samba and into
a rock-influenced sound that played up groove-heavy bass and smooth funk even
while courting his amazing melodic sense. He continued recording for EMI until
he moved to America in 1975. There, he wrote and arranged tracks for Eumir
Deodato, Airto Moreira, and Chicago. He continued to record solo albums during
the early '80s, adding electronics and smooth production techniques to the mix
with surprisingly solid results, but he also moved into writing music (often
with Paulo) for films and telenovelas, including the theme to Brazil's version
of Sesame Street.

During the late '80s, the rare-groove craze centered in London resurrected and
relentlessly compiled dozens of crucial, overlooked tracks from the '60s and
'70s, including Valle's "Crickets Sing for Anamaria." In 1995, the British Mr.
Bongo label released a two-volume series (The Essential Marcos Valle) dedicated
to his work. One year later, Valle appeared on the jam session compilation
Friends from Rio, and in 1998 he returned with a new album, Nova Bossa Nova.
That same year, the Lumiar label released The Marcos Valle Songbook, Vol. 1 and
Vol. 2, including new versions of Valle standards by Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso,
Maria Bethania, Edu Lobo, Joyce, Chico Buarque, Joao Bosco, and Azymuth, among
others. The new millennium heralded another studio album, Escape, as well as
prescient Japanese reissues from his late-'60s/early-'70s peak. Additional
albums followed during the 2000s, including Contrasts (2003) and Jet Samba
(2005), as well as the live Conecta ao Vivo No Cinematheque (2008). He entered
the new decade with the studio album, Escape on Far Out. In 2013, Valle
commemorated his 50th anniversary in music with Ao Vivo, a live collaboration
with British vocalist Stacey Kent. Five years later, Valle collaborated with old
friends Dori Caymmi and Edu Lobo on Edu Dori & Marcos for the Biscoito Fino
label. In 2018 Far Out remastered and reissued Nova Bossa Nova in a 20th
anniversary edition. In June of 2019 at age 76, Valle released Sempre for Far
Out. Its sound was a retro mix of boogie, disco, cosmic samba, and smooth
jazz-funk grafted onto socially conscious lyrics that recalled the lyric style
of his progressive early-'70s recordings. Guests on the date included Azymuth's
bassist Alex Malheiros, trumpeter Jesse Sadoc, and percussionist Armando Marcal.

Valle returned to the studio almost immediately and released Cinzento in March
of 2020 for Deck in Brazil and Light in the Attic in the U.S. It featured
collaborations with Moreno Veloso ("Redescobrir"), Bem Gil ("Protect Yourself"),
Kassin ("Distant Places"), Zélia Duncan ("Rastros Raros"), Domênico
Lancelotti ("Pelo Sim, Pelo Não"), and rapper Emicid on the title track. Also
appearing that spring, this time from English label Far Out, was a 2020 reissue
of Valle's 1972 soundtrack Fly Cruzeiro, for which he was backed by Brazilian
jazz-funk fusion trio Azymuth (who took their name from one of his songs) in a
set that mixed bossa, samba, synth-driven funk, and jazz fusion.

A year earlier, Valle and his wife, singer Patricia Alvi, traveled to Los
Angeles to work with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad for their Jazz Is
Dead label project. Though Valle had lived and worked there decades earlier, he
had never recorded his own music. Using his catalog as a production guide,
collaborators encouraged an album of new songs that crisscrossed his career-long
obsessions with samba, bossa, MPB, and psychedelic funk. Valle arrived with a
briefcase full of original material; he composed even more on the spot in the
recording studio. Using vintage instruments and keyboards, the sessions plotted
a 21st century overview of Valle's musical evolution. It included a duet with
Alvi on the breezy "Viajando por Aí." In keeping with the Jazz Is Dead
label's cataloging aesthetic, the set was titled Marcos Valle JID 003, and
issued in August of 2020. A 2021 single saw Valle collaborating with Ivan Lins
and Joyce on the gentle "Casa Que Era Minha." © John Bush



Marcos Valle - Retratos.rar - 270.4 MB

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