Delicado

Waldir Azevedo (1923-1980) was a pioneer in exploring the cavaquinho as a solo instrument and he is considered one of the most successful choro musicians ever. He composed about 130 compositions in diverse genres, recorded extensively throughout his career and had success both in Brazil and internationally, performing in concerts and TV broadcasts worldwide. Azevedo started his solo career in 1949 recording the successful choro "Brasileirinho" for Continental/Todamerica, released January 1950. November 1950 he recorded his second smash hit, the baião "Delicado", released February 1951. I found an uploaded video on YouTube, which has the original soundtrack of "Delicado" - here from the Decca 45 rpm issue:

"Delicado" soon became a part of the standard repertoire with choro ensembles besides being exploited by the pop music industry through countless recordings that took advantage of the success of the original. I like the original the best, but I'm also thrilled when listening to contemporary renditions of the tune performed by devoted choro musicians - here's an example from a roda de choro featuring Grupo Cinco Companheiros with Paulão do Cavaco playing the solo as intended by Azevedo:

As mentioned above, countless versions of "Delicado" have been recorded since the release of the original in 1951 - one of my favorites is the guitar rendition by Oscar Alemán y su Conjunto from October 1951, a tribute from a master, who started his career playing the cavaquinho in the streets of Santos and ended up one of the best guitarists ever. Unfortunately, there is no filmed evidence of Alemán's incredible rendition of "Delicado", however, other guitarists have also transcribed the tune in a convincing arrangement - here's a contemporary example featuring a guitar quartet, Quarteto Abayomi, performing the tune straight:

I wish you a Happy New Year 2009/Feliz Ano Novo 2009!
Jo