Track Listing

1. Essa Nega
2. Zazeira
3. Reza Forte
4. Samba Summer
5. Pabaruba
6. Capeira
7. Sequence Part I
8. Sequence Part II
9. Drums Evolution
10. Amazonia Jungle

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #236836 in Music
• Released on: 1998-06-16
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
The pulsating rhythms of Pe De Boi - The Power Samba Band - have electrified the New York club scene since 1980. Born of the rich Brazilian musical tradition and inflected with elements of jazz, rock and salsa, the songs on this album feature as many as 10 different percussionists. Band founder and leader Guilherme Franco- a native of Brazil, a veteran of the McCoy Tyner group and one of the leading jazz percussionists in the word- named his group for a Brazilian slang term whose literal translation is the "foot of an ox," but whose real meaning is a musician with a great sense of rhythm. Their unique sound, intricate rhythms and contagious high spirits have been turning on audiences and making people move from the very first beat of the music.

Jim Trageser, American Reporter Correspondent- October 1998
...every bit as electric as the best Cuban salsa...pour a rum and coke, and dance your little fanny off.

Chris Spector, Midwest Record Recap- 7/28/98
Tasty work that starts out in Brazil but has traveled all across the landscape since forming...packs a real punch.

Customer Reviews

"Power samba" delivers, if only briefly.
Few cultures have retained, cultivated, and grown from their musical roots as well as Brazil, and what better hotbed for Brazilian-American Jazz than the Big Apple?

Excluding Jovinho Santos Neto's Seattle, of course, none, which is why there is some wonderful material on this CD. The rhythm section in particular is excellent, populated with instruments like the earth-shaking surdo and the cuica, which sounds something like a monkey making its own parade. It's worth mentioning that the cuiceiro on this record is one of the best I've heard.

Percussion fans will want to skip to track 9, Drums Evolution, which is essentially a batucada (percussion jam) track. Here, the Power Samba band lives up to its name - as fast and unerring as the "Foot of the Bull" from which their name is derived. (see also BATUCADA, recorded by the famous rhythm corps Mocidade Indepente do Padre Miguel- available from Amazon.com, of course)

Your stay in this rhytmic paradise, however, is destined to be short-lived. Despite decent performances on the horns,the melodic instruments fail to match the intensity of the drumming, and the singing occasionally sounds tacked-on; see "Capoeira," (Track 6.)

It's entirely possible that the recording does not do the performance group justice. If I should happen to make it to NYC any time soon, I'll be sure to see if Pei de Boi is playing, as I'd much rather spend the money on seeing it live than to purchasing this lukewarm CD.