Trio Mocoto

After a 25-year hiatus, the Brazilian Trio Mocoto are back. All three original members have returned with their first album since 1977, Samba Rock.

The group is: vocalist/drummer Joao Parahyba (who in the interim has been especially involved in Brazil's modern dance/rock scene, having worked with the acclaimed producer Suba on Sao Paulo Confessions and played on Bebel Gilberto's global hit "Tanto Tempo"), vocalist/percussionist Nereu Gargalo and vocalist/guitarist Luiz Carlos Fritz.

The trio met in Sao Paolo, Brazil, in the late 1960s with their hearts full of black soul, British and U.S. rock and jazz. ("Mocoto" is a slang word that the group used to refer to the bare legs of the mini-skirted girls who danced to their music in the clubs of São Paulo) Pulling all of these together and infusing them with the pure samba running through their veins, they created a very unique samba-soul-rock. Trio Mocoto released several solo album's under their own name, one including the immense hit Coqueiro Verde. Their sassy, inventive sound filled the Brazilian air throughout the 1970s.

Long revered as "Fathers of the Samba Soul beat," their return reveals an unexpected alliance between club/DJ culture and early Brazilian pop. It's easygoing, lighthearted and funky. —Courtesy Calabash Music