Search - Maria Bethânia :: Canto Do Paje

Colorful Tapestry of Brazil and Brazilians through Music

John Koen | Philadelphia, PA USA | 01/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a big fan of Maria Bethânia, but this is probably my favorite. I think it has something for anyone interested in the music of Brazil. It starts with a Samba 'School' (Batería da mangueira), then she reads a short poem by Mario de Andrade, then a liquid-sounding Villa-Lobos arrangement. The duo with João Gilberto in Maria/Linda flor is just beatiful with the richness of their voices (great blend!) and in Pronta pra cantar (Ready to Sing). Logrador is one of what I think of as a typical Bethânia blues--a woman sings to the woman who has 'won' (logrou) the heart of her former lover. Tocando em frente sounds 'folksy' to me, but her voice is about twice as rich as any other folk singer I've ever heard. Tomara moves a little quicker and uses the flute and accordian very effectively. Awô is very African (Bahian) and joined to Inhansã (presumably a Afro-Brazilian god). The disc ends with Palavra, with a tropical sound, the batería takes over, and she ends, "Because of You.""

A classy album from the Bahian diva

Hugo | Barcelona, Spain | 05/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To celebrate the 25th anniversary of her music career, Bethânia gave us this valuable gift. In my opinion, this is her best studio album from the mid 80s on. It is very well conceived and it is packed with magnificent songs and with great vocal collaborations by Joao Gilberto, Nina Simone, Gal Costa and Alcione. The first half is rather quiet and soothing, with ballads and torch songs, as "O canto do pajé", which is one of Bethânia's gems, "Maria/Linda flor", a whispered acoustic ballad in duet with Gilberto, "Logrador", a heartfelt blues, and "Pronta pra cantar", a memorable duet with Nina, who is as outstanding as Bethânia. Then in track 7 Bethânia gets much more temperamental and shows us how powerful her singing can be with "Tomara", the first uptempo song. The album finishes with two raucous candomblé-inspired songs accompanied by a batucada (percussion band), "Awô" and "Inhansã", and a nice samba, "Palavra"."

One of her better '90s albums

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 01/05/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Two samba tracks bookend this set, in which she largely veers away from the tropicalia composers and explores instead the sultry blues ballad. Appropriately, Nina Simone is a guest on one track, but Bethania shines on the midnight-at-the-bar ballad, "Logrador." A few mildly cloying moments, but on the whole a rather solid album."