Roberta Sá stands out for her impeccable repertoire and for a quality that makes her first cd seem the work of a singer with many years on the road Marco Lacerda

Marco Lacerda

 

Like a veteran Rio – Roberta Sá’s record Braseiro is a pleasant surprise. The singer, who took part on TV show “Fama” (and was eliminated soon after the start), has a soft, very tuned and pleasant voice, which on occasions remembers Marisa Monte. Apart from that, her first cd stands out for the repertoire, of impeccable quality. Previously recorded by João Gilberto, the swinging Eu sambo mesmo (Janet de Almeida), which opens the album, gains a delightful trace in this version. In Chico Buarque’s Pelas tabelas, the song at least is as good as the author’s own version. Other songs that deserve to be highlighted are the terrific No braseiro; the opera prima Lavoura, created by Teresa Cristina in association with Pedro Amorim, and that Roberta shares with Ney Matogrosso; the classical A vizinha do lado, the work of maestro Dorival Caymmi, and A Dolorida, by Paulo César Pinheiro and Miltinho. It is one of those scarce records where there is not one single lousy song from beginning to end. At 24, the young singer Roberta Sá presents Braseiro like she was a veteran. In a little over 3 years, music went moved from something collateral to being the main event in the life of this young woman, since she became certain that this is her road. A show at the Mistura Fina in Rio, in 2002, was the sort of staring point for the conquering of important “allies”. Felipe Abreu, responsible for the vocal direction of Braseiro, was there and was the first great promoter. Musicians Paulo Malagutti and Rodrigo Campello entered the scene in the production of a five-song demo that started to be produced in 2003. Born in Rio Grande do Norte, and living in Rio de Janeiro since the age of nine, Roberta smiles and confesses: “after the demo was ready, I decided to send it to Gilberto Braga who was in the middle of the debut of the soap opera Celebridades, and Mariozinho Rocha (the TV Globo powerful musical producer). Quite cheeky!” Her sagitarian impulse was soon rewarded: “The songs in the demo didn’t fit in with the characters, but Gilberto wanted to include Caymmi’s samba A vizinha do lado and invited me to record it.” Right after that, Rodrigo Campello started to work with Roberta in the repertoire of her first cd. Felipe Abreu presented the material and his sister, Fernanda Abreu showed to João Mário Linhares, of MPB recording company. This team of distinguished allies also counted with the allegiance of Ney Matogrosso, who sings Lavoura with Roberta, Pedro Luís, the musicians from Da Parede and the veterans MP4. The repertoire of Braseiro is a love declaration to Brazilian popular music. From the first song, Eu sambo mesmo, Roberta “faces up” to a samba immortalised by João Gilberto. “That was the first song I decided to record. The lyrics reveal exactly what I wanted to say in the opening of the record.” Including a less obvious Chico Buarque in Pelas tabelas is also effective: “I always say that in my family we don’t like Chico. We are his faithful devotees,” the singer declares. Pedro Luís composed the unpublished song No Braseiro especially for Roberta to record. The musician also shares the vocals and gives the repertoire a Carioca (Rio de Janeiro-born) accent. The song Casa pré-fabricada stayed in the singer’s mind since she heard the Los Hermanos’ album Bloco de eu sozinho. “I just couldn’t stop listening to that song. And that was way before Marcelo Camelo became national unanimity”, she jokes.
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Marco Lacerda Journalist Brazil .