A perfect little label is what Elenco Records was, and in its short lifetime from 1963 to 1966 it produced a massively influential body of work that set new standards for bossa nova and the movements that would follow in its wake. Run by Aloysio de Oliveira, a former A&R man for Odeon and Philips, he started Elenco in direct opposition to the multinationals who despite having amazing artists stopped short of the breathtaking majesty that would set his records apart from theirs.
After producing 60 records, many of them stone classics of Brazilian music, the label folded after helping launch the careers of Nara Leão, Edu Lobo, MPB-4, Quareto Em Cy, Baden Powell, and others. Because of its relatively finite catalog and remarkably high batting average in terms of quality, it should be recognized as one of the great indie labels, right up there with Studio One, Stax, and Rough Trade. Unfortunately, Elenco has been largely unknown outside of Brazil. Hopefully this collection by Soul Jazz (the sister set to their equally tremendous and previously-reviewed Bossa Nova and the Rise of Brazilian Music in the 1960s) will help shed light on this criminally overlooked label.
Elenco first caught my eye in the late '90s, when their iconic black/red/white cover art caught my eye via two albums: Quarteto Em Cy’s self-titled 1966 album and Nara Leao’s 1964 debut. Both albums saw endless airplay at my house and set me off on a years-long obsession with the label (when my wife and I got engaged, we got a high-contrast photo of us and gave it to the designer of our invitation along with a half-dozen of our favourite Elenco covers for him to emulate!).
The care that went into the album covers, designed by Cesar Villela and photographer Francisco Pereira, is echoed in the music on each record. Oliveira’s team of arrangers were retro-modernists, not afraid to use an orchestra regularly but getting them to produce bold and at times outré arrangements. Elenco recordings are also marked by their flawless warmth of production.
The aforementioned albums by Nara Leão and Quarteto Em Cy are represented here. The latter’s "Amaralina" (incorrectly listed as "Amoralina"), with its unforgettable "shkin-deng-deng shkin-deng-dong" refrain, jazzily outdoes The Chordettes with an unexpected and otherworldly midpoint a capella re-harmonization of the first two lines that will blow your mind. Their version of "Canto de Ossanha" is pure harmony vocal heaven—fans of The Free Design, The Beach Boys, and The Beatles need to listen up. Nara Leão, the so-called "Muse of Bossa Nova" (see our review of Bossa Nova And The Rise Of Brazilian Music below), has three tunes from her debut here, including the first version of "Nana", which she snagged before Bola Sete even got a chance to write lyrics for it (she scats the melody instead).
The Brazilians are well known for their love of vocalese refrains, and Edu Lobo, a true giant of Brazilian music for so many reasons, was one of the greatest in this respect. His three featured songs are all part of the canon of '60s Brazilian music (“Reza”, “Upa Neguinho” and “Zanzibar”), and all include famous scat hooks.
This could have easily been a double-disc collection to accommodate more from MPB4 (their version of "Cravo e Canela" is arguably the best ever recorded), Baden Powell (proof that 'guitar virtuoso' and 'tasteful' are not mutually exclusive terms), Sylvia Telles (who established herself as a great singer before marrying Oliveira), and those throwbacks to a previous era who transitioned to the bossa era quite nicely (Lucio Alves, Sergio Ricardo). Then there are those who, probably due to licensing issues, recorded for the label but are not included here (hello, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Dorival Caymmi, Maysa, Maria Bethania, and Sergio Mendez).
This is a flawless set, though, and one that brilliantly follows up on an already great collection of Brazilian bossa nova. An early contender for my top spot for 2011 reissues; do your spirits a favour and pick this one up.