''Zé Ramalho'' is the debut album (if ''

Paêbirú ''Paêbirú'' is an album by Brazilian artists Lula Côrtes and Zé Ramalho. The album was originally released in 1975 in music, 1975 and reissued in 2005 on Shadoks Music and later on by Mr. Bongo UK, in a very high quality Vinyl and CD Edition. ...

'' is not taken into account) by the artist of same name, released in 1978. It features two great hits of his career: "Chão de Giz" and "Avôhai". Patrick Moraz, keyboardist of the band

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

, guest appeared in the track "Avôhai". The CD was re-released in 2003 with five bonus tracks.

Background

The songs of the album were created during trips through the states of

Paraíba Paraíba ( Tupi: ''pa'ra a'íba''; ) is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba ...

and

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...

between 1975 and 1976, when Ramalho was studying medicine at the

Federal University of Paraíba Federal University of Paraíba ( pt, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, UFPB) is a public university whose main campus is located in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. Along with Federal University of Campina Grande, they're the main u ...

. With these tracks, he left college and moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, where he approached several producers and businessmen to try and land a deal for his first solo album. However, he was rejected by all of them after showing them "Avôhai", "Vila do Sossego" and "Chão de Giz" until he met Jairo Pires, then president of CBS, via which the album was released.

Production, "Avôhai" and reception

The album features many artists including Sérgio Dias,

Dominguinhos José Domingos de Morais (12 February 1941 – 23 July 2013), better known as Dominguinhos, was a Brazilian composer, accordionist and singer. His principal musical influences were the music of Luiz Gonzaga, Forró and in general the music of the ...

Altamiro Carrilho Altamiro Carrilho (born Altamiro Aquino Carrilho; December 21, 1924 – August 15, 2012) was a Brazilian musician and composer. He is widely regarded as a master flutist and a major representative of the choro genre. Carrilho died of lung ca ...

Bezerra da Silva José Bezerra da Silva (February 23, 1927 in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil – January 17, 2005 in Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazilian samba musician of the partido alto style. Biography Bezerra da Silva played zabumba as a child and sang coco in Reci ...

Paulo Moura Paulo Moura (15 July 1932 – 12 July 2010) was a Brazilian clarinetist and saxophonist. Born in São José do Rio Preto, where his father was the maestro of a marching band and encouraged his son to train as a tailor, Paulo instead studied in t ...

and keyboardist Patrick Moraz of

fame, the latter on "Avôhai". Sion kept contact with Moraz, which is what allowed the opportunity for his guest appearance. He played a keyboard that Sion had rented from

Lincoln Olivetti Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

. "Avôhai" was composed as a tribute to Ramalho's grandfather, who adopted him after his father died by drowning two years after he was born. Ramalho said that inspiration for the song came after an experience with psilocybin mushrooms in a friend's farm. He looked at the sky and saw the "shadow of a gigantic spaceship", and a voice whispered "Avôhai" in his ear. He was in that farm for a college assignment. "Avôhai" comes from the words "Avô" (grandfather) and "Pai" (father). The song marked the first time he listened to his own work on the radio, when he was in a taxi heading to

Galeão Airport Galeão (Portuguese meaning galleon) may refer to: *Galeão Air Force Base, a Brazilian Air Force base in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport (Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport), an airport in t ...

in order to catch a plane for another leg of the album's promotional tour. The album didn't receive much attention from the press, and when it did, it received heavy criticism; Ramalho believes critics simply had a prejudice against his

Northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

origins. A story published by '' Folha de S.Paulo'' in 1980, however, says critics were positive about the album and that some established a comparison between Ramalho and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

. About this, in the same story, Ramalho said they did so because "they didn't know Otacílio Batista" - one of Brazil's greatest repentists, according to him. In 2014, "Chão de Giz" was listed by

ECAD Electronic design automation (EDA), also referred to as electronic computer-aided design (ECAD), is a category of software tools for designing electronic systems such as integrated circuits and printed circuit boards. The tools work togethe ...

as the tenth song with most live cover versions performed in that year.

Track listing

Remastered version

Apart from all original tracks, the remastered version contains the following bonus tracks, all of them being

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

& voice versions:

Personnel

* Zé Ramalho – Acoustic guitar,

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

. * Chico Julien — bass * Chico Batera — drums * Gian Carlos Pareschini –

Violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

on "Vila do Sossego * Lula Côrtes – Electric

tricordia A tricordia (also trichordia or tricordio) or mandriola is a twelve-stringed variation of the mandolin. The tricordia is used in Mexican folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary g ...

on "A Noite Preta" * Lourenço Baeta –

Flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

on "Voa, Voa" * Odaires Rosangela –

Choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

on "Voa, Voa" * Sergio Dias Baptista - Lead Guitar on "A Danca das Borboletas" * Patrick Moraz;

Synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s on "Avôhai"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ze Ramalho Zé Ramalho albums 1978 debut albums Epic Records albums