Latin Jazz This Week will bring you a weekly look into news from the Latin Jazz world. You’ll find new releases, recommended performances, web finds, and more. You can check out some current sounds in the Listening Center tab at the top of the page. Performance dates will be kept in the Live Latin Jazz tab at the top of the page.
NEWS
Success stories in jazz are always a positive spin for the world, and things look all the brighter when encouraging stories are based around Latin Jazz. This past week, the Healdsburg Jazz Festival gave us some dismal news earlier in the year, with reports of the jazz festival disappearing in future years. Things started to look better when the community demanded the festival continue and went on a massive fundraising drive to make it happen. Now the NEA has jumped into the mix, dedicating $10,000 to the festival, ensuring the survival of the yearly Latin Jazz portion of the festival. I’ve been to the event several times, and it always brightens the summer – get the full details HERE.
Between the holidays and my academic commitments ahead, this week looks to be a thin time here at LJC, as you can see by the lack of live listings below. I’ve updated the Live Listings page a bit and I’ll continue to do that throughout the week. If things look slow here this week, don’t despair – it’s only temporary. In fact, things will kick into high gear next week with our Best Of 2010 Awards! More on that coming soon . . .
As I’m in the midst of compete craziness in my teaching job, I did get a great e-mail this past week from LJC reader Joe Bennett with a recommendation for a beautiful video featuring Brazilian guitarist and vocalist João Bosco. This clip put me in such a good mood, I had to share it – you can check it out below. Thanks for the heads-up on the video Joe, much appreciated!
It’s become an annual tradition here at LJC to spend Thanksgiving Day looking back at several Latin Jazz artists that have had a profound effect on me during the past year. I generally spend the day with family and friends, cherishing the the close relationships that make my life full. My life wouldn’t be complete without Latin Jazz though, the sights and sounds of the music have influenced me more than I could ever describe. More than anything, it’s the musicians behind the sound that have impacted me; they’ve consistently been inspirational role models that keep me moving from day to day. I enjoy the opportunity to look back upon a few especially important Latin Jazz musicians and acknowledge the rare gifts that they’ve brought into the world.
It may seem old fashioned, but I value this moment to give thanks to the musicians that have played a role in my life. Especially in today’s digital age, it’s far too easy to take music for granted, not really recognizing the blood, sweat, and intelligence that musicians put into their art. I value this contribution to the world, and I’m sure that LJC readers would agree that life wouldn’t be the same without these Latin Jazz musicians. My thanks goes out to all the musicians that keep Latin Jazz alive, with a special recognition to four musicians that brightened my life in 2010 – enjoy!
———- Danilo Peréz Every Latin Jazz artist earns my respect for contributing to the overall scene – the work that every artist does leads towards the genre’s rich diversity. It takes an amazing individual to go above and beyond that contribution though, something that pianist Danilo Peréz has spent a good deal of time doing in spades. Simply talking about his artistic merit would easily put him in this category, he’s an unstoppable visionary with the work aesthetic to make his ideas reality. He has impacted the traditional Latin Jazz scene through work with Dizzy Gillespie and Paquito D’Rivera and pushed the boundaries of modern jazz with the cutting edge sound of Wayne Shorter’s quartet. His output as a bandleader shows the high level thinking that makes him a musical leader; just check out his latest release Providencia for ample evidence. Peréz takes his responsibility as a musician much further than performance though, with a social conscious that drives him to greater heights. The establishment of the Panama Jazz Festival has allowed for the exposure of world class jazz artists in the region. With the context of the festival, Peréz has created a foundation providing money for jazz education aimed at Panamanian youth. In his spare time, Peréz has created the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, a rigorous program that balances high quality performances standards with social responsibility. Peréz is not only providing opportunity for both the young and the old, he is ensuring the survival and expansion of jazz into the next generation – a fact reaching across many years that we can all be thankful for.
Hermeto Pascoal Legends often proceed the people behind them, and I’ve found that until I dig deep into a musician’s history, I don’t really know them. Hermeto Pascoal’s name floats around the Brazilian Jazz scene with great frequency, confirming the importance of his work on a regular basis. Despite this fact, I hadn’t really gotten to know Pascoal too well before this year. I had listened to a couple of albums, and even though the rich quality of the music struck me, something always pulled my attention away. While doing research for my recent interview with pianist Jovino Santos Neto, I spent some serious time with Pascoal’s music, since Neto spent fifteen years in Pascoal’s band. After a good deal of focused listening, I was left with just one question – why hadn’t I been doing more Pascoal listening before? His compositions are simply breathtaking, pulling together the deep rooted cultural traditions of Brazil, the inherent freedom of improvisation in jazz, and the large scale compositional structures of classical music. His performances as a saxophonist, flautist, and more show him as an awe-inspiring multi-instrumentalist and a profoundly unique artistic personality that demands attention. As Neto pointed out during our five-part interview (Check out Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five), his legacy is vast and in a way, largely unexplored. Fortunately, Neto and some other dedicated musicians in Brazil are doing their part to keep Pascoal’s music alive. Realizing the enormity of Pascoal’s contribution to the Latin Jazz world, I’m making some plans to bring his music to light over the next year here at LJC. In the meantime, Pascoal’s work has become my latest musical obsession, leaving me extremely thankful for everything he has done.
Zaccai Curtis A lot has been said about the questionable future of jazz due to the declining interest of young people, a discouraging fact indeed. I’ve pondered this fact many times over the years, but I was given a glimpse of hope this past year from pianist Zaccai Curtis. Along with his brother Luques, Curtis delivers some of the most exciting and energetic Latin Jazz today with the Curtis Brothers Quartet. Their 2009 album Blood Spirit Land Water Freedom showed a musical maturity far beyond the scope of most twenty-something musicians, ranking among some of the year’s best Latin Jazz. The group has been invigorating the New York scene for several years now, and we got a chance to here their powerful artistry in the Bay Area this year. The quartet tore apart the club here in Sonoma where I heard them, making a major statement with their smart combination of authenticity and spontaneity. The group captured their Bay Area visit in a fantastic live recording that they promptly made available for free download HERE. Zaccai and the group continue to prove themselves musically, but they also show a keen insight into the voice of their generation. Regular updates on Facebook, a constantly growing collection of videos on YouTube, the distribution of a free live album, a consistently updated website, and an informative mailing list are just some of the strategies that make the Curtis Brothers Quartet a viable piece of the twenty-first century Latin Jazz scene. In the three-part interview with Zaccai, we discussed the entry points for young people into jazz today, and he had honest, intelligent answers that not only shed light on the issues, but forced us to think about it clearly. Through outstanding musicianship, hard work, and intelligent commentary, Zaccai has proven to me that Latin Jazz has a future among the next generation, a fact that I’m very thankful for.
Pete Escovedo I’ve been fortunate to spend most of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I’m always thankful for the musicians that make this an exciting Latin Jazz scene. I was lucky enough to spend a while taking with Pete Escovedo this year, really digging into his legacy in celebration of his 75th birthday. If you haven’t checked out the LJC interview, take a minute to read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three – this is the story of a man that has shaped the course of Bay Area Latin Jazz for decades. I’ve always appreciated Escovedo’s work as a musician here in the Bay Area; he has kept the flame alive for Latin Jazz through my whole life. I’ve been privileged to see him perform many times in several different contexts, always delivering a fun and exciting show. His bands have included young musicians that have gone on to become major players in the Latin Jazz world – artists like Wayne Wallace, John Santos, Rebeca Mauleon, Murray Low, Paul Van Wageningen, Marc Van Wageningen, and many more have all spent time in Escovedo’s group. In many ways, the high quality nature and abundance of excitement around the Bay Area’s Latin Jazz scene owes its health to Escovedo, something we should always remember. This was a fact brought clearly to my attention through my interview with Escovedo, making me always thankful for his important work.
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Do have a Latin Jazz artist that has particularly inspired you over the course of 2010? Take the opportunity to thank them right here on LJC! Get into the spirit of Thanksgiving and leave a comment below thanking your favorite artist for their contributions this year . . .
After a career filled with countless important musical interactions, pianist Jovino Santos Neto focused his energy on a more intimate artistic conversation. His early training led him through classical music, progressive rock, and jazz fusion, before he decided on a career outside of music. A meeting with composer Hermeto Pascoal changed his mind though, and he became a key member of the influential musician’s band. Neto stayed with Pascoal’s group for fifteen years, soaking in the composer’s concepts and becoming an experienced performer around the world. A desire to dig deeper into Pascoal’s larger works took Neto to Cornish College Of The Arts in Seattle, where he eventually became a professor. Along the way, Neto spent several years performing with Airto Moreira’s Fourth World and establishing his own group in Seattle. Neto solidified his standing as a bandleader with several outstanding albums, including Roda Carioca (Rio Circle) and Alma do Nordeste (Soul Of The Northeast). Looking for new inspiration in 2010, Neto recorded a series of duets with twenty different musicians, resulting in the recording Veja O Som (See The Sound). Neto gathered ten musicians from Brazil and ten musician from the United States, producing a double disc collection of exposed artistic communication. The recordings are personal and exciting, emphasizing the thrill of improvisation and the joy of human collaboration. Neto tells a story about the intimate quality of music, interacting with these musicians on a whole new level of artistic insight.
There’s something magical and honest about a musical collaboration between just two people, and Neto captures the essence of the experience beautifully on Veja O Som (See The Sound). It’s a gorgeous step in an illustrious career that has spanned a number of the most important interactions in Brazilian Jazz. In Part One and Part Two of our interview with Neto, we looked at his early years immersed in progressive rock and jazz fusion, the influence of Brazilian music on these genres, and his first connection with Pascoal. Part Three of our interview delved into Neto’s fifteen year span with Pascoal, while Part Four focused upon Neto’s emergence as a bandleader. Today, we conclude our conversation with Neto, looking deeply into his latest recording Veja O Som (See The Sound), his work as a teach at Cornish College Of The Arts, and his efforts to keep Pascoal’s legacy alive.
———- LATIN JAZZ CORNER: Your new album Veja O Som (See The Sound) has duets with musicians both from the United States and Brazil – how did you pick all the different individuals?
JOVINO SANTOS NETO: I was talking to Richard Zirinsky from Adventure Music and we knew it was a time where we needed to do something new. It was right around the time that the economy was really tanking and things were looking pretty dismal in general. I had all these ideas – I was thinking of doing a solo record, another recording with my group from Seattle, and more. There were all these things that we thought about, and they were great ideas with great potential. He told me, “I think what people really need, what would be a good thing to focus on, would be to work with the human interaction aspect of music. Why don’t we just come up with some people that you like to play duos with and explore that aspect?”
Then of course, we had a hundred names to choose from. I thought of a lot of cool people from Seattle, from Brazil, from Europe, and all over the world. We decided to each make lists, send them to each other, and then see what names appear on both lists. Then we had to make sure that the people would agree, that the people would be available, and such.
It was nice the way that it worked out – it was natural. Some of the people were my good friends, like Mike Marshall or people like Gabriel Grassi, that I’ve worked with twice before. Other people were people that I’d never played with, like Gretchen Parlato; I knew of her, but I didn’t even know her work. We would just kind of meet, go into the studio, and go, “O.K., what do you want to do?” In a way, that unprepared sincerity gives the record a unique twist.
LJC: One of the things that really strikes me on the album is the one on one aspect of what you’re doing really touches upon the spontaneous nature of jazz. How much was this planned out or first take stuff?
JSN: The majority of the tracks are first takes. Even when we did more than one take, we would listen back and end up finding that the first take had something in it that we liked more. There’s really no overdubs either. There’s some editing – there’s some tracks that would have been ten minutes long, like the one with Airto. So I edited it down to six minutes. That kind of editing went on after the recording, but there was not that I said, “Oh, I have a better idea, let’s go do it.” That did not happen. It was the idea that came in – it’s very human, it’s not perfect. I like that too.
LJC: On so many albums, personalities get buried in arrangements, so it’s nice to hear that.
JSN: If you take a guy like Airto, he can overdub a million percussion tracks and make it sound beautiful. But the whole concept of this was that we were not overdubbing. So he set up a whole bunch of bells and shakers around him with three microphones – one for his voice and two for his instruments. Even I was flipping between the flute and the piano – that was not overdubbed. I put a little piece of cloth there on the piano so it wouldn’t make noise when I put the flute down. The same thing with Joe Locke – when I play flute and then go to the piano, he changes mallets. All that is done on the fly, we didn’t really construct it. So it was really what went down, and we just tried to make the best of it.
LJC: Were there any particular sessions that stood out?
JSN: I liked the session with Gretchen Parlato. I didn’t really know her voice. I talked to her on the phone and she said, “We could do How Insensitive.” I said, “O.K., I love that song.” It’s actually a song that I play often with my band, so I said, “I can figure out something to do.” So I got there and I proceeded to set up the song on the first take. I waited for her to come in, and then she started with a very soft, breathy sound. I thought, “Oh my god, I started at level six and she came in at level two on the volume.” So the whole first take was me trying to drop down to where she was. She stayed there; she didn’t come up to where I was. So I thought, “Hmm, this requires a total reworking of what I had in mind.”
We listened and I said, “O.K., let’s do another one.” So on the second take, I felt that and I came from a much more quieter space. We met in that space, played around, and then the song ended. Then we said, “Let’s do it another way.” So we went back in and we knew what we could do. I came from Mars, she came from Saturn – it was so out!
When I listened to the three takes, I was really confused about how to choose. I asked Richard Zirinsky, and he said, “I prefer the first one, because there’s a spontaneity of you reacting.” I said, “Yea, but we got to the end of the take without really finding it.” Then the third one was very cool, but it was so out that people would actually not recognize the song. It would become something else, it would become an abstraction. I thought that I owed it to the composer for the song to be at least recognizable. So my compromise was to choose the second take. Gretchen agreed, and there it was – that was the take that you hear on the record, as is.
LJC: I like how you have the musicians from the States on one disc and then the musicians from Brazil on the other disc.
JSC: Originally, I wanted to mix everything together. The two albums were actually Zirinsky’s idea. I saw his point. There is something in the record from Brazil that has a different flavor . . . obviously, it’s different people and it’s a different place. I like to have those two colors, and the concept of the dual projects on two CDs done in two different countries. The duality of the whole process shines through even more with the separation of the two places. It’s funny, because even the fact that there were the same number of artists from both places was totally accidental. At first, we thought we were going to have sixteen, then it was seventeen, then it was nineteen. At the last moment, it was twenty.
Both of us wanted to have David Sanchez. I wrote to him and he said, “Yea, I’m interested.” The only day that he was available was New Year’s Day. I pretty much gave up on the idea. Then he wrote back and said, “I want to do this so bad, I’ll find a way to make it work.” So in the midst of the holiday rush, we went ahead and booked the studio, got the flight, and the hotel. He flew in, I picked him up at the hotel, and took him to the studio. We recorded, he came back to the hotel, and then he flew out. It was so quick. We had two songs in mind to do, both by Torinho Horta. We ended up choosing “Aquelas Coisa Todas (All Of Those Things)” and I’m so happy. It came out so beautiful that I actually chose that to open the album. It was the last track that we did.
LJC: You’ve got this series of duets recorded now – is there anyone that you would like to do duets with?
JSN: I probably have another twenty, easy. This could easily become a franchise! I could do just in Europe with my great musician friends from there. I really enjoy playing with all kinds of different people.
LJC: I wanted to ask you about your role as a teacher at Cornish – how do you see the younger generation of musicians and their interest in jazz?
JSN: I see that the biggest problem today is not the students; it’s actually the teachers. They did not have that latitude in their experience and they feel very helpless in trying to teach students who want openness in their education. If you want to compose music and if your idea of structure is rhythm changes or the blues, then you’re lacking something because you’ve never heard music that has more complex structural forms. At the same time, if you come from a place of very highly developed structural music but you don’t know how to deal with the simplicity of chord symbols, then you also are seriously damaged in your ability to create music. If you want to work in anything – film soundtracks, television, video games, ringtones, whatever it is in music – then you have to know these things. I’m very happy to have the opportunity to interact with younger students who have that openness.
At the same time, you help the other teachers; I like to collaborate. At Cornish, I work with both the classical people and the jazz people. I’ve got a foot on each side there, which is the way that I like it. I don’t feel like I’m in any way constrained or stifled in what I do. I design my own courses, I write my own syllabus, and I decide how to teach the class. In a way, it’s a continuation of the work that I did with Hermeto in an institutional setting – I didn’t have to conform.
LJC: You’ve also really preserved a lot of Hermeto’s work. What is your goal there?
JSN: The goal is to preserve this music and make it available for musicians to access it. I realized the importance of this back in Brazil when I first joined Hermeto’s band. I looked where Hermeto stored his music; it was in baskets underneath his bed. In Rio, there’s a lot of termites, humidity, floods, and stuff like this. I said, “Man, this music . . . that’s where it is?!?” He said, “Yea, where else am I going to put it?” So he had baskets of yellowing paper under his bed. At that moment, I went ahead a bought a file cabinet for it and created a letter/number system to organize it. I had to look at all these papers and figure out how they were like the other papers – maybe one song came the other period as another one, maybe one had a similar kind of pen or a similar kind of writing. It is almost like an archaeologist’s work.
When I left in 1993, I left that archive there, but I copied the entire thing and brought it with me. So that’s the source material for what I’ve been creating. Hermeto’s aware of that; I talk to him about it all the time. The book that I put out was one of the things, but I’m actually putting out a lot more. I’m passing music to a lot of musicians, arranging and re-arranging this music. It’s like a little ant carrying one grain of sand at a time, and there’s a mountain. I just want to make sure that as long as I can, I can keep that going.
His music is very difficult to understand, especially if somebody doesn’t understand his notation methods. Hermeto, being visually deficient, had to develop his own way of putting the little dots on the page. At times, it’s very difficult to read. When I transcribe one of his orchestra pieces, it basically takes me one hour for one measure, to put it into Finale. I have to go with a magnifying glass and look at those little dots. Sometimes, I even have to understand where Hermeto made a mistake, because sometimes he does. I ask him about a note on the score, and he’ll say, “Oh yea, I’m glad that you caught that. You know that I would not write that note.” So it’s quite interesting.
Last time we were together in February at this workshop down in Brazil, he was really impressed. He wrote some music right there and I put it into the computer right after he wrote it. I could play it off the computer; he said, “That’s amazing, that’s the stuff I wrote!” So he immediately proceeded to give me three notebooks full of music. It’s stuff that he wrote in 2004 and 2006 – notebooks full of music. So I copied them again and gave him back the originals. So I have my work cut out for me!
LJC: The world is lucky that you’re doing that . . .
JSN: It’s kind of like a mission. None of this is done with a sense that here’s a goldmine that I’m going to rich from. This music, I actually give away, and that’s where Hermeto’s concept it – why don’t you give it to them. If you have do an official publishing thing and sell the book, that’s O.K. too. But most of it is just getting the music out there to people who want to play it.
LJC: You mentioned you’ve got a new album coming out with your Seattle group, what else does the future hold for you?
JSN: I’m finishing another album, a solo recording that I did a few years ago for Adventure on a Fazioli grand piano, a wonderful instrument. They’re doing a Fazioli series in which they have a lot of different pianists playing on Fazioli pianos. Eventually it’s going to become a box set. I’m editing and mixing my contribution to that in which I do a lot of jazz and Brazilian tunes with some improvisations in between. Then there’s the new Quinteto record and still basking in the fun that it is to have put out this duo record. I’m very proud of that – not just what I have done but what we have together on each one of the duos.
You’ll want to check out Part Two of our interview with pianist Jovino Santos Neto, where we discuss the relationship between Brazilian music and jazz fusion, the influence of Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, and Hermeto Pascoal, as well as Neto’s entry into Pascoal’s group. You can find it HERE.
Don’t miss Part 3 of our interview with pianist Jovino Santos Neto, where we look at his time with legendary Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal. We’ll discuss the complexities of Pascoal’s music, his influence upon Neto, and the pianist’s multiple roles in Pascoal’s band. You can read it HERE.
Any good jazz musician spends a great deal of time working as a sideman, but the best musicians show up consistently in high profile positions. Their insightful musicianship leaps out of any setting, making them a magnet for audience and peer attention. As a result, they regularly have a full schedule as one gig leads to another opportunity, opening into yet more performances. Once word spreads, they generally attract major attention, leading to gigs with the best musicians in their field and beyond. As their profile rises, they become important pieces of the scene, and eventually, they make the step into the role of bandleader.
Brazilian pianist Helio Alves has served as a high profile sideman with some important names in the jazz and Latin Jazz world, a reflection of his finely tuned skills currently on display in his own project. Born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Alves found musical inspiration in his parents, who both maintained their skills as amateur pianists. Classical music was a priority in the Alves household, with a bit of jazz thrown into the mix, giving young Helio a strong foundation. He dove into classical lessons at 6 years old, getting a strict training until a concert from pianist Chick Corea and vibraphonist Gary Burton turned his attention towards jazz. During his high school years, Alves received encouragement and lessons from jazz bassist Xu Viana, who suggested that the young pianist continue his jazz studies at the Berklee College Of Music. Alves moved to Boston after high school, taking Berklee by storm with continually impressive showings of musicianship. While at Berklee, Alves connected with trumpet player Claudio Roditi, and after moving to New York upon graduation, Alves found a spot in Roditi’s band at the piano chair. While working steadily with Roditi, Alves also found a prime gig in saxophonist Joe Henderson’s Double Rainbow Quartet, recording with the jazz legend on his album Big Band. Alves became a first call pianist on New York’s Brazilian Jazz scene, working with harmonica player Hendrik Meurkens on In A Sentimental Mood, drummer Duduka da Fonseca on Samba Jazz Fantasia, saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera on Brazilian Dreams, among many others. As the pianist’s schedule began to fill with calls from across the scene, he also began a career as a bandleader on the 1998 album Trios. An inspired collection of straight-ahead jazz and Brazilian Jazz, Alves recorded with two trios including bassist John Patitucci and drummer Al Foster as well as bassist Nilson Matta and da Fonseca. Alves followed this release in 2004 with Portrait in Black and White, another strong trio release that teamed the pianist with bassist Santi Debriano and drummer Matt Wilson. In 2009, Alves kicked things up a notch with It’s Clear, a quartet recording that employed guitarist Romero Lubambo, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Ernesto Simpson. Along the way, the pianist took high profile jobs with cellist Yo-Yo Ma on Obrigado Brazil and co-lead the album Forests with Matta and da Fonseca. His 2010 release Música teams the pianist with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Antonio Sanchez, a trio complimented in two spots by Roditi and Lubambo. It’s another step for Alves in the transition from high profile sideman to high profile bandleader, as he once again showcases impeccable musicianship throughout the recording.
The Brazilian Jazz scene has benefitted greatly from Alves’ musicianship over the past ten years. If you’ve listened to much Brazilian Jazz in the last decade, you’ve probably run into his playing. It’s this type of dedication and excellence that make an in-demand sideman and stunning leader; so in celebration of Alves and his new release Música, today’s Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix is dedicated to Alves. The first clip finds Alves performing with his long time employer Roditi, performing with piece “Gemini Man.” The second video places Alves with Joe Henderson’s Double Rainbow Quartet, performing the Henderson classic “Recordame.” In the third piece, Alves performs the Hermeto Pascoal composition, “Montruex,” along with bassist Oscar Stagnaro and drummer Alberto Netto. These videos show Alves as a core piece of the Brazilian Jazz scene – a true fact that only becomes more prevalent on Música – there’s some amazing music here, enjoy!
———- Helio Alves Performing “Gemini Man” With Claudio Roditi
Helio Alves Performing “Recordame” With Joe Henderson’s Double Rainbow Quartet
Helio Alves Performing “Montruex” With Oscar Stagnaro and Alberto Netto
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Want to hear more from Helio Alves? Check out these albums: It’s Clear
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Do you have a video to contribute to satisfy our weekly Latin Jazz video fix? If so, send it in – it’s time to feed our addiction. I’m looking for live performances, from any context. I’ll most likely be posting one video per week, but if you’ve got another idea, let’s talk. So come on Latin Jazz videographers, musicians, and fans – let’s share some of our memorable videos! Get my contact info HERE.
Latin Jazz This Week will bring you a weekly look into news from the Latin Jazz world. You’ll find new releases, recommended performances, web finds, and more. You can check out some current sounds in the Listening Center tab at the top of the page. Performance dates will be kept in the Live Latin Jazz tab at the top of the page.
NEWS
Just a reminder that our current Spotlight Artist, guitarist Nelson Riveros, has contributed the track “Blue Cha-Cha” from his album Camino Al Barrio to the LJC Listening Center. Feel free to jump over to the Listening Center, download the MP3, load it onto your iPod, and get a taste of the great music that Riveros is making. This is good stuff, not to be missed – download it HERE!
Trumpet player Gabriel Alegria and his Afro-Peruvian Sextet have been making large strides to promote the music over the course of the last year, with a string of activities related to the release of their current album, Pucusana. As part of the album release celebration, the group appeared in a high profile concert at the Litchfield Jazz Festival. NPR recorded their set, and this week, they are broadcasting a portion of it as part of JazzSet. It’s a lively example of the group stretching out and really indulging in the beauty of their music. Check out the stream HERE.
The cross-pollination between jazz and Latin music has occurred much longer than most people realize, and examples constantly pop up of musicians from both sides of the equation joining forces. Another early encounter between jazz and Latin music serves as the inspiration behind a new musical, “The Harlem Hellfighters on a Latin Beat.” The show digs into Puerto Rican musicians that became a part of an army band run by Lt. James Reese Europe. Get the full scoop about the show HERE.
Pianist Danilo Peréz continues to make waves around the world with his stunning musicality and brilliant new recording Providencia. The Wall Street Journal recently caught up with Peréz and did a quick run down of his career and latest album. You can check it out HERE. Don’t forget about the 5-Part LJC interview with Peréz – start with Part One HERE.
As persistent as I am about checking out the latest Latin Jazz releases, there just seem to be too many for even an obsessed listener like myself to find. Fortunately we’ve got smart writers like Peter Hum who are always checking out good jazz too. This week Hum gave his thoughts on two releases from artists that had missed my attention – Scott Feiner’s Accents and Enrico Pieranunzi’s Live at Birdland. I’m intrigued – I’m off to track them down. They both sound like good listens; check out Hum’s thoughts HERE.
If you’re in SOUTH AMERICA this week . . . HECTOR DEL CURTO & ETERNAL TANGO WHEN: Friday 11/26/10 WHERE:Copa Fest
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil TIME: 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: R$80,00
If you’re in EUROPE this week . . . JOVINO SANTOS NETO WHEN: Monday 11/22/10 WHERE:Restaurant Isebähnli
Froschaugasse 26, 8001
Zurich, Switzerland TIME: 8:15 p.m.
If you’re on the EAST COAST this week . . . ANNETTE AGUILAR & STRINGBEANS WHEN: Tuesday 11/23/10 WHERE:Giovanni’s G-Bar
579 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY TIME: 6:00 p.m.
WHEN: Friday 11/26/10 WHERE:Garden Café
4961 Broadway
New York, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m.
ARAYA-ORTA LATIN JAZZ QUARTET
With Vocalist Maria Rivas WHEN: Friday 11/26/10 WHERE:MOCA
770 NE 125 Street N.
Miami, FL TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
ARTURO SANDOVAL WHEN: Friday 11/26/10 – Saturday 11/27/10 WHERE:Sculler’s Jazz Club
400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston, MA TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: Show Only: $35; Dinner & Show: $73
CHICO O’FARRILL’S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Sunday 11/28/10 WHERE:Birdland
315 W. 44th Street
Manhattan, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30
CHILCANO 2.0 WHEN: Saturday 11/27/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 11:55 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
CIDINHO TEIXIERA WHEN: Sunday 11/28/10 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY
New York, NY TIME: 9:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m., & 1:00 a.m. TICKETS: $10 with 2 Drink Minimum
ELIO VILLAFRANCA WHEN: Sunday 11/28/10 WHERE:Blue Note – New York
131 West 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 12:30 p.m. & 2:30 p.m. TICKETS: $24.50
EMILIO SOLLA WHEN: Monday 11/28/10 WHERE:Miles’ Cafe
212 East 52nd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $19.99
FRANK VILLAFAÑE WHEN: Friday 11/26/10 WHERE:Moonstruck Restaurant
517 Lake Avenue
Asbury Park, NJ TIME: 7:00 p.m.
GABRIEL ALEGRIA AFRO-PERUVIAN JAZZ SEXTET WHEN: Thursday 11/25/10 – Friday 11/26/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: Friday – Saturday: 8:30 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
GABRIELE TRANCHINA WHEN: Friday 11/26/10 WHERE:The Comfort Inn
425 East Route 59
Nanuet, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m.
HENDRIK MEURKENS WHEN: Sunday 11/28/10 WHERE:The Bar Next Door
129 MacDougal Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: $12
LANNIE BATTISTINI WHEN: Saturday 11/27/10 WHERE:WDNA Jazz Gallery
2921 Coral Way
Miami, FL TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $50
LUIS PERDOMO
Featuring Miguel Zenón WHEN: Wednesday 11/24/10 WHERE:Small’s
183 West 10th Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:30 p.m.
OSMANY PAREDES QUARTET
New Dimensions In Latin Jazz WHEN: Wednesday 11/24/10 – Thursday 11/25/10 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m., & 1:00 a.m. TICKETS: $10 with 2 Drink Minimum
PEDRO GIRAUDO SEXTET
New Dimensions In Latin Jazz WHEN: Tuesday 11/23/10 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m., & 1:00 a.m. TICKETS: $10 with 2 Drink Minimum
If you’re in the MID-EAST this week . . . CHICAGO AFRO-LATIN JAZZ ENSEMBLE WHEN: Tuesday 11/23/10 WHERE:Andy’s Jazz Club
11 East Hubbard Street
Chicago, IL TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
LOS GATOS WHEN: Wednesday 11/24/10 WHERE:Live At PJ’s
102 S 1st St
Ann Arbor, MI TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 9:15 p.m. TICKETS: $7
PAULINHO GARCIA WHEN: Wednesday 11/24/10 WHERE:Piccollo Mondo
1642 E. 56th Street
Chicago, IL TIME: 6:00 p.m.
TUMBAO BRAVO WHEN: Sunday 11/28/10 WHERE:Sangria’s
401 South Lafayette Avenue
Royal Oak, MI TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $5
If you’re on the WEST COAST this week . . . ESTRADA BROTHERS WHEN: Saturday 11/27/10 WHERE:Steamer’s
1138 W. Commonwealth Avenue
Fullerton, CA TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $8
GILBERT CASTELLANOS WHEN: Wednesday 11/24/10 WHERE:El Camino
2400 India Street
San Diego, CA TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
PACIFIC MAMBO ORCHESTRA WHEN: Monday 11/22/10 WHERE:Cafe Cocomo
650 Indiana Street
San Francisco, CA TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10
PONCHO SANCHEZ WHEN: Sunday 11/28/10 WHERE:Spaghettini’s
3005 Old Ranch Parkway
Seal Beach, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $45
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Every musician carries a tool box around to their gigs – it’s not a physical collection of devices, but rather the sum total of their experience. Each performance arms them with another piece for their tool box, providing some insight or technical development that allows them to bump their performance to another level. In some cases, the tool might be small; it might just be a simple observation that sparks their curiosity. On the other hand, it could be a major musical milestone that signals an artistic evolution for the individual. Regardless of the size of the impact, the tool sticks with the musician, allowing them to call upon the lesson learned in the future. Experience supplies the bulk of the tool box, giving the musician the necessary insight to build a quality musical product.
By the time pianist Jovino Santos Neto stepped into the role of bandleader, he had a massive tool box, filled with the treasures of his vast experience. Neto spent his childhood immersed in classical piano and the era’s modern pop music before diving deeply into progressive rock. His interest eventually led him to jazz fusion, where he found a Brazilian connection among artists like Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. On his way to pursue a career in biology, Neto took got sidetracked at the house of legendary composer Hermeto Pascoal, becoming an integral part of his band. Pascoal’s music stretched Neto’s artistic foundation, introducing him to completely new ways of composing and performing music. He traveled around the world with Pascoal, filling multiple roles as pianist, flautist, road manager, producer, and more. After fifteen years, Neto decided to turn his attention towards composing and a serious study of Pascoal’s larger works, so he found a home at Cornish College Of The Arts in Seattle. Soon after his move, he connected with Moreira and became a member of the percussionist’s group Fourth World. Neto stayed with Moreira’s group for three years before placing his full attention upon his Seattle based quartet. The group recorded several albums, developing a fluid and exciting style that led to a Latin Grammy nomination in 2004 for their recording Canto do Rio. He connected with Adventure Music in 2006, allowing him to return to Rio and record with local musicians, resulting in the album Roda Carioca (Rio Circle). Rising in prominence, Neto earned a grant to study the music of Northeastern Brazil, giving him the fuel to create the vivid and exciting album Alma do Nordeste (Soul Of The Northeast). The pianist relied upon his wealth of experience to continually create a diverse collection of exciting and beautiful music.
By the time that Neto became a bandleader in the early nineties, he was ready to make interesting artistic statements. His string of successful albums proved that fact, getting better with each step forward. In Part One of our interview with Neto, we looked at his early steps towards music, the influence of rock, and his discovery of jazz. Part Two of our interview led us into a discussion of the connection between Brazilian music and jazz fusion, as well as his early connections with Pascoal. In Part Three of our interview, we dug into his time with Pascoal’s group and looked at the heavy influence that the composer played upon Neto’s artistry. Today we delve into Neto’s time with Airto Moreira’s group Fourth World, the development of his Seattle based group, and his long string of albums as a leader.
———- LATIN JAZZ CORNER: When did you get the gig with Airto?
JOVINO SANTOS NETO: It’s funny – it was another coincidence. When I went to Brazil to get my master’s degree in biology, I ended up bumping into Hermeto; when I moved to Seattle to study conducting, the same week that we got here, Airto and Flora (Purim) were playing at Jazz Alley. I knew them already – I had met Airto a couple of times. I had appreciated his playing enormously since I had lived in Canada. So I just went to see them. They knew that I had left Hermeto, so immediately Flora said, “Would you like write some music for me? I’ve got a new record that I’m going to do. I need some new music, would you like to write something?” So she gave me a week to come up with something – I wrote a suite and I sent them a demo. She said, “Great! Come down here and let’s record it.” So I went to Santa Barbara.
They had Fourth World, which was a quartet, but their group was breaking up. Gary Meek, who played flute and keyboards, was leaving. So I joined Fourth World in Gary Meek’s place, along with Gary Brown, José Neto, Airto, and Flora. I started in 1995, so I had a whole year studying at Cornish. Then I was on the road with them from 1995 – 1997, three years.
LJC: How was that experience different for you?
JSN: It was very different, but I also learned a lot. Working with Airto, there’s a lot of freedom and improvisation. That was a band where I was playing only keyboards, no piano. So Airto helped me a lot to learn how to navigate the whole thing about using keyboard pads or sound carpets, as he calls them. It’s just like playing with texture. I was coming from Hermeto’s band, where everything was written and composed, and then we would have this explosion of improvisation. Airto’s band was not really that; no one was really reading anything. We had to learn the music by rehearsal. It did inspire me to write a lot of music. At the same time, the band was not getting together to rehearse that much, because people were living in different places. It was a big production.
We did a lot of tours, but I found that our repertoire at that time, it was shrinking. There were a lot of songs that were not working, and instead of working on them, we just dropped them from the repertoire. Then we’d pick up something older and work on that again. In 1996, I already had my Seattle band taking off – we had our first record that Airto was a part of. It was mutually agreed that it was not going to go on. It was O.K.; I’m still friends with all of them today. Airto is on my new record. I learned a lot from them, and I think it was good. It was a very constructive collaboration period, but it ran its course. Playing with Airto, he’s got such an amazing rhythmic sense. And his ability to choose sounds is very inspiring to work with. He can choose sounds and find the right grooves and the right instruments. It’s very, very inspiring.
LJC: Back in Seattle, you had a quartet at the time.
JSN: Yea, I started with a quartet. The quartet had actually started in 1993, the moment that I got here. Two months later, I already had a demo tape with those guys! It was the same guys are still playing with me today. They were all associated with Cornish – Chuck, my bass player, was the head of the jazz department. I was just practicing at school; I had no piano at home so I would go to school to practice. All of a sudden a head would pop into the room or look through the window, and say, “Wow!” Some people would just go out again, and then some people would say, “Hey, can I bring my instrument in and play with you?” I would say, “Sure!” So that way, I got to know Chuck, Mark, and Hans Teuber – at the time, they became the people in the quartet.
We did the first record (Caboclo), and Airto overdubbed as percussionist, which was very cool. Then things moved on – Hans started to play more gigs with Ani DiFranco, so his friend Harvey Wainapel was suggested. I met Harvey and we did a live record in 2000 (Live in Olympia (Ao Vivo Em Olympia)). Then Jeff Busch had joined the band as a percussionist, so we had a quinteto. Then we continued with that – we made another record in 2004, which was Canto do Rio; it got a nomination for the Latin Grammy that year. Even though we didn’t record since then, we’ve been playing a lot. Harvey lives in the Bay Area, but he does come up whenever we can bring him up. Now we have a new record coming out in 2011; I’m working on that right now.
LJC: You were bringing a lot of ideas from Brazil – were the musicians knowledgeable about that or was that something that you guys working on together?
JSN: It was interesting. I remember when I first brought the recording of my Seattle band to Airto to put the percussion on. He listened to that, and he said, “Hmm. These guys don’t sound like the Brazilian guys.” But he didn’t say that in a bad way. He said, “Wow, that’s different.” Because in a way, these are all great musicians, and most of them are coming from a solid jazz background. They were not trying to emulate. The only thing that I asked them was not to take anything for granted. I never sat down and said, “Well, this is what you should do.” I never did this to any of them. I just said, “Listen, this is how I feel the music. See what we can come up with.” That’s all.
Those guys worked together and the groove locked in so nicely. I had the experience in Hermeto’s group of learning how to play together in an outfit where all the parts connected to each other; I learned how to swing. These guys, without having a solid knowledge of all the great Brazilian drummers and bass players, they found their own way of navigating that groove. In the process, they created something that I think is really unique.
Now, as we go forward after 17 years of doing that together, it’s really evolved to a very natural place. We don’t have any more set lists. And I keep writing new music! Every year or so, I bring a bunch of new music, we start to look at it, and learn it. But then we go to shows and say, “What do you want to play?” It becomes very natural and very fluid. I’m going through all the tracks now of the new group recording, and I’m just amazed at how interactive we are.
LJC: In 2006, you went back to Rio and recorded an album with musicians from the modern Brazilian scene – what was the inspiration to do that?
JSN: I did a trio gig at the San Jose Jazz Festival in 2004 with Paul Van Wageningen and Peter Barshay. These are people that meet through my friends in the Bay Area and teaching at Jazz Camp. It was our first trio gig together and it was really beautiful, a great show. It was a sold out house. It was recorded by NPR for JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater. The guy from Adventure Music heard that recording and said, “This is beautiful, and I want to put this out.” So, he went ahead and licensed the recording from NPR.
Having done that, we started to work on putting it out. But there was a technical issue where some of the tracks had problems. It was recorded in multi-channel, but the mix for broadcast was done on the spot. The multi-channel had some important channels missing. So after we started working, we realized that we could not make a record out of it, for technical reasons. Harvey actually sat in and played a couple of tunes, and his horn was missing.
So the guy from Adventure, who had already paid NPR, returned the tapes, got his money back, and said, “Well, I’ve got this money here – it’s not a lot – what can we do with that?” So I said, “Well, I could maybe go to Brazil, and I could possibly reconnect with my friends in Brazil and make a record there.” He said, “Great idea, see what you can do with it.” So I ran with that budget, and I came back with Roda Carioca (Rio Circle).
LJC: What was different from playing with the guys in the States that it brought out for you?
JSN: It brought back a nice connection. I was already coming back and playing gigs in Brazil. I would go back to Brazil and play some gigs in Brazil with Marcio Bahia and Dudu Lima. That record actually had Rogério Botter Maio, who was another guy that I had played with in the States – he used to live in San Francisco. Then connecting with people like Joyce, Hamilton de Holanda, and Marcos Amorim – new friends, old friends, it was a good way to have a party for three or four days in the studio and invite your friends over. That’s basically how that went.
JSN: Right. That connection happened through a friend of mine who works for me as an agent in Brazil. One day she called me, and she said, “There’s this new program with the Brazilian State Oil Company gives away cultural grants for artists – is there anything you’d like to do?” I remember just off the top of my head saying, “I always wanted to do something on the Northeast.” I jotted down a couple of paragraphs and sent it in an e-mail. That was the end of the year, and I totally forgot about it. Then six months later, she said, “We got it!” I said, “We got what? Oh that!” It was actually a nice grant – it allowed me to go with me and my wife to do a research trip. It paid for everything; all the traveling, food hotel, and everything. And then I came back home, and wrote the music. Actually, most of the music was written in California at Jazz Camp West. After that, I went back to Brazil and recorded it with the guys. Then I went back, pressed the CD, manufactured it, and distributed it. That was a very cool thing. It was my first record that actually came out as manufactured in Brazil; it was not an import there.
LJC: How did you find the music of the Northeast different and what did you walk away with?
JSN: Working with Hermeto had in a way given me a sense of the universe of the Brazilian Northeast, because he was from there and he knew that music deeply from the inside. But I had only known it through him. It was a way to go to the place and experience being there, which gave me even more openings and potential things to do. It was very cool, really beautiful.
You’ll want to check out Part Two of our interview with pianist Jovino Santos Neto, where we discuss the relationship between Brazilian music and jazz fusion, the influence of Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, and Hermeto Pascoal, as well as Neto’s entry into Pascoal’s group. You can find it HERE.
Don’t miss Part 3 of our interview with pianist Jovino Santos Neto, where we look at his time with legendary Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal. We’ll discuss the complexities of Pascoal’s music, his influence upon Neto, and the pianist’s multiple roles in Pascoal’s band. You can read it HERE.
Come back tomorrow to read the last part of our interveiw with pianist Jovino Santos Neto, where we talk about his new album Veja O Som (See The Sound), the fine art of the duet, his future plans, and much more – Don’t Miss It!
Spending time with an influential musician during the height of their artistic output means a lot of different things. It’s an amazing growth opportunity that results in one of the finest educations available – performing regularly with an innovative musician simply demands artistic evolution. The opportunity to experience the development of the artist’s musical development is a priceless experience that provides true insight into their creative process. As the artist tries new approaches, they place their ideas and aesthetics in the open, sharing their most inner thoughts with their collaborators. Most importantly, active involvement opens the possibility of contributing to the artist’s musical evolution and effect history in the making. Their performances shape the artist’s sound, their ideas push the artist’s music in new directions, and their presence becomes a part of history. The opportunity to work with this level of influential artist is a rare and powerful experience that produces mature and important musicians.
Pianist Jovino Santos Neto weaved through an interesting musical development, eventually becoming a prime collaborator with one of the most important figures in modern Brazilian music. Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Neto first found a love for the piano through classical music before becoming deeply involved in pop and rock music as a teenager. By the time that he left for collegiate studies in biology at Montreal’s McGill University, he was highly versed in progressive rock. Neto performed regularly in Canada, shifting his attention towards jazz fusion, noticing the dominate influence of Brazilian music in the style. He encountered Hermeto Pascoal at performances in Brazil and then rediscovered him through the jazz fusion work of Miles Davis. Upon his return to Brazil, Neto visited Pascoal, and after some time together, the composer offered him a job. Neto saw the gig as a short term commitment, but later decided to focus all his attention upon Pascoal’s music. Deeply ingrained in Pascoal’s music, Neto was forced to learn the aesthetics of a whole new musical world through an intensive regimen of practice and rehearsal. The bandleader’s unique approach to harmony and composition open the pianist’s ears to new musical possibilities and fueled him with a armament of advanced performance concepts. The group began to perform quite extensively in the early eighties, touring extensively across Europe and the United States. Neto became a prime figure during this era, extending his work into the role of manager and producer, helping Pascoal find a secure place for his music around the world. In 1992, after spending fifteen years with Pascoal, Neto decided to focus his attention upon a deeper study of Pascoal’s larger works and his own composition, taking him to Cornish College Of The Arts in Seattle.
Neto’s work with Pascoal represented an extremely productive period for both musicians, resulting in recordings and numerous concerts around the world. When they parted ways in 1992, Pascoal stood as an established giant in the Brazilian music scene and Neto carried an impressive set of tools into a solo career. We looked at the foundation of Neto’s musical development in Part One of our interview, where he built his initial love for performance and worked slowly towards jazz. In Part Two of our interview, we discussed the relationship between Brazilian music and jazz fusion, as well as Neto’s early contact with Pascoal. Today, we dig deeply into Neto’s time with Pascoal’s band, looking at the pianist’s education about Pascoal’s musical world, his evolving role in the band, and his eventual departure.
———- LATIN JAZZ CORNER: You had heard Hermeto before, but what was it like working with him at first? He is a very unique musician.
JOVINO SANTOS NETO: It was a process of heavy, intense learning everyday. I had never seen anything remotely like it. There was a lot of reading during the rehearsals – for the first concert I played, I spent the whole week rehearsing. But then in the concert, we did not play one single piece that we rehearsed. I was kind of like, “Oh. What happened? What about that song that we rehearsed?” And Hermeto said, “Oh no, not today.” It was really funny to see that kind of work develop.
LJC: I’ve heard that Hermeto had a pretty rigorous rehearsal schedule . . .
JSN: Yea, it was very Spartan, in the sense that for our core group, that was a full time job. In the beginning, some of the horn guys still played in other groups, but not the rhythm section. Not to say that we were not allowed to play elsewhere, it was just that basically there was nowhere else to play. At the same time, the time that we had to put into rehearsal didn’t leave any time for us to do anything else. It was really a full time job. You got up in the morning, you practiced, you had lunch and then you would go rehearse, you come home, you’re exhausted and you fall asleep, you get up in the morning, you practice – this was gig or no gig, that was the discipline.
At one point, we had rehearsals three times a week, because the horns guys that were playing with us lived Downtown Rio, which was more than an hour away by car. So Hermeto was trying to make it easy for them, only having them drive three days a week. But then the rhythm section started to meet on the other days. The group started touring more, Carlos Malta joined the band, and then everybody moved close to where Hermeto lived. At that point, we all became neighbors and we could rehearse everyday.
LJC: What did those rehearsals look like? I can’t even imagine with the complexity of Hermeto’s music.
JSN: In spite of all the freedom, all the looseness, and the improvised nature of Hermeto’s performances, the rehearsals were very specifically focused on learning music that he had written. We spent time working out all the different layers of the music. He would write something that had all these separate parts, so we had to rehearse just piano and drums, just bass and saxophone, or just saxophone and percussion. We had all these different ways of challenging ourselves to tighten up and clean up the music. You had to practice your individual parts a lot, and then you had to come to the rehearsal to practice the collective aspect. It involved playing your individual part against somebody else’s music that had nothing to do with your part.
I remember questioning Hermeto about that. I said, “I used to really like that Return To Forever stuff because the band did all this amazing licks together.” He said, “Yea, our band is kind of like that, except each one is playing a different part – the parts are not the same, they are different, but it’s the same concept.” I said, “Oh, O.K.!” Then I started to understand that when the really wacky thing that you played was combined with the other really wacky thing that the drummer was doing, it worked. You had to learn how to play while listening to something very different from what you were playing and not loose your grounding – the beat and the pulse. That was very challenging. That was one of the biggest parts of the learning –understanding how to listen to the other parts and to understand the context of what you’re really playing.
In a way, that gave us further material for when improvisational aspects would explode on stage. We had so many resources to draw from, based on all the music that he had written and given to us. For a lot of people, improvisation means that everybody falls into a blues scale – people just play blues lines or bebop on top of the chart. Hermeto’s music gave us so many more musical languages – everything from jazz to baião to samba to fado. We had all these things that we could draw from. At the same time, he had a very sophisticated harmonic concept that allowed multiple tonalities to co-exist as extensions. You could play a very simple folk melody in G over a groove that’s being played in C#. So that way, you still are connected to something that’s very intuitive and very traditional, but it doesn’t sound like that at all – it sounds like something very modern and advanced.
LJC: That must have been quite an education.
JSN: Yea, when you look at it in perspective, it’s amazing, the learning experience. And then to be able to keep on sharing that music with younger students today is really important to me, because I really think that this is the way. A lot of people talk about universal music, but if you think about it, classical music is universal music – people play Beethoven in Tasmania. We’re still using the regional languages of music, we’re just uplifting them from their original ground and building them on top of intense harmonic and rhythmic structures.
LJC: During that time, what was the work like – did he perform a lot, did he record a lot?
JSN: We had all kinds of situations – we had three months without gigs and then we had two-month tours where we played gigs every day. It was always a question of how things worked out. When I joined the band, we didn’t play a lot. Starting in the early eighties, we started to play some more gigs in Sao Paulo and started doing small tours. In 1982, we came to Germany for almost a month. Hermeto came and did some work with the symphony orchestra. In Berlin, we played some concerts. In 1984, we got invited to do a tour of France that was almost a month long. Then we did another two weeks touring Europe. That was the beginning of us touring Europe more regularly. That went all the way until 1992. From 1984 until 1992, in those eight years, we did a lot of European tours. Then we did some work in the United States in 1985, 1989, 1990, and 1991.
LJC: During that time, you took on a lot of leadership roles in Hermeto’s group, how did that come about?
JSN: It started with the language thing; I could speak the languages and I could learn the languages that I didn’t speak. Eventually, I ended up being the person that was put forward to deal with all the international connections – producers, managers, promoters, and press. Maybe because I also have a natural tendency for diplomacy. I could help potentially tense situations and diffuse it so the music could go on. It was stuff like you get there and the sound was really bad or the hotel was awful; you have to find a way to communicate without burning the bridge. People liked working with us and we liked playing together. So we could actually go on the road for sixty days. It was intensely stressful, most of all to our families who were left at home. But also to me on the road – I think that I got all my white hair from those days!
LJC: Somewhere along that time, you became a multi-instrumentalist, playing flute, melodica, and more . . .
JSN: It came naturally. I didn’t care much about the flute before or actually any horn. As somebody who came from a rock and roll background, my idea of a saxophone was Bobby Keys. I liked that kind of burning sound, but that was just a side thing. I heard a record of John Coltrane once and I was really blown away – I said, “Wow, that’s got an intensity that I like.” But I didn’t really know anybody that played like that. I heard Hermeto play the flute and the saxophone live, and he totally blew my mind as to what he could do with it. Then I wanted to play the flute.
We played in Montreal in 1979 and then we went to Japan to play at a festival – on that trip, I bought my first flute in Japan. Then Hermeto started to write music for flute. In 1981, when Carlos Malta joined the group, we had Hermeto playing flute, Carlos Malta, me, and then for a while, Hermeto’s brother Eilsio joined us – he also played flute. So we had a flute quartet and Hermeto started to write all this flute quartet music. For me, that was a big learning experience, because Malta is such an amazing instrumentalist. Being in the shadow of him, trying to tune to him was challenging.
The flute is very different than the piano. On the piano, if you press a G and the piano is in tune, you get a G. Just pressing the keys for a G on the flute, you don’t get a G unless you hear the G in your head and then you can make your breath create that G. So it was very different for me to have to deal with that. But on the other hand, it gave me a much stronger melodic sense of the intervals and the breathing that the piano doesn’t have. I liked that and I still enjoy it. I don’t consider myself a serious flautist like any of these other guys, but I still enjoy playing flute. I like playing flute in a situation of two or three flutes – the ensemble for me is a lot of fun.
LJC: In 1992, you left Hermeto’s band, what was happening and why did you leave?
JSN: It was that same process of taking more and more of the managerial duties. I saw it increasing more and more. We would be rehearsing and then somebody would call, “There’s a guy from France wanting to know if you want red lights or blue lights on the stage.” That kind of stuff – I had to deal with more and more of the daily grind of running the band on the road. Those responsibilities were becoming more and more me. I did a good job, but on the other hand, that was taking a toll on the music side. I was not having the time to practice and grow.
My own music was suffering too – I was getting more and more ideas to compose and eventually I realized that that band was not a place where I would play my own music. I remember back in day, I showed Hermeto my compositions and he said, “Oh, that’s very cool, on the next record, I’m going to make sure to have one of your songs on our record.” I said, “Oh, that would be great!” But then it never happened – and I understand, because he had so much of his own music, there was really no room to put anyone else’s. Then I realized that if I want to play my own music, I’ve got to find my own space to do that.
At the same time, I wanted to get more into the music that I was learning – Hermeto’s music. Being the road manager, translator, technician, and financial advisor . . . it was like eight functions piled into one. I realized that I liked this music so much that I wanted to dedicate myself to learning this music, rather than not having to run it. The goal was to move somewhere and actually learn conducting so that I could work with Hermeto’s more elaborate structural music that he wrote for orchestras and big bands. So I came here to study conducting, and that’s what I did for the first couple of semesters.
LJC: So that’s how you ended up at Cornish College Of The Arts?
You’ll want to check out Part Two of our interview with pianist Jovino Santos Neto, where we discuss the relationship between Brazilian music and jazz fusion, the influence of Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, and Hermeto Pascoal, as well as Neto’s entry into Pascoal’s group. You can find it HERE.
Come back tomorrow for Part 4 of our interview with pianist Jovino Santos Neto where we’ll start looking at his time in Seattle. We’ll discuss his tenure in Airto Moreira’s Fourth World, the development of his Seattle based band, and his first recordings. Don’t miss it!
The internet has made it easier than ever to discover new music – whatever your interests, you can always find something that you haven’t heard. There’s a difference between finding random music in the vast wild of the internet and getting a suggestion from a trusted source though. Hopefully LJC provides some of that guidance for the Latin Jazz world, sorting out the top material amongst the wide variety of choice available today. Then again, there’s a difference between reading about something and actually hearing it for yourself – when you’ve got the best of both worlds, then it’s easier to make a larger investment in the music.
Well, you can find the best of both worlds when you check out the Listening Center – you’ll find lots of free music just waiting to be downloaded. It’s like a virtual buffet for the hungry Latin Jazz fan, allowing you to sample a little bit of everything. If you like what you hear, you can always take the leap and order the main course. It’s try before you buy – check out the tracks and when you find one that you like pick up the album. There’s a little bit of everything from straight-ahead Afro-Cuban Jazz to Afro-Peruvian Jazz and funky fusion Latin Jazz. All the tracks are artist approved too; it’s a like a gift from a great Latin Jazz artist – they want to share their music with you. In most cases, you can find reviews of this material on LJC as well, giving you an idea of what the larger album might look like. Regular LJC readers may be aware of this musical goldmine already, but for those of you new to LJC, I just wanted to point it out.
Today we’ve got a special treat as we add another track to the Listening Center – “Blue Cha-Cha” from Spotlight Artist guitarist Nelson Riveros’ Camino Al Barrio. This is a prime example of Riveros’ smart approach to Latin Jazz guitar, mixing an intelligent approach to the clave with a modern jazz sensibility. The track features a tight rhythm section of Riveros, pianist Hector Martignon, bassist Armando Gola, drummer Ernesto Simpson, and percussionist Samuel Torres, delivering a fantastic performance. We featured Riveros as a Spotlight Artist here at LJC, so if you want the bigger picture, check out the full review of Listening Center – “Blue Cha-Cha” from Spotlight Artist guitarist Nelson Riveros’ Camino Al BarrioHERE. In the meantime, you’ve got to hear this track – download it, load it onto your iPod, and spend some time with it. You’re bound to want more, but start with this track – a gift from Riveros, to you!
Download Nelson Riveros’ “Blue Cha-Cha” NOW at the LJC Listening Center – go HERE.
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Latin Jazz artists – do you have a track that you’d like to contribute to the LJC Listening Center? It’s a great way to expose a large audience interested specifically in Latin Jazz to your music. It’s one of the most visited parts of LJC, allowing you to make a connection with our audience. If you’re interested, get my contact info HERE.
Awards should represent a trustworthy recommendation for a great listening experience, like an old friend that shares your exact musical taste. When they bestow an honor upon a specific album, you should feel comfortable buying the recording without any hesitation. The organization that presents the awards needs to earn your trust by showing a consistent selection of outstanding recordings. The Grammy Foundation has spent years building the trust of the United States public, but as I mentioned in last week’s Latin Jazz Video Fix, I’ve had mixed opinions on the organization and their awards. They earned a bit of trust back from me this past week, as they awarded the 2010 Latin Jazz Grammy to Brazilian pianist João Donato for his album Sambolero.
Born in Acre, Brazil on August 17, 1934, Donato has led a long and illustrious career that has touched every corner of Brazilian Jazz and beyond. His family shared a wide range of musical abilities, ranging from his father’s mandolin playing to her mother’s vocals; the young João chose to focus upon the accordion. He learned quickly, writing his first composition at the age of eight and making a professional debut as a performer when he was 15. In 1953, Donato made the move from accordion to piano, helming Donato e seu Conjunto as well as the Donato Trio, recording a CD directed by Antonio Carlos Jobim three years later. Although he collaborated regularly with one of the bossa nova’s most important composers João Gilberto, Donato lived in São Paulo during the height of the music’s popularity in Rio. He traveled to the United States, mingling with a number of important Latin Jazz artists, such as Cal Tjader and Tito Puente, and also spent time touring Europe with Gilberto. In the early sixties, Donato recorded two important albums back in Brazil, Muito a Vontade and A Bossa Muito Moderna De João Donato, before returning to the United States. During his ten-year stay in the United States, Donato played with jazz players, Latin Jazz musicians, and Stateside Brazilian musicians, turning out several albums as a leader that integrated a wide variety of influences. In the early seventies, Donato returned to Brazil, and under the advisement of several musicians, he added vocalists into his recordings. As a result, his music gained a BPM slant, as he joined forces with Marcos Valle, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, Dorival Caymmi, and any other. After several albums, Donato stepped away from recording for almost two decades. He returned in 1996, turning out a steady stream of albums throughout the 2000s. His 2010 release Sambolero finds Donato presenting a strong set of straight-ahead instrumental Brazilian Jazz, marking a return to the music that guided him through his career.
The recognition of Donato and his work at the 2010 Latin Grammys signals a move in the right direction for the Recording Academy, as they celebrate an important artist in the history of Brazilian Jazz. Donato’s contributions have outlined the music’s evolution and been a constant sign of taste. With some well-deserved attention already upon Sambolero, today’s Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix is dedicated to Donato. In the first video, Donato and his group perform one of the pianist’s classic compositions, “Amazonas.” The next clip finds the trio performing another classic tune, “Malandro.” In the last piece, Donato plays and sings another of his classic compositions, “Bananeira.” Donato really represents some of the best in Brazilian Jazz – definitely worth checking out. Enjoy!
———- João Donato And His Group Performing “Amazonas”
João Donato Trio Performing “Malandro”
João Donato Trio Performing “Bananeira”
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Want to hear more from João Donato? Check out these albums: Muito a Vontade
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Do you have a video to contribute to satisfy our weekly Latin Jazz video fix? If so, send it in – it’s time to feed our addiction. I’m looking for live performances, from any context. I’ll most likely be posting one video per week, but if you’ve got another idea, let’s talk. So come on Latin Jazz videographers, musicians, and fans – let’s share some of our memorable videos! Get my contact info HERE.
Latin Jazz This Week will bring you a weekly look into news from the Latin Jazz world. You’ll find new releases, recommended performances, web finds, and more. You can check out some current sounds in the Listening Center tab at the top of the page. Performance dates will be kept in the Live Latin Jazz tab at the top of the page.
NEWS
Over the years, I’ve learned to take at the Grammy Awards with a grain of salt – far too often the selection of honorees are determined solely around financial factors. As I pointed out last week in our Latin Jazz Video Fix, the 2010 nominees in the Latin Jazz category gave me a ray of hope, since they were all solid recordings with artistic merit. The awards happened last Thursday night, and I’m happy to send out my congratulations to legendary Brazilian pianist João Donato and his trio, winners for their album Sambolero. Unfortunately, I haven’t given this album much attention here at LJC – something I need to change – but it’s a great recording that any fan of Brazilian Jazz would love. It’s a well-deserved win – congratulations!
In another part of the Latin Grammys, pianist Fernando Otero’s recording Vital won the award for Best Classical Album. This is a beautiful album to be sure with well-conceived writing, delicate performances, and a wealth of musicality. It’s one of those albums that really walks a fine line between jazz, Argentinean traditions, modern classicism, and more. I wonder if it really is the best example of top-notch musicality in the classical music world for 2010 though – not a question I feel fully qualified to answer. I’d love to hear from someone in the classical music world to get their thoughts on this choice; this is an issue that I’ve asked around the Latin Jazz selection many times in the past, so I’d be curious to see how it effects another field.
I always love discovering new Latin Jazz and there are just so many ways to come across new music online these days . . . so many that it’s always good to get some direction from a trusted voice. Over at Latin Jazz Network, Tomas Peña recently posted an interview with Argentinean saxophonist Mercedes Figueras, shedding some light on this emerging artist. Peña and Figueras discuss her entry into jazz, her development as an artist, and her new album 1 De Mayo, recorded with her group The Black Butterflies. It’s a great look at an interesting artist – I’ve got to hear this album now! You can read the interview HERE.
Another recent post at Latin Jazz Network also caught my eye – an interview with Cuban percussionist Oscar Valdés conducted by Roberto Santamaria – someone who knows percussion, being the son of Mongo Santamaria. Valdés and Santamaria talk a little bit about Valdés’ childhood and early days in music, the creation of Irakere, and the relationship between Cuban popular and religious music. The interview gives some insight into one of Cuba’s great musicians and one of their most influential groups – you can find it HERE.
If you’re in SOUTH AMERICA this week . . . MANANTE WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Cocodrilo Verde
Francisco De Paula Camino 226
Miraflores Lima, Peru TIME: 9:30 p.m.
If you’re in EUROPE this week . . . JOVINO SANTOS NETO WHEN: Friday 11/19/10 WHERE:Der Kulturraum
21A 4410 Liestal
Switzerland TIME: 10:30 p.m.
London Jazz Festival WHEN: Saturday 11/20/10 WHERE:Bull’s Head Barnes
373 Londsdale Road
London TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: 12 pounds
London Jazz Festival – An Audience With Jovino Santos Neto WHEN: Sunday 11/21/10 WHERE:Blue Room – Royal Festival Hall
Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX
London TIME: 2:00 p.m. TICKETS: 5 pounds
London Jazz Festival WHEN: Sunday 11/21/10 WHERE:Pizza Express Jazz Club
10 Dean Street, Soho
London TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: 25 pounds
If you’re on the EAST COAST this week . . . AFRO-BOP ALLIANCE WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Talara
615 President Street
Baltimore, MD TIME: 8:00 p.m.
ANNETTE AGUILAR & STRINGBEANS WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Corcho Wine Bar
227 Dyckman Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m.
WHEN: Friday 11/19/10 WHERE:Backyard Bistro
16 Division Street
New Rochelle, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m.
ARAYA-ORTA LATIN JAZZ QUARTET
With Vocalist Maria Rivas WHEN: Saturday 11/20/10 WHERE:MOCA
770 NE 125 Street N.
Miami, FL TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
ARTURO O’FARRILL
Solo Piano WHEN: Wednesday 11/17/10 WHERE:Puppet’s Jazz Bar
481 5th Avenue Park Slope
Brooklyn, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
BOBBY SANABRIA
Ascension with special guest Felipe Luciano WHEN: Wednesday 11/17/10 WHERE:Fonda Boricua
172 East 106th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
BRONX HORNS WHEN: Friday 11/19/10 WHERE:Orange Hall Theatre
SUNY Orange/Wawayanda Avenue
Middletown, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15 – $20
CHICO O’FARRILL’S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Sunday 11/14/10 WHERE:Birdland
315 W. 44th Street
Manhattan, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30
CHILCANO 2.0 WHEN: Saturday 11/20/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 11:55 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
CIDINHO TEIXIERA WHEN: Sunday 11/21/10 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY
New York, NY TIME: 9:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m., & 1:00 a.m. TICKETS: $10 with 2 Drink Minimum
CURTIS BROTHERS WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe
236 East 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $7
With Special Guest Ray Vega WHEN: Friday 11/19/10 WHERE:Wadsworth Atheneum
600 Main Street
Hartford, CT TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15
EDMAR CASTANEDA WHEN: Saturday 11/20/10 WHERE:Orange Hall Theatre
SUNY Orange/Wawayanda Avenue
Middletown, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15 – $20
EDWARD PEREZ WHEN: Wednesday 11/18/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
ELIO VILLAFRANCA
New Dimensions In Latin Jazz WHEN: Tuesday 11/16/10 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m., & 1:00 a.m. TICKETS: $10 with 2 Drink Minimum
EMILIO SOLLA WHEN: Monday 11/15/10 WHERE:Miles’ Cafe
212 East 52nd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $19.99
ERIC KURIMSKI WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane St
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
FERNANDO OTERO WHEN: Tuesday 11/16/10 WHERE:Nublu
56 Avenue C
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m.
New Dimensions In Latin Jazz WHEN: Wednesday 11/17/10 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
Greenwich Village, NY TIME: 9:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m., & 1:00 a.m. TICKETS: $10 & 2 drink minimum
GABRIEL ALEGRIA AFRO-PERUVIAN JAZZ SEXTET WHEN: Friday 11/19/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: Friday – Saturday: 8:30 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
HENDRIK MEURKENS
Golden State Harmonica Club Festival WHEN: Saturday 11/20/10 WHERE:Holiday Inn
283 Route 17 South
Hasbrouck Heights, NJ TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $90
JUAN-CARLOS FORMELL & JOHNNY’S DREAM CLUB
New Dimensions In Latin Jazz WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m., & 1:00 a.m. TICKETS: $10 with 2 Drink Minimum
MANUEL VALERA WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Van Dyke Cafe
846 Lincoln Road
Miami Beach, FL TIME: 9:00 p.m.
NEGRONI’S TRIO
With Ed Calle WHEN: Wednesday 11/17/10 WHERE:Van Dyke Cafe
846 Lincoln Road
Miami Beach, FL TIME: 9:00 p.m.
PEDRO GIRAUDO
Sextet WHEN: Wednesday 11/17/10 WHERE:Clemente Soto Velez
107 Suffolk Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m.
WILLIE MARTINEZ WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Harvest On Hudson
1 River Street
Hastings, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m. & 8:45 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
If you’re in the MID-EAST this week . . . ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ WHEN: Wednesday 11/17/10 WHERE:Whitmore Recital Hall
218 N. Eighth Street
Columbia, MO TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $26.35 – $36.85
CHICAGO AFRO-LATIN JAZZ ENSEMBLE WHEN: Tuesday 11/16/10 WHERE:Andy’s Jazz Club
11 East Hubbard Street
Chicago, IL TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
LOS GATOS WHEN: Wednesday 11/17/10 WHERE:Live At PJ’s
102 S 1st St
Ann Arbor, MI TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 9:15 p.m. TICKETS: $7
PAULINHO GARCIA WHEN: Wednesday 11/17/10 WHERE:Piccollo Mondo
1642 E. 56th Street
Chicago, IL TIME: 6:00 p.m.
With Grazyna Auguscik WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Q2
1625 Hinman Avenue
Evanston, IL TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10
Brazilian Vocal Workshop WHEN: Saturday 11/20/10 WHERE:Old Town School Of Folk Music
4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
TUMBAO BRAVO WHEN: Sunday 11/21/10 WHERE:Sangria’s
401 South Lafayette Avenue
Royal Oak, MI TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $5
If you’re on the WEST COAST this week . . . FRANK CANO WHEN: Saturday 11/20/10 WHERE:Steamer’s
1138 W. Commonwealth Avenue
Fullerton, CA TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $8
GILBERT CASTELLANOS WHEN: Wednesday 11/17/10 WHERE:El Camino
2400 India Street
San Diego, CA TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Croce’s
802 5th Avenue
San Diego, CA TIME: 7:30 p.m.
JOHN SANTOS
San Francisco World Music Festival WHEN: Friday 11/19/10 – Sunday 11/21/10 WHERE:Jewish Community Center
3200 California Street
San Francisco, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m.
PACIFIC MAMBO ORCHESTRA WHEN: Monday 11/15/10 WHERE:Cafe Cocomo
650 Indiana Street
San Francisco, CA TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10
PETE ESCOVEDO WHEN: Saturday 11/20/10 WHERE:Cocina Poblana
499 Embarcadero West
Oakland, CA TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15
PONCHO SANCHEZ WHEN: Friday 11/19/10 WHERE:Vitello’s
4349 Tujunga Avenue
Studio City, CA TIME: 7:30 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20
SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY AFRO-CUBAN ENSEMBLE
Directed by Dr. John Calloway WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Creative Arts Building – Knuth Hall
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $8
SONANDO WHEN: Thursday 11/18/10 WHERE:Tula’s
2214 Second Avenue
Seattle, WA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
STANFORD AFRO-LATIN JAZZ ENSEMBLE
Directed by Murray Low WHEN: Tuesday 11/16/10 WHERE:Campbell Recital Hall – Stanford University
541 Lasuen Mall
Stanford, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
WAYNE WALLACE
Benefit For “Agri+Culture” WHEN: Sunday 11/21/10 WHERE:JazzSchool
2087 Addison Street
Berkeley, CA TIME: 4:30 p.m. TICKETS: $15
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It’s become an annual tradition here at LJC to spend Thanksgiving Day looking back at several Latin Jazz artists that have had a profound effect on me during the past year. I generally spend the day with family and friends, cherishing the the close relationships that make my life full. My life wouldn’t be complete without Latin Jazz though, the sights and sounds of the music have influenced me more than I could ever describe. More than anything, it’s the musicians behind the sound that have impacted me; they’ve consistently been inspirational role models that keep me moving from day to day. I enjoy the opportunity to look back upon a few especially important Latin Jazz musicians and acknowledge the rare gifts that they’ve brought into the world.
Every Latin Jazz artist earns my respect for contributing to the overall scene – the work that every artist does leads towards the genre’s rich diversity. It takes an amazing individual to go above and beyond that contribution though, something that pianist Danilo Peréz has spent a good deal of time doing in spades. Simply talking about his artistic merit would easily put him in this category, he’s an unstoppable visionary with the work aesthetic to make his ideas reality. He has impacted the traditional Latin Jazz scene through work with Dizzy Gillespie and Paquito D’Rivera and pushed the boundaries of modern jazz with the cutting edge sound of Wayne Shorter’s quartet. His output as a bandleader shows the high level thinking that makes him a musical leader; just check out his latest release Providencia for ample evidence. Peréz takes his responsibility as a musician much further than performance though, with a social conscious that drives him to greater heights. The establishment of the Panama Jazz Festival has allowed for the exposure of world class jazz artists in the region. With the context of the festival, Peréz has created a foundation providing money for jazz education aimed at Panamanian youth. In his spare time, Peréz has created the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, a rigorous program that balances high quality performances standards with social responsibility. Peréz is not only providing opportunity for both the young and the old, he is ensuring the survival and expansion of jazz into the next generation – a fact reaching across many years that we can all be thankful for.
Legends often proceed the people behind them, and I’ve found that until I dig deep into a musician’s history, I don’t really know them. Hermeto Pascoal’s name floats around the Brazilian Jazz scene with great frequency, confirming the importance of his work on a regular basis. Despite this fact, I hadn’t really gotten to know Pascoal too well before this year. I had listened to a couple of albums, and even though the rich quality of the music struck me, something always pulled my attention away. While doing research for my recent interview with pianist Jovino Santos Neto, I spent some serious time with Pascoal’s music, since Neto spent fifteen years in Pascoal’s band. After a good deal of focused listening, I was left with just one question – why hadn’t I been doing more Pascoal listening before? His compositions are simply breathtaking, pulling together the deep rooted cultural traditions of Brazil, the inherent freedom of improvisation in jazz, and the large scale compositional structures of classical music. His performances as a saxophonist, flautist, and more show him as an awe-inspiring multi-instrumentalist and a profoundly unique artistic personality that demands attention. As Neto pointed out during our five-part interview (Check out 
A lot has been said about the questionable future of jazz due to the declining interest of young people, a discouraging fact indeed. I’ve pondered this fact many times over the years, but I was given a glimpse of hope this past year from pianist Zaccai Curtis. Along with his brother Luques, Curtis delivers some of the most exciting and energetic Latin Jazz today with the Curtis Brothers Quartet. Their 2009 album Blood Spirit Land Water Freedom showed a musical maturity far beyond the scope of most twenty-something musicians, ranking among some of the year’s best Latin Jazz. The group has been invigorating the New York scene for several years now, and we got a chance to here their powerful artistry in the Bay Area this year. The quartet tore apart the club here in Sonoma where I heard them, making a major statement with their smart combination of authenticity and spontaneity. The group captured their Bay Area visit in a fantastic live recording that they promptly made available for free download HERE. Zaccai and the group continue to prove themselves musically, but they also show a keen insight into the voice of their generation. Regular updates on Facebook, a constantly growing collection of videos on YouTube, the distribution of a free live album, a consistently updated website, and an informative mailing list are just some of the strategies that make the Curtis Brothers Quartet a viable piece of the twenty-first century Latin Jazz scene. In the three-part interview with Zaccai, we discussed the entry points for young people into jazz today, and he had honest, intelligent answers that not only shed light on the issues, but forced us to think about it clearly. Through outstanding musicianship, hard work, and intelligent commentary, Zaccai has proven to me that Latin Jazz has a future among the next generation, a fact that I’m very thankful for.
I’ve been fortunate to spend most of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I’m always thankful for the musicians that make this an exciting Latin Jazz scene. I was lucky enough to spend a while taking with Pete Escovedo this year, really digging into his legacy in celebration of his 75th birthday. If you haven’t checked out the LJC interview, take a minute to read 
After a career filled with countless important musical interactions, pianist Jovino Santos Neto focused his energy on a more intimate artistic conversation. His early training led him through classical music, progressive rock, and jazz fusion, before he decided on a career outside of music. A meeting with composer Hermeto Pascoal changed his mind though, and he became a key member of the influential musician’s band. Neto stayed with Pascoal’s group for fifteen years, soaking in the composer’s concepts and becoming an experienced performer around the world. A desire to dig deeper into Pascoal’s larger works took Neto to Cornish College Of The Arts in Seattle, where he eventually became a professor. Along the way, Neto spent several years performing with Airto Moreira’s Fourth World and establishing his own group in Seattle. Neto solidified his standing as a bandleader with several outstanding albums, including 
and 
. Looking for new inspiration in 2010, Neto recorded a series of duets with twenty different musicians, resulting in the recording 
. Neto gathered ten musicians from Brazil and ten musician from the United States, producing a double disc collection of exposed artistic communication. The recordings are personal and exciting, emphasizing the thrill of improvisation and the joy of human collaboration. Neto tells a story about the intimate quality of music, interacting with these musicians on a whole new level of artistic insight.
It was nice the way that it worked out – it was natural. Some of the people were my good friends, like Mike Marshall or people like Gabriel Grassi, that I’ve worked with twice before. Other people were people that I’d never played with, like Gretchen Parlato; I knew of her, but I didn’t even know her work. We would just kind of meet, go into the studio, and go, “O.K., what do you want to do?” In a way, that unprepared sincerity gives the record a unique twist. 
LJC: On so many albums, personalities get buried in arrangements, so it’s nice to hear that.
We listened and I said, “O.K., let’s do another one.” So on the second take, I felt that and I came from a much more quieter space. We met in that space, played around, and then the song ended. Then we said, “Let’s do it another way.” So we went back in and we knew what we could do. I came from Mars, she came from Saturn – it was so out! 
Both of us wanted to have David Sanchez. I wrote to him and he said, “Yea, I’m interested.” The only day that he was available was New Year’s Day. I pretty much gave up on the idea. Then he wrote back and said, “I want to do this so bad, I’ll find a way to make it work.” So in the midst of the holiday rush, we went ahead and booked the studio, got the flight, and the hotel. He flew in, I picked him up at the hotel, and took him to the studio. We recorded, he came back to the hotel, and then he flew out. It was so quick. We had two songs in mind to do, both by Torinho Horta. We ended up choosing “Aquelas Coisa Todas (All Of Those Things)” and I’m so happy. It came out so beautiful that I actually chose that to open the album. It was the last track that we did. 
JSN: I see that the biggest problem today is not the students; it’s actually the teachers. They did not have that latitude in their experience and they feel very helpless in trying to teach students who want openness in their education. If you want to compose music and if your idea of structure is rhythm changes or the blues, then you’re lacking something because you’ve never heard music that has more complex structural forms. At the same time, if you come from a place of very highly developed structural music but you don’t know how to deal with the simplicity of chord symbols, then you also are seriously damaged in your ability to create music. If you want to work in anything – film soundtracks, television, video games, ringtones, whatever it is in music – then you have to know these things. I’m very happy to have the opportunity to interact with younger students who have that openness. 
JSN: The goal is to preserve this music and make it available for musicians to access it. I realized the importance of this back in Brazil when I first joined Hermeto’s band. I looked where Hermeto stored his music; it was in baskets underneath his bed. In Rio, there’s a lot of termites, humidity, floods, and stuff like this. I said, “Man, this music . . . that’s where it is?!?” He said, “Yea, where else am I going to put it?” So he had baskets of yellowing paper under his bed. At that moment, I went ahead a bought a file cabinet for it and created a letter/number system to organize it. I had to look at all these papers and figure out how they were like the other papers – maybe one song came the other period as another one, maybe one had a similar kind of pen or a similar kind of writing. It is almost like an archaeologist’s work.
His music is very difficult to understand, especially if somebody doesn’t understand his notation methods. Hermeto, being visually deficient, had to develop his own way of putting the little dots on the page. At times, it’s very difficult to read. When I transcribe one of his orchestra pieces, it basically takes me one hour for one measure, to put it into Finale. I have to go with a magnifying glass and look at those little dots. Sometimes, I even have to understand where Hermeto made a mistake, because sometimes he does. I ask him about a note on the score, and he’ll say, “Oh yea, I’m glad that you caught that. You know that I would not write that note.” So it’s quite interesting. 
JSN: I’m finishing another album, a solo recording that I did a few years ago for Adventure on a Fazioli grand piano, a wonderful instrument. They’re doing a Fazioli series in which they have a lot of different pianists playing on Fazioli pianos. Eventually it’s going to become a box set. I’m editing and mixing my contribution to that in which I do a lot of jazz and Brazilian tunes with some improvisations in between. Then there’s the new Quinteto record and still basking in the fun that it is to have put out this duo record. I’m very proud of that – not just what I have done but what we have together on each one of the duos.
Any good jazz musician spends a great deal of time working as a sideman, but the best musicians show up consistently in high profile positions. Their insightful musicianship leaps out of any setting, making them a magnet for audience and peer attention. As a result, they regularly have a full schedule as one gig leads to another opportunity, opening into yet more performances. Once word spreads, they generally attract major attention, leading to gigs with the best musicians in their field and beyond. As their profile rises, they become important pieces of the scene, and eventually, they make the step into the role of bandleader. 
. Alves became a first call pianist on New York’s Brazilian Jazz scene, working with harmonica player Hendrik Meurkens on 
, drummer Duduka da Fonseca on 
, saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera on 
, among many others. As the pianist’s schedule began to fill with calls from across the scene, he also began a career as a bandleader on the 1998 album 
. An inspired collection of straight-ahead jazz and Brazilian Jazz, Alves recorded with two trios including bassist John Patitucci and drummer Al Foster as well as bassist Nilson Matta and da Fonseca. Alves followed this release in 2004 with 
, another strong trio release that teamed the pianist with bassist Santi Debriano and drummer Matt Wilson. In 2009, Alves kicked things up a notch with 
, a quartet recording that employed guitarist Romero Lubambo, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Ernesto Simpson. Along the way, the pianist took high profile jobs with cellist Yo-Yo Ma on 
and co-lead the album 
with Matta and da Fonseca. His 2010 release 
to the 
. As part of the album release celebration, the group appeared in a high profile concert at the Litchfield Jazz Festival. NPR recorded their set, and this week, they are broadcasting a portion of it as part of JazzSet. It’s a lively example of the group stretching out and really indulging in the beauty of their music. Check out the stream 
. The Wall Street Journal recently caught up with Peréz and did a quick run down of his career and latest album. You can check it out 
and Enrico Pieranunzi’s 
. I’m intrigued – I’m off to track them down. They both sound like good listens; check out Hum’s thoughts 
Every musician carries a tool box around to their gigs – it’s not a physical collection of devices, but rather the sum total of their experience. Each performance arms them with another piece for their tool box, providing some insight or technical development that allows them to bump their performance to another level. In some cases, the tool might be small; it might just be a simple observation that sparks their curiosity. On the other hand, it could be a major musical milestone that signals an artistic evolution for the individual. Regardless of the size of the impact, the tool sticks with the musician, allowing them to call upon the lesson learned in the future. Experience supplies the bulk of the tool box, giving the musician the necessary insight to build a quality musical product. 
. He connected with Adventure Music in 2006, allowing him to return to Rio and record with local musicians, resulting in the album 
JOVINO SANTOS NETO: It’s funny – it was another coincidence. When I went to Brazil to get my master’s degree in biology, I ended up bumping into Hermeto; when I moved to Seattle to study conducting, the same week that we got here, Airto and Flora (Purim) were playing at Jazz Alley. I knew them already – I had met Airto a couple of times. I had appreciated his playing enormously since I had lived in Canada. So I just went to see them. They knew that I had left Hermeto, so immediately Flora said, “Would you like write some music for me? I’ve got a new record that I’m going to do. I need some new music, would you like to write something?” So she gave me a week to come up with something – I wrote a suite and I sent them a demo. She said, “Great! Come down here and let’s record it.” So I went to Santa Barbara. 
JSN: It was very different, but I also learned a lot. Working with Airto, there’s a lot of freedom and improvisation. That was a band where I was playing only keyboards, no piano. So Airto helped me a lot to learn how to navigate the whole thing about using keyboard pads or sound carpets, as he calls them. It’s just like playing with texture. I was coming from Hermeto’s band, where everything was written and composed, and then we would have this explosion of improvisation. Airto’s band was not really that; no one was really reading anything. We had to learn the music by rehearsal. It did inspire me to write a lot of music. At the same time, the band was not getting together to rehearse that much, because people were living in different places. It was a big production. 
JSN: Yea, I started with a quartet. The quartet had actually started in 1993, the moment that I got here. Two months later, I already had a demo tape with those guys! It was the same guys are still playing with me today. They were all associated with Cornish – Chuck, my bass player, was the head of the jazz department. I was just practicing at school; I had no piano at home so I would go to school to practice. All of a sudden a head would pop into the room or look through the window, and say, “Wow!” Some people would just go out again, and then some people would say, “Hey, can I bring my instrument in and play with you?” I would say, “Sure!” So that way, I got to know Chuck, Mark, and Hans Teuber – at the time, they became the people in the quartet. 
We did the first record (
Spending time with an influential musician during the height of their artistic output means a lot of different things. It’s an amazing growth opportunity that results in one of the finest educations available – performing regularly with an innovative musician simply demands artistic evolution. The opportunity to experience the development of the artist’s musical development is a priceless experience that provides true insight into their creative process. As the artist tries new approaches, they place their ideas and aesthetics in the open, sharing their most inner thoughts with their collaborators. Most importantly, active involvement opens the possibility of contributing to the artist’s musical evolution and effect history in the making. Their performances shape the artist’s sound, their ideas push the artist’s music in new directions, and their presence becomes a part of history. The opportunity to work with this level of influential artist is a rare and powerful experience that produces mature and important musicians.
LATIN JAZZ CORNER: You had heard Hermeto before, but what was it like working with him at first? He is a very unique musician.
JSN: In spite of all the freedom, all the looseness, and the improvised nature of Hermeto’s performances, the rehearsals were very specifically focused on learning music that he had written. We spent time working out all the different layers of the music. He would write something that had all these separate parts, so we had to rehearse just piano and drums, just bass and saxophone, or just saxophone and percussion. We had all these different ways of challenging ourselves to tighten up and clean up the music. You had to practice your individual parts a lot, and then you had to come to the rehearsal to practice the collective aspect. It involved playing your individual part against somebody else’s music that had nothing to do with your part. 
JSN: Yea, when you look at it in perspective, it’s amazing, the learning experience. And then to be able to keep on sharing that music with younger students today is really important to me, because I really think that this is the way. A lot of people talk about universal music, but if you think about it, classical music is universal music – people play Beethoven in Tasmania. We’re still using the regional languages of music, we’re just uplifting them from their original ground and building them on top of intense harmonic and rhythmic structures.
JSN: It started with the language thing; I could speak the languages and I could learn the languages that I didn’t speak. Eventually, I ended up being the person that was put forward to deal with all the international connections – producers, managers, promoters, and press. Maybe because I also have a natural tendency for diplomacy. I could help potentially tense situations and diffuse it so the music could go on. It was stuff like you get there and the sound was really bad or the hotel was awful; you have to find a way to communicate without burning the bridge. People liked working with us and we liked playing together. So we could actually go on the road for sixty days. It was intensely stressful, most of all to our families who were left at home. But also to me on the road – I think that I got all my white hair from those days!
We played in Montreal in 1979 and then we went to Japan to play at a festival – on that trip, I bought my first flute in Japan. Then Hermeto started to write music for flute. In 1981, when Carlos Malta joined the group, we had Hermeto playing flute, Carlos Malta, me, and then for a while, Hermeto’s brother Eilsio joined us – he also played flute. So we had a flute quartet and Hermeto started to write all this flute quartet music. For me, that was a big learning experience, because Malta is such an amazing instrumentalist. Being in the shadow of him, trying to tune to him was challenging. 
JSN: It was that same process of taking more and more of the managerial duties. I saw it increasing more and more. We would be rehearsing and then somebody would call, “There’s a guy from France wanting to know if you want red lights or blue lights on the stage.” That kind of stuff – I had to deal with more and more of the daily grind of running the band on the road. Those responsibilities were becoming more and more me. I did a good job, but on the other hand, that was taking a toll on the music side. I was not having the time to practice and grow. 
Awards should represent a trustworthy recommendation for a great listening experience, like an old friend that shares your exact musical taste. When they bestow an honor upon a specific album, you should feel comfortable buying the recording without any hesitation. The organization that presents the awards needs to earn your trust by showing a consistent selection of outstanding recordings. The Grammy Foundation has spent years building the trust of the United States public, but as I mentioned in 
and 
, before returning to the United States. During his ten-year stay in the United States, Donato played with jazz players, Latin Jazz musicians, and Stateside Brazilian musicians, turning out several albums as a leader that integrated a wide variety of influences. In the early seventies, Donato returned to Brazil, and under the advisement of several musicians, he added vocalists into his recordings. As a result, his music gained a BPM slant, as he joined forces with Marcos Valle, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, Dorival Caymmi, and any other. After several albums, Donato stepped away from recording for almost two decades. He returned in 1996, turning out a steady stream of albums throughout the 2000s. His 2010 release 
won the award for Best Classical Album. This is a beautiful album to be sure with well-conceived writing, delicate performances, and a wealth of musicality. It’s one of those albums that really walks a fine line between jazz, Argentinean traditions, modern classicism, and more. I wonder if it really is the best example of top-notch musicality in the classical music world for 2010 though – not a question I feel fully qualified to answer. I’d love to hear from someone in the classical music world to get their thoughts on this choice; this is an issue that I’ve asked around the Latin Jazz selection many times in the past, so I’d be curious to see how it effects another field.
, recorded with her group The Black Butterflies. It’s a great look at an interesting artist – I’ve got to hear this album now! You can read the interview 
