Bons Momentos

Inspired equally by the soul and funk of the Black Rio movement and the samba rock innovations, Serginho Meriti’s debut album presents one of the best examples of funky Brazilian soul from 1981

Brazil’s Black Rio movement had a lasting impact on the country’s marginalised black youth. Inspired by the African-American Civil Rights Movement and the revolutionary, politically conscious soul and funk being produced by the likes of James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Gil Scott Heron, Billy Paul and Nina Simone, a new scene began to incubate in Rio’s poor and oft-neglected North Zone – one which put black culture front and centre. At bailes funk (funk balls) revellers proudly sported afros and danced to their own beat while artists such as Banda Black Rio, Trio Ternura, Tim Maia and Emilio Santiago subverted officially-sanctioned Brazilian styles by fusing elements of imported soul, funk and jazz with samba rhythms to create a new form of music they could call their own.

Sérginho Meriti was one of many young artists caught up in the excitement of the movement. Born Sérgio Roberto Serafim and raised in the north Rio suburb of Meriti (from which he’d take his stage name), he began his career with Black Rio funk/soul outfit Copa 7, for whom he penned the stridently funky dance floor hit Som Da Copa 7.

Snapped up by Polydor at the turn of the 80s, Bons Mementos was his first work as a solo artist. It’s the work of a young musician brimming with musical ideas and creating a new take the Black Rio sound – one he would refer to variously as Meritiense (the sound of Meriti) or as Electric Samba. The title track is perhaps the perfect distillation of his ideas, mixing Black Rio’s funky bass and guitar lines with a healthy dose of the samba rock style developed by Jorge Ben, a pinch of eighties synths, and some of the best call-and-response female vocals this side of Fela Kuti. The result is a potently-rich musical stew that has made the track a compilation favourite and the album hugely collectable among funk connoisseurs.

Elsewhere on an all-killer-no-filler effort, Madureira adds reggae-fied guitar rhythms and low-slung bass to the mix while Malandro’s added bursts of brass give playful homage to Glenn Miller’s Big Band standard In The Mood. Memorias demonstrates Meriti’s mastery of tempo. Beginning with a languid slice of samba rock the track abruptly changes speed half way through for a bright and zippy finish of brass-heavy funk. Serjane adds layers of flute and saxophone the latter adding to the natural warmth of Serginho’s rough-hewn vocals. Tipo is a classic funk workout with some deliciously squelchy synths, while Batalha ends the album with a warm slice of funk, it’s yin and yang melding of joyful horn bursts with mournful vocals a potent demonstration of the sadness that underpins the album’s seemingly sunny soul.

Tracklist:

Side A
Bons Momentos
Madureira, E Daí?
Malandro Velho
Memórias De Um Neguinho Poeta

Side B
Mona Lisa
Serjane
Tipo Help
Batalha Maravilhosa

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Tracklist:
UNKNOWN ARTIST; MUSIC OF THE FULANI: LALLE (1988 AUVIDIS)
NEW STAR ORCHESTRA: ORIN CONGO (1992 0RIGINAL MUSIC)
ORQUESTRA AFRO-BRAZILEIRA: SAUDAÇÃO AO REI NAGÔ-BATUQUE: (1957 TODAMERICA)
ELY CAMARGO: TAIEIRAS (1972 RCA)
BRAZIL SÉLECTION: BANANATICOCO (197? DISQUE COLIBRI)
NORIEL VILELA: SARAVANDO XANGÔ (1969 COPACABANA)
ED LINCOLN: EU NAO VOU MAIS (1966 MUSIDISC)
FUZI 9: BAHIA DE TODOS OS DEUESES (1970 TODAMERICA)
CANDEIA: SAUDAÇÃO A TÔCO PRÊTO (1971 EQUIPE)
ZELIA BARBOSA: CARCARA (1971 MONITOR RECORDS)
SIMONE: MORENA (1973 ODEON)
DOM UM ROMAO: BRAUN-BLEK-BLU (1974 MUSE)
GAL COSTA: TUAREG (1969 PHILLIPS)
HELCIO MILITO: LAMENTO NEGRO [XANGÔ] (1987 ANTILLES NEW DIRECTIONS)
LES AMAZONES DE GUINEE: SAMBA (1983 EDITIONS ENIMAS CONARKY)
PEDRO SANTOS: RITUAL NEGRO (1968 CBS)
ZITO RIGHI E SEU CONJUNTO: POEMA RITMICO DO MALANDRO (1969 HOT)
THE LAST POETS: OPPOSITES (1971 DOUGLAS)
THE LAST POETS: WHITE MANS GOT A GOD COMPLEX (1971 DOUGLAS)
GIL SCOTT-HERON: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED (1971 FLYING DUTCHMAN)
BILLY PAUL: AM I BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU (1972 PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL RECORDS)
UNIÃO BLACK: GERAÇÃO BLACK (1977 POLYDOR)
PLACA LUMINOSA: PLACA LUMINOSA (1978 RGE)
BANDA BLACK RIO: METALÚRGICA (1977 ATLANTIC)
QUINTETO TERNURA: BABY (1974 RCA VICTOR)
TAXI: MELÔ DA GARRAFA (1980 KELO MUSIC)
BEBETO: NEGUINHO POETA (1980 COPACABANA)
MARCIA MARIA: AMIGO BRANCO (1978 CAPITOL RECORDS)
SERGINHO MERITI: MADUREIRA, DAI, E? (2020 TIME CAPSULE)
SERGINHO MERITI: MEMÓRIAS DE UM NEGUINHO POETA/NEGUINHO POETA (2020 TIME CAPSULE)
SERGINHO MERITI: BONS MOMENTOS (2020 TIME CAPSULE)
SERGINHO MERITI: EU VOU FAZER (1982 POLYFAR)
SERGINHO MERITI: RELICÁRIO (1984 GEMA)
UNKNOWN ARTISTS; HAUSA BOY’S MUSIC AND SINGING. ZARIA (19?? BÄRENREITER-MUSICAPHON)

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READING LIST

SLAY IN YOUR LANE. THE BLACK GIRL BIBLE: YOMI ADEGOKE & ELIZABETH UVIEBINENÉ (2018 ISBN-13: 9789123967261)
WHY I’M NO LONGER TALKING TO WHITE PEOPLE ABOUT RACE: RENNI EDDO-LODGE: (2017 ISBN-13: 9781635572957)
BRIT(ISH), ON RACE, IDENTITY AND BELONGING: AFUA HIRSCH (2018 ISBN-13: 9781784705039)
ME AND WHITE SUPREMACY: COMBAT RACISM, CHANGE THE WORLD, AND BECOME A GOOD ANCESTOR: LAYLA F. SAAD (ISBN-13: 9781728209807)
BLACK, LISTED: JEFFREY BOAKYE (2019 ISBN-13: 9780349700564)
HOW TO BE AN ANTI RASCIST: IBRAM X. KENDI (2019 ISBN-13: 9780525509288)

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WATCH LIST

THE COLOR OF FEAR: LEE MUN WAH (1994 VIMEO.COM/127289854)
A CLASS DIVIDED: FRONTLINE/JANE ELLIOT (1985 YOUTUBE.COM)