Sambalamento (Samba Lament) - Luiz Bonfá (arr. Hodel)

Brazilian Jazz for the Classical Guitar - Steven Saulls, Classical Guitarist
About the music and the composer…
“Sambalamento” is from a 1962 album titled: Luiz Bonfá Composer of Black Orpheus Plays and Sings Bossa Nova.
Luiz Floriano Bonfá (October 17, 1922 - January 12, 2001) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer. He was best known for the music he composed for the film Black Orpheus.
Luiz Floriano Bonfá was born on October 17, 1922, in Rio de Janeiro. He began studying with Uruguayan classical guitarist Isaías Sávio at the age of 11. These weekly lessons entailed a long, harsh commute (on foot, plus two and half hours on train) from his family home in Santa Cruz, in the western rural outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, to the teacher's home in the hills of Santa Teresa. Given Bonfá's extraordinary dedication and talent for the guitar, Sávio excused the youngster's inability to pay for his lessons.
Bonfá first gained widespread exposure in Brazil in 1947 when he was featured on Rio's Rádio Nacional, then an important showcase for up-and-coming talent. He was a member of the vocal group Quitandinha Serenaders in the late 1940s. Some of his first compositions such as "Ranchinho de Palha", "O Vento Não Sabe", were recorded and performed by Brazilian crooner Dick Farney in the 1950s. Bonfá's first hit song was "De Cigarro em Cigarro" recorded by Nora Ney in 1957. It was through Farney that Bonfá was introduced to Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, the leading songwriting team behind the worldwide explosion of the great Bossa Nova in the late 1950s to 1970s, becoming a fever in the US. Bonfá collaborated with them and with other prominent Brazilian musicians and artists in productions of de Moraes' anthological play Orfeu da Conceição, which several years later gave origin to Marcel Camus' film Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro in Portuguese). In the burgeoning days of Rio de Janeiro's thriving jazz scene, it was commonplace for musicians, artists, and dramatists to collaborate in such theatrical presentations. Bonfá wrote some of the original music featured in the film, including the numbers "Samba de Orfeu" and his most famous composition, "Manhã de Carnaval" (of which Carl Sigman later wrote a different set of English lyrics titled "A Day in the Life of a Fool"), which has been among the top ten standards played worldwide, according to The Guinness Book of World Records.
Bonfá's major legacy continues to be his compositions from the Black Orpheus soundtrack, most notably the instantly recognizable bossa nova classic "Manhã de Carnaval". But Bonfá's discography also attests to his uniquely inventive mastery of Brazilian jazz guitar. Bonfá's guitar style was brassier and more penetrating than that of his major contemporary, João Gilberto, and Bonfá was a frequent and adept soloist whereas Gilberto plays his own suave, intricate brand of rhythm guitar almost exclusively. Bonfá often played solo guitar in a polyphonic style, harmonizing melody lines in a manner similar to that made famous by Wes Montgomery in the US, or playing lead and rhythm parts simultaneously. As a composer and as a guitarist, Bonfá played a pivotal role in bridging the incumbent samba-canção style with the innovations of the bossa nova movement.
Bonfa's instrumental "Seville" from his 1967 LP Luiz Bonfa Plays Great Songs is the basis for the 2011 hit "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Belgian-Australian musician Gotye. Gotye's song charted No. 1 in 27 countries. (Wikipedia)
About the performer...
Steven began studying the guitar at age nine and has attended some of the finest music schools in the world including the Berklee College of Music (Boston), and the Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria). He holds both a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Washington University (1980) and a Master of Music degree from the University of Arizona (1982).
Over the past 40 years, Steven has performed hundreds of concerts throughout the United States, Central & South America, and Europe. His debut recordings ‘Espressivo’ and ‘Steven Saulls Plays Works by Ponce, Torroba & Bach’ have received wide acclaim both nationally and internationally. In addition to solo concerts, he has performed over 200 chamber works including guitar concerti (with orchestra) by Vivaldi, Ponce, and Rodrigo.
About the recording...
Recorded at The Steven Saulls Guitar Studio, Sahuarita, Arizona 2023/Guitar handcrafted by Martin Blackwell.
Copyright© 2023 Steven Saulls, Sahuarita, Arizona
For additional information please contact Steven Saulls at [e-mail]

[@jmmartz6095]

❤ ça donne envie d' aller au Brésil

[@stevensaullsguitarist]

Pour l'instant, on peut l'imaginer à travers la musique !

[@AIChameleonMusic]

melancholic, lovely tempo, beautiful expression.
A treat as always sir, Thank you.
*tips hat

[@stevensaullsguitarist]

Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed this video!

[@Toddlane43]

Very nice piece great tones and voicings you are able to take your music in some very cool directions Steven 👏🏼

[@stevensaullsguitarist]

Thanks so much!