Who is Marisa Monte?

Marisa Monte is a fabulous brazilian singer. She is contemporary. She is AMAZING!

When I returned to the US in winter of 1995, I was so disgusted to be back in the US. I had left the place of passion. The place I loved more than any other place I had known. I had armagura na boca totalmente. My feet were in snow, when they ached sand.

But I also had Marisa Monte's Rose and Charcoal CD. That kept up my saudade. Si eu nao tenho meu amor, eu tenho minha dor. (If I don't have my love, I have my pain.)

Marisa has released more albums since 1995. Just search Amazon (click the links in my sidebar or go to Amoeba). But none of her recent albums really hit me in the chest like Rose and Charcoal - until I heard Tribalistas.

Marisa has been collaborating with Carlinhos Brown and Arnaldo Antunes on most of her albums. On Tribalistas they finally all share equal billing. This is one of the most amazing CDs I own. It's partly because of the timing - of things happening in my life and this CD.

The catchy hit song (a la Sly and the Family Stone, It's a Family Affair) is - Ja Sei Namorar. Ja sei beijar de lingua, Agora, so me resta sonhar. (I already know how to love., I already know how to tongue kiss, Now all I have left to do is dream. / Eu so de ninguem, Eu so de todo mundo, E todo mundo me quer bem, ... e todo mundo e meu tambem (I am no one's, I belong to everyone, and everyone is fond of me, .... and everyon is mine too)

I'd be having a rough day and driving around in the sunny mission or across the bay bridge and I'd listen to this CD as loud as I could and get tears stuck in my throat. Carnavalia, Passe em Casa, La de Longe - amazing songs.

Go out by these CDs. If you like Brazilian music, (or even if not) prepare to be BLOWN AWAY.

Comments

[George]

I still haven't found a copy of "Tribalistas" yet, though I held it in my hot little hand at a baby shower for a moment last fall. Fave "Rose and Charcoal" track? Oddly enough, the English-language cover of the Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes."