Branco, Waltel
Meu Balanco
Waltel Branco's 'Meu Balanço' was one of the first releases to come out on Mr Bongo in 1995. It is a much-requested title with original copies becoming ever more-scarce and the price tag increasingly rising, so it feels fitting to present this stunning record once again for all to enjoy. Waltel Branco was born in Paranaguá, Brazil in 1929 and died in Rio de Janeiro in 2018. During his triumphant career he accumulated an impressive musical portfolio. A true maestro who from the 1950s onwards appeared on productions as a guitarist, writer, conductor, composer, and arranger. He worked with some of the greats of Brazilian music including Elis Regina, Dom Um Romao, Bossa Três, Marcos Valle and Tony Bizarro to name just a few. 'Meu Balanço' was originally released on CBS Records Brazil in 1975. It is Brazilian big band, orchestrated jazz-funk at its finest. Echoing the library and film productions created in Europe and the USA at the time, it also displays the hallmarks of Waltel's heritage with distinct threads of Brazilian flavour running throughout. The musicians on the record include under-the-radar players that were the backbone of the Brazilian music industry in the 1970s including Luizao Maia on bass, Edmundo Maciel on trombone and Paulinho Braga on drums. The album flirts between jazz-funk, cinematic library excursions, breaks and beats, easy-listening, and '70s cop show instrumentals. It is a breezy ride into Waltel's world, wonderfully nostalgic and of another time and place, yet snippets of the production echo the beats of contemporary hip-hop iconic artists such as Madlib, knxwledge and The Alchemist.