Brazilians appear to be born with extra-active musical genes and Baden Powell, who sadly passed away 2000, certainly possessed more than his fair share of innate talent.
Regarded today as one of his country's greatest guitarists ever, Powell was born in the musical Mecca of Rio De Janeiro in 1937 to a shoemaker father who also happened to be a budding violinist.
Powell was introduced to Choro (the musical precursor to Samba) by it's turn-of-the-century pioneers Pixinguinha and Dongo.
At the age of eight he was playing guitar proficiently. By thirteen he was practically a professional musician.
Powell's first hits appeared in the 50s but as Brazil began to sway to the lilting grooves of the Bossa Nova, he met the genres inventors, AntôCarlos Jobim and Vinicius De Moraes.
Powell moved in with Moraes and started experimenting with 'Afro-Sambas', coming up with giant tunes like 'Berimbau', 'Samba da Bêçã' and 'O Astronauta'.
'Lembrancas' ('Memories') was Powell's last recorded work.
It's not a retrospective of his huge opus, but an album that focuses on reworking covers.
Powell was never afraid to pay homage to his influences and here he covers a broad selection of some of Brazil's most cherished songs as well as some personal favourites.
The album contains classics originally recorded between the 1920s and the 1960s such as Ary Barroso's 'Inquietacao', Dorival Caymmi's 'Dora', Barosso and Peixoto's 'Maria', Zequinha De Abreu's 'Branca' (one of the first samba tunes ever written in 1918) are all given Powell's inimitable and powerful signature. Also included as are his collaboration with Paulo Cesar Pinheiro 'Falei E Disse' and the beautiful 'O Astronauto'.
Due to diabetes during his later years the vibrancy and vitality that characterized many of Powell's older recordings has mellowed. But there is still sufficient cut and thrust here. Overall the largely instrumental 'Lembrancas' comes across as slightly sad and nostalgic album, especially with Powell's ability to describe the Samba's aching melancholy.
But there are also the sounds of Rio's opulent vistas; the coruscating sea off Copacabana and Ipanema, the proud peaks of Corcovado and the sound of a million hearts falling in love and being broken. Emotional and classic, this is a poignant farewell from one of the masters of the Brazilian sound.
