Dori Caymmi is the son of Dorival Caymmi, one of samba's early songwriters, and brother to MPB/jazz singer Nana Caymmi and flautist Danilo Caymmi. His work tends towards soft-edged pop and jazz-fusion material... Not really my cup of tea, but he certainly has his fans... See for yourself...!
Dory Caymmi "Dory Caymmi" (Odeon, 1972)
Worth checking out, though pretty darn sappy... By the time he cut this disc, guitarist Dori (Dory) Caymmi, son of samba-cancao composer Dorival Caymmi, had played on and produced numerous other bossa and MPB singers. On his solo debut, Caymmi plays it spacy and loose; a few songs are of fairly standard bossa vintage, but for the most part this bears the amorphous feel of Milton Nascimento's classic early work, also made for Odeon around the same time. The similarity's not too surprising, especially considering that pianist Wagner Tiso, a charter member of Nascimento's Clube de Esquina, is a major collaborator. Hence the aqueous organ and piano lines, and the nebulous, scattish vocalizations... It's a little ephemeral, but not bad, and certainly not as saccharine as much of Caymmi's later, more pop-oriented work.
Dori Caymmi "Dori Caymmi" (EMI-Odeon, 1980)
Starts out with "Guararapes"
Dori Caymmi "Dori Caymmi" (EMI-Odeon, 1982)
(Produced by Paulo Cesar Pinheiro; arranged by Dori Caymmi)
Blech. Saccharine, drippy stuff, with backing from the cream of the classic MPB scene, folks like Luiz Eca and Toninho Horta, pianist/arranger Gilson Peranzzetta, and Caymmi's brother Danilo. It's really absolutely dreadful stuff -- I don't care for Dori's voice, or his musical sensibilities, although I suppose on balance this is one of his better early albums... Later on, he's even worse.
Dori Caymmi "Dori Caymmi" (Elektra, 1988)
Starts out with "Gabriela's Song"
Dori Caymmi "Brasilian Serenata" (WEA, 1990)
Dori Caymmi "Kicking Cans" (Warner Brothers, 1993)
Blechh. Drippy easy listening, with softly scatted vocals and noodly acoustic guitar work... It's amophous and boring, a completely unchallenging, unengaging album. One big on-purpose yawn.
Dori Caymmi "If Ever..." (Warner-Qwest, 1994)
Blechh again. Another set of bland, drippy easy listening. It's tacky and sounds very, very Hollywood. Skip it.
Dori Caymmi "Tome Canta De Meu Filho, Que Eu Tambem Ja Fui Do Mar..." (EMI, 1996)
Dori Caymmi "Cinema: A Romantic Vision" (Atracao, 1998)
Dori Caymmi "Influencias" (Universal, 2001)
A surprisingly strong album from an artist I tend to write off as an easy-listening snoozer. To be sure, this album is deeply schmaltzy, and may be too goopy for many listeners. I found it pretty enjoyable, though -- the presentation is very strong, and richly emotional. The title refers in part to the abundance of cover tunes, including several bossa nova standards, along with some older material by the likes of Joao de Barro and (of course) a tune or two written by his father, the great Dorival Caymmi. The disc is also packed with guest female vocalists such as Maria Bethania, Gal Costa and his sister, Nana Caymmi. Syrupy, but solid.
Dori Caymmi "Contemporaneos" (Music Taste, 2003)
With special participation by Renato Braz, Chico Buarque, Danilo and Nana Caymmi, Edu Lobo, Caetano Veloso.
Dori Caymmi & Joyce "Rio Bahia" (Far Out, 2005)
(Produced by Rodolfo Stroeter)
(Arrangements by Dori Caymmi & Joyce)
A solid set of cheerful, breezy, latter-day bossa tunes... Joyce brings out more grit in Caymmi than his own recent records have shown, and she, likewise, seems invigorated and energized by their collaboration. Caymmi and Joyce trade off on vocals and acoustic guitar, with solid backing that includes Rodolfo Stroeter on bass, and Tutty Moreno on drums. It's all a little too light and airy for me, personally, but for smooth jazz fans who tip towards Brazilian and Latin jazz, this album will be an aural lovefest. For the style, it doesn't get much better than this. If this kind of music is your cup of tea, you'll definitely want to check this out. I think it was a special album for both of these artists, and their enjoyment of the musicmaking comes through loud and clear on every tune.
Dorival/Nana/Dori & Danilo Caymmi "Caymmi's Grandes Amigos" (EMI Odeon, 1986)
Notable for its relative restraint (as compared to the various solo albums by the Caymmi siblings...), this features Dorival on a couple of tracks, and although he is somewhat diminished by age, he still has tremendous presence. The album as a whole is pretty good, although predictably goopy.
Dorival, Nana, Dori & Danilo Caymmi "Dori, Nana, Danilo, Dorival Caymmi" (EMI Odeon, 1987)
Danilo, Dori & Nana Caymmi "Para Caymmi: 90 Anos -- Ao Vivo" (Warner, 2004)
