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ElisaBandolim

The Unpredictable Jacob do Bandolim

Rating: 3 votes, 5.00 average.
Elisa Meyer Ferreira

Oi amigos do Mandolin Cafe!

It's about time to tell you what Jacob do Bandolim did with the recommendation letter Luiz Americano hand wrote for him to introduce him to the radio. If you haven't read my previous article you can do so here.

Jacob couldn't have felt happier with this amazing surprise, to meet Luiz Americano completely by chance. Luiz was very well known and famous at the time. He was at a shop to fix his wife's guitar. His wife was the singer Érica Costa, who he dedicated a beautiful piece called "Linda Érica." You definitely should hear it!

At same time, Jacob felt very nervous with the responsibility of playing on the radio for the first time. It was especially stressful to be recommended by his idol Luiz! He invited an older friend named Ernesto (he actually was an electrician), who played guitar. He asked him to come to rehearse with him, and prepare for the radio show. They rehearsed for several days, until Jacob and his friend walked into the front door of the radio station.

According to Jacob: "I realized I had no reason to go up (in the building). First, to play at a radio station. I had no idea how it was and how things worked, how many people it could reach. Then, it was not my interest at all, my thing was the 'serestas', my jam sessions, my playing on the stairway by the side of the gas clock, you understand? So, I went to the radio Philips and felt I didn't have any reason to be there at all. I had no interest in that. So I simply ripped apart the letter Luiz Americano gave me."

Jacob felt insecure. He felt it was not the right time for him. His golden years on the radio were yet to come. Strangely enough, his radio debut came not long after! It was on December 20, 1933 when he was only fifteen years old.

You can begin to imagine the kind of temper this "bandolinista" became famous for. He was very stubborn and persistent. He was a consummate perfectionist, someone who would only play the pieces he loved, and at the places he considered good, while accompanied by musicians chosen very carefully by him.

Jacob continued admiring Luiz Americano for the rest of his life, became good friends and recorded other pieces by him. One of my favorites are "Assim Mesmo," recorded by Jacob in 1967 for the album "Vibrações," considered by many as the best album from history of Choro. We're definitely gonna talk about this later, and "Numa Seresta" recorded by Jacob in 1950 released as 78 rpm.





I thought it would be a good idea to write a little Choro glossary.

Bandolim: it's the word for mandolin in Portuguese. So it doesn't mean a specific kind of mandolin. It can be a "bandolim brasileiro, bandolim americano, bandolim italiano, etc."

Instrument as last name: you probably figured out Jacob's last name wasn't Bandolim. His actual name was Jacob Pick Bittencourt (I know, right?! His middle name was Pick, from his Polish-Jewish mother), however it's cultural here in Brazil people name the musicians by the instrument. For example: Corina da Flauta, Arnaldinho do Cavaco, etc, meaning Flute's Corina, Cavaco's little Arnaldo. You read correctly. It's not the musicians who own the instruments, it's the other way around! It's also common, specially for guitar players, to exclude the "do," for example: Dino 7 cordas, Lia 7 cordas, Luizinho 7 cordas, etc. Meaning Dino 7 strings, Lia 7 strings, Little Luiz 7 strings, etc.

Seresta: It is a genre of Brazilian music which began with the serenades, where musicians and singers used to walk on the streets while playing and singing melodic and plaintive songs under the window of their loved ones, or crushes.

So when people ask me if there's Choro with lyrics and singing I like to say: "Yes, there are just a few Choros with lyrics, but it is ridiculous compared to the immensity of its instrumental repertoire. Because Choro is instrumental music. It originally only instrumental. Therefore, in my opinion Seresta is "Choro with lyrics." Because the authors were usually Choro players, the instruments played as accompaniment for the singer are typically the ones used in Choro music: 7-string guitar, 6-string guitar, mandolin, cavaco, flute, clarinet, etc, the language to play seresta is also the same one to play Choro.

So basically the repertoire is different and the keys of the songs vary depending on the singer, while in Choro we always try to keep the original key, respecting the composer's choice. Seresta is much more of an oral tradition, where you can only learn the song by ear, at jam sessions or from recordings, while Choro is mostly written music, or when not written, you have to learn it by ear from a trustful source (usually the recording by the composer) to learn correctly the notes of the sections.

I hope you have enjoyed this article, if so let me know down below in the comments.



I personally love these [hi]stories from Choro musicians. I can't wait to tell you more about it!

Grande abraço,
Elisa

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Updated Mar-14-2023 at 3:17pm by ElisaBandolim

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Comments

  1. BillWilliams's Avatar
    Many thanks Elisa for all the background info and for pointing us to the recordings.
  2. ElisaBandolim's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by BillWilliams
    Many thanks Elisa for all the background info and for pointing us to the recordings.
    You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked it! 😊
  3. Catuta's Avatar
    For those who still haven't heard Elisa playing yet, i strongly recommend you to join the next live streaming on her YouTube Channel ( Choro das 3) that will be held on Thursday 16th at 19:00 EST. Don't miss the chance to watch this genius playing live!!
  4. jamman's Avatar
    Loving this series and can't wait for the next article!
  5. Chris Fannin's Avatar
    Obrigado!
  6. ElisaBandolim's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Catuta
    For those who still haven't heard Elisa playing yet, i strongly recommend you to join the next live streaming on her YouTube Channel ( Choro das 3) that will be held on Thursday 16th at 19:00 EST. Don't miss the chance to watch this genius playing live!!
    Thank you, Catuta
  7. ElisaBandolim's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by jamman
    Loving this series and can't wait for the next article!
  8. ElisaBandolim's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by jamman
    Loving this series and can't wait for the next article!
  9. ElisaBandolim's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Fannin
    Obrigado!