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There are a couple of theories where the word "forro",
comes from. Some say it is derived from a word of African origin
forrobodo, a party or high jinks. Others say it is from the English
phrase for-all which was Brazilified to describe the parties that
the English bosses used to throw for their workers in North Eastern
Brazil at the turn of the 20th century. It is an upbeat swinging
dance music, played on accordion, triangle, often a drum called
a zabumba and an electric bass. The dancers dance navel to navel
while the hips sway to the rhythms. David Byrne on the cover of
his compilation of the early 90’s Brazil Classics 3, Forro
etc Music Of The Brazilian Northeast describes it as “a
mixture of ska with polka in overdrive”.
Even though there is little overt influence there is more than
a passing similarity to Louisianian zydeco and Cajun music. The
latter fuses French Arcadian folk music with the Afro-American
spirit, the former polka with the Afro-Brazilian one. Forro do
Brasil present 20 titles of absolutely superb forro that is surprisingly
varied considering that the music never for an instant abandons
the hip-bone…touches of grandeur, great melodies and rhythms,
samba-ish bits, punkish bits and then the music might slow down
for a two-step. I’m not going to do a track by track synopsis,
but just to say that no such representative collection would be
complete without Luiz Gonzaga’s forro anthem Asa Branca
and that Ze Cupido does it proud.
Musicians and bands such Trio Nordestino, Severinho Januario,
Joao Silva, Trio Mossoro, Ze Cupido and Banda Mapsom will be known
to Brazilian forro dancers, but then I suppose the trendies here
and in Brazil might look askance at an unpretentious dance music
that pumps and swings like the clappers without the slightest
trace of irony . The sound quality is superb despite the fact
that several of the selections date back a couple of decades.
You know the drill...RJ
