Maria Bethania "Maricotinha Ao Vivo (DVD)" (Biscoito Fino, 2002)
It's a delight to see Bethania performing live, stringing songs and sentiments together like tapestry beads. Well into her ripe and magesterial middle age, Bethania is a commanding dramatic presence, impassioned and playful in her presentation of the rich ironic eroticism of Brazilian popular song. This lavish performance features a sweeping array of material by songwriters as diverse as MPB standard bearers Gilberto Gil, Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque and Djavan to old-fashioned samba and bossa songsmiths including Dorival Caymmi, Ze Keti and Carlos Lyra. Younger artists like rockers Chico Cesar, Lenine and Adriana Calcanhoto are also represented, along with numerous lesser-known composers and poets. Bethania's longtime guitarist Jaime Alem leads the band and helps sculpt the sound, which is at times laid on a bit thick, but easier to handle in a visual format than on record. The DVD includes subtitles in English, French and Spanish, as well as song tablatures for any musicians out there capable of following chord progressions such as F#m7(b5) / B7(#9) / E7(sus4)... etc. I sure wish they'd been making MPB videos like this since the old days -- it'd be great to see the group from Bahia back in their youth as well. Yet even in her fifties, Maria Bethania is still in her prime!

Roberto Carlos "MTV Acustico" (MTV Brasil, 2001)

Gal Costa "Canta Tom Jobim - Ao Vivo" (BMG Video, 2000)

Vinicius De Moraes/Toquinho/Tom Jobim/Miucha "Musicalmente Dallo Studio 3" (1978?)
An hour-long, all-star concert filmed for Italian TV in the late '70s (although I can't place the year exactly...), held in honor of songwriter Vinicius De Moraes, who acts as emcee, cigarette and bourbon both firmly in hand. The entire affair is a bit low-key and sedate, in part becuase of the demure Italian studio audience, but also because Vinicius seems a bit detatched and diminished, not really cutting loose until the final medley. To his credit, Toquinho injects a fair amount of life into the show, even though Jobim and Miucha also both seem a bit uncomfortable and reserved. Still, what a great chance to see all this bossa-MPB heavyweights in action, and to hear them address the crowd in Italian, no less. Worth checking out, but don't get your hopes up too high. (On DVD, with subtitles in English, Spanish and Portuguese.)

Cassia Eller "Com Voce... Meu Mundo Ficaria Completo" (Universal Music, 2000)

Cassia Eller "Acustico MTV" (Universal, 2002)
The video version of Eller's last and best-selling album, an intense and compelling MTV "Acoustic" show, a relatively stripped-down concert album, typically heavy on the strings and snare drums, but dominated by Eller's immense and slightly terrifying personality. This is probably the best place to introduce yourself to her work; it's much more captivating and intense than the album itself (though that is also one of her best, and most accessible works. This footage presents her in her full life-embracing, dyke-y severity... Once you get a good look at Eller, the power of her work will become more apparent, at least that's how it worked for me. Her studio albums are sometimes a bit strained, but this set gets closer to what makes her so appealing and unique.

"Gilberto Gil - Tempo Rei" (VHS, 1996)
A documentary film directed by Andrucha Waddington and Lula Buarque de Hollanda, which covers the length of Gil's career and includes clips from many of his shows over the years. Includes guest appearances by Carlinhos Brown, Stevie Wonder and (of course!) Caetano Veloso.

Gilberto Gil "MTV Acustico" (WEA/MTV Brasil, 2001)
The video version of his career-reviving 1994 Acustico live album. Gil seems a bit reserved and overly professional, the music a bit sugary and stylistically static, but it's a really nice chance to hear (and see!) him performing live, in a stripped down setting. It's funny to say this, but I think I actually prefer listening to the audio CD than watching the video, but both are a real treat for fans.

Gilberto Gil "Kaya N'Gan Daya" (WEA/MTV Brasil, 2001)
The concert video version of Gil's 2002 reggae album/Marley tribute.

Gilberto Gil/Various Artists "Viva Sao Joao" (Columbia Tristar, 2003)

Francis Hime/Various Artists "Sinfonia Do Rio De Janeiro De Sao Sebastiao" (Biscoito Fino, 2002)

Daniela Mercury "Eletrodomestico - MTV Ao Vivo" (MTV Brasil, 2003)
I had been willing to give Mercury the benefit of the doubt -- there were parts of her earlier albums that had seemed interesting and fresh. Then I saw this video, where a buffed-out, athletically stocky DAN-I-ELA (her name flashing repeatedly across the screen behind her, in big, pixilated letters...), looking for all the world like a Xanadu- era Olivia Newton John, and I thought: warning! danger! cheesy!! This stuff is okay, it's just pop, and it does have some Brazilian elements that are still kind of neat, but mostly it's just silly commercial fluff, Christina Aguilera wannabee material, and her performance doesn't really offer anything unique or elevating, nor does the staging of the video itself, which seems kind of small, static and dated. Good chance to see her perform live, but I have a hunch she was much more fun to watch a couple of years earlier.

Marisa Monte "Memorias, Cronicas E Declaracaoes De Amor" (DVD) (Phonomotor/EMI, 2002)
Monte and her band performing live with a great light show, beautiful sound, and all her radiant charisma on full display. In some ways this plays out like any old modern rock concert, full of love songs and flashy lights, although the songs gain intensity, and the audience a sense of awe as the show goes on. Arnaldo Antunes is a guest perfromer (albeit in pre-recorded, disembodied electronic form, as is New York avant-artnik, Laurie Anderson). Many of the songs are beautifully presented, including oldies by Paulinho Da Viola and Ivon Cury, as well as several strikingly gentle songs written by the trio of Monte, Antunes and Brown, scintillating precursors of their Tribalistas project. This concert video isn't as transcendant as the Tribalistas film, but it's still a nice look at Monte's warm, radiant persona, and her consistently life-affirming world view, and a cool glimpse into the world of Brazilian indie-pop and contemporary middle-class youth culture. A very nice film.

Marisa Monte/Arnaldo Antunes/Carlinhos Brown "Tribalistas" (DVD) (Phonomotor/EMI, 2002)
Wow... what a great video! An amazing portrait of these three super-hip, modern Brazilians working together on a truly beautiful project. This gorgeously shot, skillfully edited film documents the four year-long process that led to the completion of the densely-layered, gently melodic, supremely life-affirming Tribalistas album, featuring in-studio performances of the taping of all the songs, each prefaced by a brief glimpse of the collaborative process that went into its conception and perfection. The friendly creative interplay and cheerfulness of the musicians comes through brilliantly -- I already was a fan all three artists before seeing this video, but now I feel immense affection for them, and a much greater appreciation for them and their muse. The delicate attention to detail and to the texture of their performances is impressive, as is the playful, positive message of their music. Optional English subtitles are a boon for all us dumb Yankees, and additional behind-the-scenes features amplify the insights into their creative bond. The album itself is great, but the DVD is indispensible for fans who want to get delve deeper into the mystique of these fab neo-tropicalistas. HIGHLY recommended!

Maria Rita "Maria Rita" (Warner Music, 2003)
In 2003 Maria Rita, the daughter of legendary Brazilian jazz singer Elis Regina, was being built up as the next big thing... I bought her debut album, and wasn't very drawn in by it, so I figured that seeing her on video might help me to "get" her charm. It didn't, really. Maria Rita has a lot going for her: she greatly resembles her mother, which should help build her legend with the old-school MPB crowd; she's obviously got deep roots in the Brazilian cabaret/torch song tradition and has studied its conventions and theatrical mannerisms; she also has a winsome charm and sparkle that comes through well, and a voice which, in terms of tone alone, is more pleasant to listen to than many of the great divas of the style -- Maria Bethania, Gal Costa, etc. But she seems to be a performer who hits her own limits rather quickly, and ultimately feels a bit flat emotionally. Working here with a small, solid, jazz-oriented ensemble in front of a live audience, Rita runs through a gamut of sleek, bouncy ballads, including a couple of numbers by Rita Lee and three by Milton Nascimento, with appropriate nods towards her mom throughout. On the surface, she seems to have captured the look and feel of the style perfectly, employing a variety of stage moves and interpretive expressions, telegraphing her connection to the lyrics, and to the tradition she's tapped into. But then, for whatever reason, she seems to lose momentum, her performances begin to feel flat, she hits a plateau and starts to seem static and small. Her work also has an overly-studied feel about it, as though she had learned the music, but not truly mastered it, or lived inside its emotional life as fully as have others whom she's learned from. It may be that she's also holding herself back -- there also seems to be a hint of the wildness that characterized her mother, but you sense it's held firmly in check, and without the willingness to abandon herself a little bit, she falters. For whatever reason, I found myself a little bored by this performance (and by her studio produced album), and I think the adulation that's being directed her way may be a little premature. The concert audience, however, seems to respond to her, so maybe I'm missing something. I can certainly see the potential for greatness in her work, though, and it's quite possible that this will just be the first chapter in a long and illustrious career.

Toquinho/Various Artists "Toquinho" (Biscoito Fino, 2001)
A beautiful historical portrait of acoustic bossa guitarist, Toquinho, performing in concert and in informal sessions along with his own band, and with several of MPB's biggest stars. Cameos by Paulinho Nogueira, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, Jorge Ben -- and an uncredited Antonio Carlos Jobim -- light up the screen, all aided by Toquinho's graceful, sympathetic accompaniment. The glimpses of him working with Vinicius in the early 1970s are tantalizing and all-too-brief... Is there some other film out there that has more footage of their long, grand collabortation? A nice portrait of one of Brazilian music's most solid and professional performers... Recommended viewing!

Caetano Veloso "Circulado (Ao Vivo)" [DVD] (Universal, 1992)
Live performances from the Circulado show.