Groove o' the day: Robertino Silva — Saídas E Bandeiras

Been having a little bit of writer's block in finishing several longer pieces this week, so let's do something easy. Here's a simple rock beat in 5/4 by one of my favorite Brazilian drummers, Robertinho Silva, on Saídas E Bandeiras (No. 1 or 2— there are two versions on the record) on Milton Nascimento's great Clube da Esquina album:

I left off the key, but you can figure it out: top line = hihat, middle line = snare, bottom = bass. In the No. 2 version he develops the groove a little bit on the instrumental section, emphasizing quarter note pulse on the hihat, and the &s on the bass drum, playing the snare on the 5-&, and making some other variations.

Audio of the track after the break, plus, for comparison, a couple of covers of the song with busier drumming:




First, our version:




Compare that with these:

Here's a very 80's cover of the song, by the Brazilian fusion band High Life, who I know nothing about. The drummer, Carlos Bala, has done a lot of other stuff, though:




And then a video made for YouTube by a guitarist named André Campelo. The drummer is Edu Batistela, who has no Internet presence otherwise, but is very good. He's playing virtually the entire piece in 16th note (or shorter) rhythmic values; there are a few isolated 8th notes in there, but never two in row of them. For some reason, all of the guitarists in the world have decided it's their job to cover the temple block part from the original version— something we should put a stop to whenever it's in our power.