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ivylander
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Song for Saturday: Tim Maia

Posted about 4 years ago
In the process of putting together a long-overdue mix of Tim Maia songs for a fellow MOGger (you know who you are), I am rediscovering the man who has been called The Father of Brazilian Soul. Which is a lot cooler than being the Father of Albanian Soul. Maia was an interesting guy. A Rio native who came to the U.S. in the late Fifties on scholarship, sang in some early soul groups, got busted for pot in '62 or '63 and deported back to Brazil. (Amazing, isn't it, to think that marijuana was once a deportable offense?) Hung in there and developed a handy line in accommodating American soul to Brazilian players and, in some cases, musical forms.This song is from what's considered Maia's prime period, from '70 to '75. It could almost pass, with English lyrics, for an American soul classic from that period - but not quite. There's a slightly different flavor in there somewhere, hard for me to tease out. But damn, he can sing. And the horn chart is all there. And I love that loping, funky-but-not-quite rhythm, and the odd little fuzz guitar riff. Thanks, Mystery MOGger, for turning me back on to a highly cool soul artiste.
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Comments (23)

  1. Spike
    Spike says Winsome, beguiling, choice---oh heck, if my ears like it, I generally also like it, and that's the case here.
    Permalink posted 05/03/2008
  2. runobodyii
    runobodyii says Very nice. Parts of it are calling up Santana for me.
    Permalink posted 05/03/2008
  3. ivylander
    ivylander says Spike, your ears have probably never failed you, and they have certainly never failed us. RU, certainly the guitar is Santana-esque, and I'm not sure that the percussionists aren't sneaking in some Latin stuff underneath the beat. Here's another song of Maia's that I like, "Azul da Cor do Mar." It could almost be a Chi-Lites song..... ~dui89cNndnK.mp3~
    Permalink posted 05/03/2008
  4. Hermes
    Hermes says I have only one song of Maia, which is contained on the "Gilles Peterson in Brasil" named "No caminho do bem". It stands there amongst equals, Gilles only picked pure dope tracks for his compilation and infected me with his brazilophily. So an overview of Maias work would be highly welcome from my side. Will you make a Maia muxtape from the mixtape for our mistery mogger?
    Permalink posted 05/03/2008
  5. Bartleby
    Bartleby says Before I say anything about Tim Maia's sound, I must ask: Is there a mailing list one can sign up for your mix? "Reu Confesso" contains really superb arrangements: the horns chime in perfect unison with the guitars' soulful strumming. Just when I thought we reached an apex there, I was taken aback by the lush beauty of "Azul..." What's not to like: the strings, the vocals. Heck, he even threw in some harmonica for good measure. (Our friend Cee would love it, I'm sure) Maia sounds like a Brazilian hybrid of Al Green and Smokey Robinson on that "Blue from Cor do Mar." -- Thanks Bill for my first aurgasm of the weekend.
    Permalink posted 05/03/2008
  6. ivylander
    ivylander says Hermes, that Maia is not one I know - how about tossing it up on the MOG? I'm not sure how this muxtape thing works, but so many MOGgers are into it I may have to find out.... B., I'm so pleased you're digging this. And I hope Cee gets a chance to hear it. Who knows, Tim might show up on a mix that reaches your doorstep some day....
    Permalink posted 05/03/2008
  7. bowieface
    bowieface says Good stuff, thanks for the suggestion!
    Permalink posted 05/03/2008
  8. deadmandeadman
    deadmandeadman says You keep on reminding me that there are worlds of music I know nothing about. That is simultaneously cool & maddening (in a good way((?)). It's great to know that the universe is ever expanding, but saddening to know there's so much I'll ??never?? hear.
    Permalink posted 05/03/2008
  9. scotfree
    scotfree says Look, as one who knows absolutely NOTHING about Brazilian soul (and is half PIMP drunk as is) - you know what I hear here? A clone of Isley Brothers from the sameish period....I mean who heard who first? That fuzz guitar tone and phrasing just screams "Who's That Lady". And, I certainly hear that Chi Lites ref in "Azul da Cor do Mar" - so purely. So is this the source of early 70's US radio soul, or a fineand talented Brazilian artist bringing those sounds back home? Such fine stuff Ivy.
    Permalink posted 05/03/2008
  10. ivylander
    ivylander says Bowieface, hope you had a lovely grassy dream.... DM2, we cannot hope to conquer all the music that's out there, we can just keep adding to our portfolios. In this case, more is always more, though it;s never enough. Scot, the Isleys are a terrific reference point - they stuck a toe in every variant of soul - brilliant generalists - and so did Maia. I'm guessing he was a very talented magpie....
    Permalink posted 05/03/2008
  11. Mike the Knife
    Mike the Knife says Nice uplift here, ivy. Cooling off my Saturday night...
    Permalink posted 05/03/2008
  12. dermahrk
    dermahrk says At first I mis-read your post and thought these *were* English lyrics - and totally indecipherable to me. But they're not, and it wouldn't really matter anyway. A lovely soulful track. Allow me to mourn soul music for a moment, now the genre of white British females while African-Americans rap their brains out.
    Permalink posted 05/04/2008
  13. ivylander
    ivylander says Mike, hope you're back to room temperature on this most pleasant Sunday. Always happy to help.... Dermahrk, I'm not sure it's just African-American music that has been affected. The whole idea of pop craftsmanship sometimes seems to be turning into a quaint skill akin to, say, boat-building.....
    Permalink posted 05/04/2008
  14. jersondread
    jersondread says Tim Maia is busted because a car stolen near a state of Florida, him leaved in the city near of New York and cross the country, before his have a band with Roberto Carlos!!! Great post man!!!
    Permalink posted 05/06/2008
  15. ivylander
    ivylander says Glad you liked the music, JD. Thanks for the extra detail about Maia's exploits. He was a serious badass....
    Permalink posted 05/06/2008
  16. Cody B
    Cody B says Evidently as Tim got wider, took more drugs, and found religion his output (also massive) became a little inconsistent. But when he was on, like here, he was damn good.Who could the lucky MOGger be? I am all atwitter.
    Permalink posted 05/07/2008
  17. ivylander
    ivylander says We are not at liberty to divulge this information....
    Permalink posted 05/07/2008
  18. Hermes
    Hermes says So finally I posted the track, that I was talking about earlier "> here":http://mog.com/Hermes/blog_post/160453
    Permalink posted 05/07/2008
  19. Cody B
    Cody B says I added a couple more over at Hermes' place. Many styles, for Mr. Tim.
    Permalink posted 05/07/2008
  20. ivylander
    ivylander says Also check out jersondread's two Tim Maia posts from yesterday, highlighting Mr. Maia's disco output. He was indeed protean..... By the way, jersondread is a highly worthy new addition to the MOG family. He has posted some sweet tunes....
    Permalink posted 05/07/2008
  21. jersondread
    jersondread says Hey man!!! Did you listen Ed Motta?! He`s a parent of Tim Maia!!! Oh... you now brazilian music very well, congratulations and very thank's comprade!!!
    Permalink posted 05/07/2008
  22. ivylander
    ivylander says I've got a little bit of Ed Motta, but not nearly enough. Maybe you could post a couple of his best tracks someday.....
    Permalink posted 05/07/2008
  23. jersondread
    jersondread says All right... some day i post!!!
    Permalink posted 05/07/2008

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