João Rafael – Bass

I don’t know anything about this guy and just happened across a video that he was playing in (at least they credited the musicians which doesn’t happen nearly as often as it should). The tune is called ‘Pago Pra Ver’ (‘I Pay To See’) and is performed by Brazilian artists Roberta Sá and Zeca Pagodinho. I have been a fan of these guys for years as I love Brazilian music in all it’s myriad forms and particularly love the fact that there are lots and lots of examples of musicians performing with groups of mixed ages – the obsession with youth culture is, to my mind, missing from the genre.

The piece has a classic Samba groove and has that lovely lilt that comes from the bass posing as a surdo (bass drum). The part is not overly challenging but there are a couple of fill that may need a second look. I don’t know if the song is available as a separate recording outside of YouTube as I cannot read any of the material relating to this as it is all in Portuguese!