SW: And the lyrics are even about dancing the baião. JCV: The baião rhythm, which we’ll explain shortly, is clearly audible. SW: The ensemble is the classic trio of accordion, triangle, and the bass drum-like zabumba. JCV: This is a pretty concise and clear showcase of all of the elements of the baião. Here’s a 1981 live recording of Luiz Gonzaga playing “Baião.” Audio: Gonzagão and Gonzaguinha, “Baião” ( Youtube ) ( Spotify ) SW: How about we don’t overthink it and just play the song “Baião”? JCV: So I see no reason why we don’t start with one of his compositions. JCV: Like all of these subgenres within forró, the person most responsible for the popularity of the baião is Luiz Gonzaga.
In fact, before the term forró was used to describe this genre, a lot of people just called it baião. It’s the primary and probably first rhythm of the broader genre of forró that we’ve been focusing in these last few episodes. SW: But most succinctly, baião refers to a duple-meter dance genre from the Brazilian Northeast that is characterized by a specific syncopated rhythm. JCV: The topic today is baião, which is-no surprise-a, kind of, complicated term. JCV: You say that I say that all the time. In each episode we dive into a specific genre, song, artist, or issue in Brazilian music to try to understand how it works and what it means.
JCV: Schuyler and I are musicians and music professors. SW: This is Massa, a podcast about Brazilian music and culture. Juliana Cantarelli Vita: And I’m Juliana Cantarelli Vita. Introduction Audio: Som da Massa, “Transcontinental Baião”