Brazilian / Forró / Samba

PANM360 at Nuits d’Afrique | Alberto Salgado Turns Balattou Into a Percussive Laboratory

by Michel Labrecque

The Brazilian songwriter told me in an interview: “I make MPB, Brazilian percussive music,” making a play on words with the real meaning of MPB (Brazilian popular music). We were able to see, Thursday evening at Balattou, that he was speaking the truth. 

The guitarist and singer from Brasilia offered us a two-part concert, largely consisting of pieces from his records Além do Quintal and Cabaça de Agua, as well as the upcoming album Tutorial de Ebo. The temperature quickly rose in the club dedicated to world music.

Alberto Salgado is surrounded by a small musical group: Marcelo Marinho on cavaquinho, Valerio Xavier on pandeiro (small drum) and other various percussions, and an occasional triangle player (yes!). This contrasts with the multitude of instruments, including electronic, that we hear on these studio recordings. On the other hand, the guides are overflowing with communicative energy. Enough to supply Place Ville-Marie with electricity!

Marcelo Marinho is the John McLaughlin of cavaquinho, this tiny guitar with high notes. He multiplies his solo flights, dropping notes by tens per second. It is he who provides the melodic foundation of the group, with the voice and guitar of Alberto Salgado.

Salgado’s guitar is very percussive, which brings us back to this idea of ​​music very focused on rhythm. There are forró, samba, Afro-Brazilian rhythms, often very subtle. It is an essential force in Brazilian music, beyond Bossa Nova and the forms better known here. This is what made Balattou transform into a percussive laboratory. In addition to the musicians, the entire audience was stamping their feet or tapping on the table or their thighs. Those who weren’t tapping got up to dance.

Alberto Salgado and his musicians speak very limited English, which has deprived them of sharing with us their worlds beyond music. But that did not prevent the public from feeling communion and the desire to share.

Publicité panam

Latest 360 Content

Festival de Lanaudière | Leonardo Garcia Alarcon/Monteverdi’s Coronation of Popea: being marketwise

Festival de Lanaudière | Leonardo Garcia Alarcon/Monteverdi’s Coronation of Popea: being marketwise

FIJM | Nate Smith and his Supremely Talented Quartet

FIJM | Nate Smith and his Supremely Talented Quartet

FIJM | Nai Palm? Creature of Exception! Hawa B? Future Star!

FIJM | Nai Palm? Creature of Exception! Hawa B? Future Star!

FIJM 2025 | Funky funky, Trombone Shorty

FIJM 2025 | Funky funky, Trombone Shorty

FIJM | Nubya Garcia Becomes a Star in MTL

FIJM | Nubya Garcia Becomes a Star in MTL

FIJM 2025 | Symphonic Avishai Cohen: Bewitching magic

FIJM 2025 | Symphonic Avishai Cohen: Bewitching magic

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

Common Holly – Anything glass

Common Holly – Anything glass

FIJM I Hanorah Sets the TD Stage Ablaze with Soulful R&B

FIJM I Hanorah Sets the TD Stage Ablaze with Soulful R&B

FIJM | Jeff Goldblum: Storyteller, Comedian and Pianist, 3 in 1

FIJM | Jeff Goldblum: Storyteller, Comedian and Pianist, 3 in 1

FIJM I Still Taking Us There, Mavis Staples Electrifies Montreal JazzFest

FIJM I Still Taking Us There, Mavis Staples Electrifies Montreal JazzFest

FIJM | Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – Ventre Unique

FIJM | Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – Ventre Unique

Fantastic Negrito – Son of A Broken Man

Fantastic Negrito – Son of A Broken Man

Cumbia, Chaos, and Resistance: Empanadas Illegales Bring the Heat to Montreal Jazz Fest

Cumbia, Chaos, and Resistance: Empanadas Illegales Bring the Heat to Montreal Jazz Fest

Turnstile – Never Enough

Turnstile – Never Enough

FIJM | Meggie Lennon and The Desire Days Story

FIJM | Meggie Lennon and The Desire Days Story

FIJM | Dianne Reeves and Romero Lubambo: An Intimate Duo of Virtuosos

FIJM | Dianne Reeves and Romero Lubambo: An Intimate Duo of Virtuosos

FIJM | Brandon Woody’s Upendo: Baltimore Represents !

FIJM | Brandon Woody’s Upendo: Baltimore Represents !

FIJM | Stella Cole: From Tik Tok to The Biggest Jazz Stages

FIJM | Stella Cole: From Tik Tok to The Biggest Jazz Stages

ALICE on Her X

ALICE on Her X

FIJM  | Samara Joy: Pushing Classic Vocal Jazz Repertoire to its Limits

FIJM | Samara Joy: Pushing Classic Vocal Jazz Repertoire to its Limits

FIJM | Nas symphonic and Nas not symphonic

FIJM | Nas symphonic and Nas not symphonic

Suoni | The Jellicle KIKI Ball #2 – Feline Grace is Served

Suoni | The Jellicle KIKI Ball #2 – Feline Grace is Served

Suoni | The Dark, Wicked, Warm and Absurd on the Same Dish

Suoni | The Dark, Wicked, Warm and Absurd on the Same Dish

Subscribe to our newsletter