Spotlight: My Very Life, Paulinho Garcia

The Spotlight Series highlights upcoming Latin Jazz musicians that have yet to reach national recognition. Many of these musicians thrive in local scenes and some tour in support of releases. All these musicians contribute greatly to the overall Latin Jazz scene, and they deserve our “spotlighted” attention.

My Very Life
Paulinho Garcia
Chicago Sessions
Many professional musicians perform Brazilian rhythms and songs in a competent manner, but a truly meaningful performance in this style demands a deeper connection to the style. At a basic level, Brazilian styles involves a collection of rhythms that fit together logically when spread out across several instruments; a group of trained musicians can certainly execute these musical pieces. Unfortunately, that’s exactly how their performance sounds – like several puzzle pieces fit together in a logical and rigid fashion. They miss the subtleties and nuances that make the music flow with graceful elegance or charge forward with energetic zeal. Bringing these exciting qualities from Brazilian music requires a more authentic connection to the music where the style becomes a natural extension of the artist’s musical personality. This connection might arise from a lifetime in Brazil or it might simply emerge as a result of several years spent immersed in the genre. Many background factors could help an artist build this natural connection to Brazilian music, but once they do, the results are magical. They begin to add breath and motion to the music, creating an unstoppable groove that screams of Brazilian culture. Combined with their own musical personalities, these artists make major statements that separate them from the stiff interpretations found across the country. Guitarist and vocalist Paulinho Garcia effortlessly performs a collection of original Brazilian Jazz compositions on My Very Life, showing the results of a natural connection to Brazilian music.

Using A Wide Variety Of Brazilian Styles
Garcia grounds the album with a number of tracks that incorporate a wide variety of Brazilian styles. A subtly dramatic series of chords hovers over percussive effects on “Cintura Fina” until a small group of drummers jump into a baião behind Garcia’s upbeat vocal. The rich quality of Garcia’s voice suits the melody well as he effortlessly moves between lush melodic ideas and sharp rhythmic accents. Without dropping a beat, Garcia moves into an energetic scat solo with a running stream of melodies before leaving space for a quick pandiero spotlight. Saxophonist Steve Eisen weaves a gentle melody over the soft texture of Garcia’s guitar on “Ponto De Encontro” while the percussionists maintain a steady samba cancão. Garcia’s vocal matches the introspective mood of the rhythm section, expressively moving through the lyrics with a quiet longing. Eisen’s improvisation follows Garcia’s lead, exploring the colorful chord chages with subdued chromatic embellishments and a cool jazz sensibility. The distorted tone of Ernie Denov’s electric guitar cuts through the rhythm section’s driving samba groove on “Disfrutando A Boa Vida.” The group builds an engaging forward motion beneath Garcia’s vocal, allowing him to bounce around the groove with a smart lyrical motion. Denov displays an interesting improvisational voice nimbly moving through the jazz changes while infusing the samba with the rock-edge of his racious tone. Garcia scats along with his guitar’s chordal melody on “E Quando” as the rhythm section sways through a marcha rancho rhythm. There’s a lilting motion to Garcia’s vocal as he rides the waves of melodic activity, sliding between pitches with a smooth legato phrasing. He captures the same sensation in his scat solo, creating understated ideas that glide through the song with sporadic syncopations for emphasis. The rhythmic variety throughout these pieces diversify the album, with Garcia’s strong musical personality maintaining a coherent logic.

Playing Upon The Chorinho
Garcia digs deep into the heart of Brazilian lyricism with several jazz-tinged pieces that play upon the chorinho. Garcia creates a serious tone with a rubato scat solo on “Chorinho Novo” before the band explodes into an uptempo groove. Electric guitarist Michael Allemana accompanies Garcia’s scat vocal as the two musicians race through a winding melody. Allemana flys through the changes with a smart approach to jazz harmony until Garcia leaps into an energetic scat solo that enthusiastically engages the rhythmic basis. Garcia doubles the impact of his personality on “Chorinho Da Paula” with a catchy scatted melody joined by a unison melody from his guitar. After a short interlude, Garcia segues directly into a tasteful guitar solo that combines pieces of the melody with a winding road through the rich harmony. Garcia shifts gears with an engaging scat solo that grows into an ear catching statement that leads the vocalist through every register of his range. The percussionists’ steady pulse leads the rhythm section directly into a catchy melody performed with a light and graceful feel by Julie Koidin on “Chorinho Do Paulinho.” Garcia displays a different side to his musicianship with an improvisation based strongly in jazz melodies and thoughtful running phrases. Koidin revisits the melody with a vibrant attitude, mixing improvisational embellishments and an upbeat attitude into the main theme. These pieces find Garcia moving skillfully through a variety of original chorinhos that connect his personality strongly to Brazilian music while injecting a strong jazz flavor into the music.

Brazilian Pieces With English Lyrics
Garcia reflects the impact of his current life in the United States with several Brazilian pieces that contain English lyrics. There’s a shade of Jobim hidden in the uptempo bossa nova “I’ll Be Calling For Maria (No Matter What)” as Garcia places an understated scat over the introduction. The vocalist breezes through a series of subdued lyrics with a breathy tone that keeps the performance firmly based in the style. As Garcia brings his lyrics to a close, bassist Brett Benteler jumps into a lyrical improvisation that smartly plays through the changes and shimmers against the sound of the acoustic guitar. A mid-tempo baião rhythm leads into the deep tone of vocalist Grazyna Auguscik on “Do You Remember Me?” until Garcia returns with additional lyrics. The two vocalists create a complimentary sound, trading phrases and then building lush vocal harmonies with a low key sound. Garcia creates some contrast with a moving guitar solo that utilizes a dark sound as he moves through the minor chord changes. The lone sound of Garcia’s acoustic guitar provides a swaying sensation with a down-tempo bossa nova on “My Very Life,” and creates the perfect backdrop for Garcia’s vocal. There’s a reflective sense of romantic involvement in Garcia’s performance that serves the song well and infuses a personal touch into the track. The guitarist takes a brief section to explore a smart chord solo that breaks the time and expands the song’s harmonic depth. These tracks reveal a dual side to Garcia’s lyrical abilities and create a collection of songs with a distinctly different personality.

A Natural Connection To Brazilian Music
Garcia creates a natural connection to Brazilian music on My Very Life that moves with an effortless swing and displays his artistic personality strongly. Garcia’s compositions form the bulk of the repertoire, finding him connected deeply to a variety of musical pieces. He intelligently taps into the heart of each style, crafting structures that reflect the distinct characteristics of the musical setting while holding onto his artistic personality. He smartly varies the arrangements throughout the recording to add diversity; from different soloists to several approaches to form, Garcia keeps each track fresh. Garcia’s performance drives the recording and the main focus of guitar and voice sets an intimate tone. Despite some admirable work from his percussionists, Garcia’s constant comping on the guitar creates an unbeatable swing throughout the record. His vocals soar with beauty, bounce with rhythmic momentum, and hold an authentic authority over the music. On both sides of his performance, Garcia performs with enough dexterity and flexibility to ably move through jazz changes, giving his performance depth. His guest musicians add to the overall mixture of musical voices on the album, but in reality, they simply support the fantastic work happening with Garcia. The show belongs to Garcia throughout My Very Life, and his presence overflows with a natural connection to Brazilian music that grabs your attention and won’t let go.

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