É SIM, SINHÔ - VOL. II - LIRA CARIOCA - Com CLARA SANDRONI e MARCOS SACRAMENTO

José Barbosa da Silva, a.k.a. Sinhô (1888-1930), the first king of samba, had his title questioned many times. Composer Heitor dos Prazeres (1898-1966) accused him of plagiarism, calling Sinhô "the king of my sambas". The sambas, in their turn, either sounded like or were recorded as maxixes. So, what kind of king is that? In this second volume dedicated to Sinhô's music by the group Lira Carioca, other sides of his works emerge. For example, the instrumental Pianola, a ragtime in sync with the imported fashions of that period, or the polka-choro Kananga do Japão, written in 1918, as well as the samba-de breque Mil e Uma Trapalhadas, which had never been released on disc. Another obscure track in this album is Vou Me Benzer, written in 1919 and retrieved from the collection of sheet music given by the composer to the kings of Belgium. Other interesting tracks are Canjiquinha Quente, Sou da Fandanga, Quem São Eles and Sete Coroas. Tasty and documental, this disc resurrects the memory of the pioneering composer and testifies that the samba wasn't made overnight. (Tárik de Souza)