VELHAS COMPANHEIRAS - MANGUEIRA & PORTELA

A meeting to celebrate the companionship between the two most traditional samba schools still in activity – Mangueira and Portela – couldn’t go wrong. Recorded in 1999 for the Japanese market thanks to the efforts of Japanese producer Katsunori Tanaka (and co-produced by Henrique Cazes), the disc is part of an Eastern samba pack, that comes out along with albums by both schools’ old school groups, recorded in the 80s (also by Tanaka) and never before released on CD in Brazil. Guilherme de Brito, Nelson Sargento and Monarco are on the cover, although the latter appears a bit more than the other two. He sings in five tracks, and Guilherme and Sargento only sing two songs, each. Folhas Secas and Pranto de Poeta appear in classic arrangements. Nelson does Sala de Recepção and Cântico à Natureza (Primavera), but Monarco is, by far, the best singer. His interpretations of Quem Me Vê Sorrindo, Gosto que me Enrosco and Quando o Samba Acabou are memorable.(Nana Vaz de Castro)