José Bezerra da Silva (February 23, 1927 – January 17, 2005) was a Brazilian
samba
Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
musician of the
partido alto style.
Biography
Bezerra da Silva was born on February 23, 1927 in
Recife
Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...
. He played
zabumba
A zabumba () is a type of bass drum used in Brazilian music. The player wears the drum while standing up and uses both hands while playing.
The zabumba generally ranges in diameter from 16 to 22 inches, and is 5 to 8 inches tall. The shell is mad ...
as a child and sang
coco
Coco or variants may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Coco'' (2009 film), a French comedy film
* ''Coco'' (2017 film), an American animated fantasy film
* '' Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle'' (), a 2020 Japanese anime film ...
in Recife. He moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1942, and in 1950, ''Rádio Clube do Brasil'' hired him as a
session musician
A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...
. In 1960 he became a member of the ''Orquestra Copacabana Discos'' of
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, and in the 1970s and 1980s he performed with the ''Orquestra da TV Globo''. He recorded his first singles in 1969, and went on to release 30 albums over the course of his career, charting many hits in his native country. His music often deals with political and social issues, touching on
gang violence
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...
, the
drug trade, and the law.
Bezerra became known for recording sambas from unfamed and marginalized composers, which were often people living in difficulties and dealing with criminal environments, who wrote with sharp irony. The label ''sambandido'' (samba + bandit) was sometimes used to refer to his work, and he strongly disliked the word. One of his greatest hits, which was rerecorded several times by various artists, is ''Malandragem Dá Um Tempo'', whose chorus is ''I'm going to roll, but I won't light it now'', an allusion to the efforts
marijuana
Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
users make in order to avoid the law.
In 2001, he converted to the
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. He died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
in 2005 at the age of 77.
Discography
* ''O Rei Do Côco'' (1976)
* ''Partido Alto Nota 10 Bezerra e Genaro'' (1977)
* ''Partido Alto Nota 10 Vol.2 - Bezerra e Seus Convidados'' (1979)
* ''Partido Alto Nota 10 Vol.3 - Bezerra e Rey Jordão'' (1980)
* ''Partido Muito Alto'' (1980)
* ''Samba Partido e Outras Comidas'' (1981)
* ''Bezerra e um Punhado de Bambas'' (1982)
* ''Produto do Morro'' (1983)
* ''É Esse Aí Que É o Homem'' (1984)
* ''Malandro Rife'' (1985)
* ''Alô Malandragem, Maloca o Flagrante'' (1986)
* ''Justiça Social'' (1987)
* ''Violência Gera Violência'' (1988)
* ''Se Não Fosse o Samba'' (1989)
* ''Eu não sou Santo'' (1990)
* ''Partideiro da Pesada'' (1991)
* ''Presidente Caô Caô'' (1992)
* ''Cocada Boa'' (1993)
* ''Bezerra, Moreira e Dicro - Os 3 Malandros In Concert'' (1995)
* ''Contra O VERDADEIRO Canalha (Bambas Do Samba)'' (1995)
* ''Meu Samba É Duro na Queda'' (1996)
* ''Eu Tô de Pé'' (1998)
* ''Provando e Comprovando sua Versatilidade'' (1998)
* ''Bezerra da Silva: Ao Vivo'' (1999)
* ''Malandro é Malandro e Mané é Mané'' (2000)
* ''A Gíria é Cultura do Povo'' (2002)
* ''Caminho de Luz'' (2003)
* ''Pega Eu'' (2003)
* ''Meu Bom Juiz'' (2003)
* ''O Partido Alto do Samba'' (2004)
* ''Série Maxximum - Bezerra da Silva'' (2005)
* ''O Samba Malandro de Bezerra da Silva'' (2005)
See also
*
Music of Brazil
The music of Brazil encompasses various regional musical styles influenced by European, Music of the United States, American, African and Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as forró, repente, coco ...
References
*
Bezerra da Silvaat Allmusic.com
1927 births
2005 deaths
Brazilian percussionists
People from Recife
Samba musicians
20th-century Brazilian male singers
20th-century Brazilian singers
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