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CHEIRO DE VIDA

Cheiro De Vida

Jazz Rock/Fusion


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Cheiro De Vida Cheiro De Vida album cover
3.19 | 16 ratings | 5 reviews | 12% 5 stars

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Studio Album, released in 1984

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Fechado Pra Balanço (4:40)
2. Asas Longas (4:02)
3. Entre Estrelas (2:50)
4. Tema do Bonder (3:22)
5. Crepúsculo (4:20)
6. HieronymusBosch (3:40)
7. Aí, Stanley! (4:09)
8. Ayisha (5:07)
9. Nosferatu (4:20)
10. O Bom Pastor (1:03)


Total Time: 36:46

Line-up / Musicians

- Carlos Martau / guitars
- Paulo Supekóvia / guitar
- André Gomes /bass
- Alexandre Fonseca / drums
- Dudu Trentin / keyboards

Releases information

1984 LP
1999 CD

Thanks to memowakeman for the addition
and to t.rox for the last updates
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CHEIRO DE VIDA Cheiro De Vida ratings distribution


3.19
(16 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(12%)
12%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(31%)
31%
Good, but non-essential (44%)
44%
Collectors/fans only (12%)
12%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

CHEIRO DE VIDA Cheiro De Vida reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by memowakeman
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Great jazzy prog, one of those hidden or forgotten bands.

If we look at the band-counter listed in PA, we will realize that just a few percentage of them are actually the ones we know, well at least with me, i know quite a bit of them, but i am sure it is not even half of the bands listed here, what i´m trying to say is that there are lots of great bands that have made excellent music throughout the years, some years ago i was a person who didn´t like to discover new bands or search for old gems even in the same prog realm, now i know that it was a mistake but the good thing is now that i am looking for old and hidden gems, i feel very pleased with some of them, because believe me, there are a hugh amount of albums worth listening.

So here we have one of those lost and hidden prog gems, this is Cheiro de Vida, a band from Brazil that i knew some months ago when was added to this site, i like a lot brazilian prog, from Os Mutantes to Spin XXI, but this was kind of different to me since their style is oriented to the jazz side of prog.

I didn´t go further with the band, i mean i just limited myself in listening to their music and not looking for extra info about it´s history or something like that, i just know that they are from Brazil and made just one album (sadly).

A self-titled album which contains 10 short songs, just one of them passes the 5 minutes, the running time of the album is almost 38 minutes and is completely instrumental.

Fechado Para Balanco the first song which immediately comes up with the jazzy feeling, also we notice an excellent musicianship, the rythm is kind of bright and happy, there are some nice guitar riffs. Asas Longas is at the beginning softer than the opener song, but then turs to a faster tempo song with some nice changes within it, good bass lines and drumming. Entre Estrelas is even softer than the previous ones, a calm passage of fabolous playing, there are excellent armonies between the instruments, though this song is more oriented to the soft jazz side rather than the prog side, here we have also acoustic guitars. Tema do Bonder is a nice track but not the best, the first half has a delicated sound while the second is a bit heavier. Crepúsculo starts with electric guitars and then some arpeggios with the acoustic one, we listen to a very nice background made by all the instruments but the guitar, which is the leading instrument of the song with it´s riffs. Hyeronimus Bosch is one of my favourites, it has excellent bass lines, i love them and the music in general follows the same vein as the first ones. Ai, Stanley has an extra point, because it provides us with a sitar, which is one of the instruments that i love the most, well the sound it makes its just beautiful, this is the longest song of the album and actually it has nothing to do with the music we had listened so far, since its completely sitar driven. Ayisha comebacks to the soft prog jazz style the band was used to play, again what catches more my attention is the bass sound, the music itself is not that complex, but very well done. Nosferatu starts with a beautiful and delicate bass playing, along with some background guitars and keys, the song follows the same line during the 4 minutes it lasts, good. O Bom Pastor is the last song, of an album that i would descibe as pleasant ffor someone who liked the light jazz prog, with a touch of raga music, this song has some strange noises i dont know if made by the guitars or the keys, it has a very 80s sound indeed.

I feel pleased while listening to this album, is just an example of how interesting is to look for forgotten bands, we can find great surprises. A nice find, great band and good music, my grade would be 3 stars because i consider it good but non- essential, however i recommend it.

Enjoy it!

Review by apps79
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
2 stars Cheiro De Vida came from Porto Alegre, Brazil and came to life in late-70's, featuring bassist Andre Gomes, guitarists Carlos Martau and Paulo Supekovia and drummer Alexandre Fonseca.In 1981 they moved to Sao Paolo and recorded an album with singer Diana Pequeno, before returning to their hometown and record a second work with singer Bebeto Alves.Later they became the backing band of Victor Ramil, but in 1984 they decided to record an album of their own.The small Acit label showed interest in distributing and promoting this work and the album was released under the name of the band.

Cheiro De Vida played a typical Brazilian Fusion, mixed with some local influences, far from complex and more into creating ethereal and accesible music.They produced a dreamy instrumental atmosphere, which was based on warm melodies, soft jazzy tunes, funky touches and Lounge aesthetics.Nothing progressive around it, the most complex parts are played by the super technical bassist Andre Gomes with the two guitarists providing interesting solos and some decent melodies, while some tracks feature also a good bunch of acoustic textures.Despite their certain approach on accesible Fusion, the music sounds often a bit directionless and confusing, propably because the smooth plays do not translate usually into memorable or trully efficient instrumental tunes.Bass is to high in the mix and the guitars are often left in a secondary role, still there are some nice jazzy moves and more powerful ideas to be found, I guess a more consistent display of these stylings would have worked better.One track, ''Ayisha'', features also a fine full sitar performance.

After the album's release keyboardist Dudo Trentin would join the band for a short time, before the members decided to relocate in Rio De Janeiro.By 1988 Supekovia had also left the band, which was now back to a trio, mainly performing live.A document of the period was released in 2000 under the title ''1988 vivo''.After a short break they returned in 1991 and recorded a big part of a second, still unreleased, effort, but in 1992 they iced their activities with only sporadic performances since then.Alexandre Fonseca participated also in Márcio Rocha's ''Juno'' album from 2000.

Bass-fronted Brazilian Jazz Fusion with accesible compositions, but not effective melodies oe even some great instrumentals.Recommended if you like the lighter side of the genre...2.5 stars.

Latest members reviews

4 stars Common place for a long time in the Brazilian music scene were the formations of support bands for artists more renowned. The reasons were of a practical and financial order: having little studio material (and of low quality, sometimes) the groups could freely rehearse and then provided support in t ... (read more)

Report this review (#1494958) | Posted by GKR | Tuesday, December 1, 2015 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Cheiro De Vida's eponymous album is not necessarily the proggiest album in its segment, or in the history of Brazilian music, but I feel it would certainly deserve a little more attention and recognition than it has so far received (two reviews only). Jazz Music Archives classifies Cheiro De Vida ... (read more)

Report this review (#1299535) | Posted by Argonaught | Saturday, November 1, 2014 | Review Permanlink

4 stars I am most sorry Brazilian (not to mention from other coutries, of course) musicians are usually underrated... some didn't even manage to achieve success in their homeland, you see. Cheiro De Vida's unfortune is due to the fact of the group being one of the many orphans of progressive music. Such ... (read more)

Report this review (#170638) | Posted by Oneiromancer | Sunday, May 11, 2008 | Review Permanlink

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