Madeline Sales grew up in Charlottesville, then attended Duke University. After college, she traveled through Latin America. She ended up in Bahia, the northern province of Brazil that is renowned for its music, and there she met Humberto Sales. Humberto began playing guitar as a child, and by the age of 12 he was playing very seriously. He was at the university when he and Madeline decided to pool their talents into a group. The band was so good that they received numerous offers to play abroad. On a return trip from Turkey, the two decided to return to her home here, and they have been performing samba, bossa nova and other styles as Beleza Brasil. They play every week at The Bluebird Café, Bashir’s and Zocalo, and Humberto is busy giving guitar lessons. The duo also have a CD that was recorded in Brazil that is due out this August.
Spencer Lathrop: Brazilian bands?
Madeline Sales: There is a singer named Cybele, who I think is based in France now, who sings nice, soft bossa nova stuff with just a guitar. In the traditional vibe, I like Rosa Passos, and I like Marisa Monte’s voice. Carlinhos Brown is a very smart, interesting musician. He brings a lot of people together. And a band, Bossacucanova. I love that stuff. We would like to figure it out more but it would take us a lot more tech.
Humberto Sales: Bossacucanova has a good record, Uma Batida Diferente. We get lots of ideas from them. From my town in Bahia comes Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso. There is a very famous mandolin player named Armandinho. There is a great musician named Aderbao Duarte, who is the only one who can play like Joao Gilberto. He is keeping that music alive. Jorge Ben, who is Tropicalia era, but he also really likes funk. And Monica Salmaso, from Rio, but she is doing really well in the U.S.
Samba? HS: I have a lot of great records, but Djavan has an album called Seduzir, and at the moment he is playing really good samba. I admire Joao Bosco, who has had a great influence on my playing. There is a group of samba players called Fundo de Quintal, which means backyard. They would get together in their backyards and bring hand percussion, guitars and mandolin. If you want to hear quality samba, they are a very good band.
Flamenco? HS: First of all, Paco de Lucia. He is very important because Flamenco music was the blues and came from the lower social classes, and he brought it to the concert level. He drew his path in a hard way. He was just a boy and wanted to play soccer with his friends, but he had to stay away from his window playing the guitar. He had a mission “to be the best.” De Lucia has about 35 albums, but Solo Quiero Caminar is a very good one. Tomatio from Spain. He is a real gypsy, and was performing a lot at 12. Vicente Amigo is part of the new generation of players, as is my teacher Gerardo Nunez. And Augustin Carbonell, who is also a gypsy and the nephew of Sabicas. He can play like de Lucia.