LEMBRANÇAS

"I overwork the guitar. When I'm performing live, I strum it really hard". The humorous definition is pronounced by Baden Powell (1937-2000) on the promotional video that comes with his latest album, recorded in May (he passed away in September). The repertoire is basically comprised of songs written over 50 years ago, such as the waltz Branca (Zequinha de Abreu, 1924), the first samba-tune, Linda Flor (Ai Ioiô) (Henrique Vogeler/ Luiz Peixoto/ Marques Porto,1929) and Mágoas de Caboclo (J.Cascata/ Leonel Azevedo,1936). O Astronauta (written with Vinicius de Moraes in 1964) and Falei e Disse (with Paulo César Pinheiro, mid 70s) are the exceptions.

Along the years, the soloist's performance became more meditative and less impulsive: his health had been disturbed by diabetes since 1972, decreasing his agility and vigor, but not his genius. His interpretation of classics like Pastorinhas (Noel Rosa/Braguinha, 1935) and Inquietação (Ary Barroso, 1934) only testify to Baden's unique abilities. (Tárik de Souza)