Ary Barroso

Ary Barroso

Source: Radio Music Star

Ary Barroso was a samba composer and pianist born on 7 November 1903 in Ubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil, toward spending a large portion of his life composing for film and television. He himself issued few records, but vocalists who did made his compositions famous. Just so, what few recordings herein by Barroso himself are tucked into a greater progress through Brazilian music by various artists availing themselves of his compositions from the twenties through the fifties. Apart from albums, Barroso held only eight studio sessions from 1938 ('Tu') to 1958 ('Sombra e Luz'). He recorded six albums from 1953 ('Fantasia Carioca') to 1958 ('Meu Brasil Brasileiro'). Of his compositions 'Aquarela do Brasil' of 1939 is his overall best-known followed by 'Bahia' ('Na Baixa do Sapateiro') of 1938.

Barroso began training at keyboard at age 10 and began his career in theaters playing piano for silent films. His first composition, 'De Longe', appeared in 1918. A nice inheritance in 1921 found him moving to Rio de Janeiro to study law, which school he completed the year after compositions by him were first issued on record in December 1928. The one was the samba, of which he authored above 160, 'Vou à Penha', issued by Odeon and performed by another major name in Latin recording, Mario Reis, with the Orchestra Pan American. The other was the samba, 'Tu Queres Muito', issued by Parlophon and performed by Artur Castro with the Simão Nacional Orquestra. His first official composition written at age eighteen, 'Teus Óio', was recorded by Gastão Formenti in latter 1929 toward release on Parlophon 13.076-A in January 1930. 'Teus Óio' is also known as 'De Longe' or 'Nosso Amô Veio d’um Sonho'.

The first song Barroso composed for dancer, Carmen Miranda, who would become a close friend, was 'O Nêgo no Samba' which Miranda recorded on 14 December 1929 for release the next year by Victor. Barroso composed all the titles on the Miranda compilation released in 2006/07 by EMI, 'Carmen Canta Ary Barroso'. Barroso also composed for Carnival, his 'Dá Nela' winning the contest of 1930. Samples below take us through a few decades of largely sambas all composed by Barroso except as indicated. Chronological stacking is per the rather remarkable sessionography of Daniella Thompson [refs below].