A salute to Trio Surdina Their lovely sound lives on. Daniella Thompson 12 January 2004 & 8 August 2007 In a recent column in Gafieiras, Ricardo Tacioli evoked the legendary Trio Surdina—that fabulous fraternity made up of the guitarist Garoto, the violinist Fafá Lemos, and the accordionist Chiquinho. It was Paulo Tapajós, the singer and artistic director of Rádio Nacional, who grouped the three aces in 1951 to play in the late-night program Música em Surdina (Music on the Quiet). Before long, the trio, taking its name from the program, began releasing albums on Nilo Sérgio’s Musidisc label. Those albums were not dated, and today it’s impossible to tell when some of them came out. The trio was not active long or consistently, for Fafá Lemos went to the USA in 1953 to accompany Carmen Miranda (Garoto had already done so earlier) and did not return to Brazil until 1956, the year after Carmen’s death. On 3 May 1955, Garoto died prematurely of a heart attack. So, necessarily, all of the original Trio Surdina’s recordings were made in 1952–53. Capitalizing on the trio’s commercial success, other formations arose after the demise of the original, recording more albums under the Trio Surdina name. The tribute to Ary Barroso (Musidisc M-008; see Tribute Albums for track list) was the trio’s second album. This 10-inch LP was probably recorded in one of the four sessions the trio had at Musidisc in December 1952 and January 1953. According to Ricardo Tacioli, this disc was not released until May 1956. However, recent research by Jorge Mello indicates that it was released simultaneously with the trio self-titled first album, in 1953. Ary Barroso is featured in two other Trio Surdina 10-inch LPs, although these were not recorded by the original formation. Aquarela do Brasil (Musidisc DL-1004) of 1955 includes “Aquarela do Brasil,” “Rio,” and “Terra Seca.” Trio Surdina Interpreta Dorival Caymmi, Ary Barroso e Noel Rosa (Musidisc DL-1007), also released in 1955, includes “Quando Eu Penso na Bahia,” “Três Lágrimas,” and “Boneca de Pixe.” The musicians making up the trio in these later albums are Al Quincas (violin), Nestor Campos (guitar), and El Gaucho (accordion). In addition, Musidisc released the 4-track EP Trio Surdina (Musidisc MEP-30.001) with “Na Baixa do Sapateiro” and “Risque” and two 78-rpm discs containing the following medley tracks, also performed by the trio’s second formation: Author: Ary Barroso Title: Rio de Janeiro; Inquietação Genre: Sambas Performer: Trio Surdina Record Label: Musidisc Number: M-15010-A Matrix: MD-2019 Release Date: Aug.–Sept. 1955 Author: Ary Barroso/Luiz Peixoto; Ary Barroso Title: Brasil Moreno; No Tabuleiro da Baiana Gênero: Sambas Performer: Trio Surdina Record Label: Musidisc Number: M-15010-B Matrix: MD-2020 Release Date: Aug.–Sept. 1955 Author: Motivo Popular ; Ary Barroso Title: Meu Limão Meu Limoeiro; Rio Performer: Trio Surdina Record Label: Musidisc Number: M-15031-A Matrix: MD-2061 Author: Hekel Tavares/Joracy Camargo; Ary Barroso Title: Favela; Terra Seca Performer: Trio Surdina Record Label: Musidisc Number: M-15031-B Matrix: MD-2062 In early 2004, Jorge Mello reported having recently interviewed the only surviving trio member, Rafael “Fafá” Lemos Junior, born in 1921 and living in straitened circumstances.* Fafá told Jorge that those Musidisc albums were never recorded in a studio. Paulo Tapajós simply gave Nilo Sérgio the acetates. “We never even saw the color of money,” added the violinist. More recently, however, Mello located Garoto’s diary, in which the guitarist noted four recording sessions at Musidisc between 5 December 1952 and 2 January 1953. It isn’t clear where this lovely recording of “Na Baixa do Sapateiro” was made, but the cavernous hall sound makes one pause. The whistler is Fafá Lemos, who was also the trio’s vocalist. “Baixa” is one of the four Trio Surdina tracks on side A of the 10” LP Ary Barroso (Musidisc M-008). Side B was recorded (this time in a studio) by Leo Peracchi and orchestra. Despite the less-than-perfect sound, side A is by far my favorite. * Fafá Lemos passed away on 18 October 2004.   Articles Copyright © 2004–2018 Daniella Thompson. All rights reserved.