Bridging Samba’s Age Gap: Nogueira and Aragão

By Maíra Amorim, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO – A bridge between two generations of samba will be crossed at Circo Voador this Friday. Diogo Nogueira, the young samba sensation, and Jorge Aragão, a veteran composer, are joining forces to stage their project “Paixão pelo Rio” (Passion for Rio).

Diogo, who was nominated for Breakthrough Artist at the 2008 Grammy Latino Awards, is releasing his second album “Tô Fazendo a Minha Parte” (I’m Doing my Part), which he will be presenting on Friday, August 7. He is the son of João Nogueira, one of the most famous samba composers, who worked with singers such as Clara Nunes and Eliana Pittman.

But Diogo is not only the son of a great artist. He has heaps of talent and is being recognized by samba music critics all over the country. The composer Ivan Lins, when writing about Diogo, noted that, “he is showing Brazil, through his beautiful voice and singing style, that he is one of the most talented singers of the new generation of Carioca samba.” Plus, he is the lucky owner of a pair of deep blue eyes that drive women crazy.

On the new album, he is singing compositions by veterans Arlindo Cruz, Neguinho da Beija Flor, Almir Guineto as well as young composers the likes of Leandro Fregonesi, Rodrigo Leite and Alex Magno. He also had the honor of having a song written by Chico Buarque and Ivan Lins especially for him, “Sou Eu” (That’s Me).

Jorge Aragão is a singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, and plays the guitar, surdo, cavaquinho and banjo, among other instruments. He started his career in the 70s and was one of the founders of the group Fundo de Quintal, considered the root of pagode – a samba sub-genre that has developed further into a series of other musical styles, often considered paltry and of poor quality.

The original pagode however, as performed by Aragão, has a lot in common with samba. From this point of view, his encounter with Diogo Nogueira promises to be quite interesting indeed. They have already recorded the classic “Coisa de Pele” for the Samba Social Clube 2 DVD and will likely include Aragão’s hit “Malandro” as well as music from Diogo’s father. A great bonus to these collaborative, project-based concerts is that a lot of room is given for improvisation and interpretation, offering surprises and musical variations on classic tunes.

Diogo Nogueira and Jorge Aragão
Circo Voador – 10PM
Rua dos Arcos, S/N, Lapa – Tel.: (21) 2533-0354
Tickets from R$20