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This
month's theme is 'Songs in the Feminine Key', so
it seems only appropriate to report on an upcoming release by one of the "first
ladies" of Brazilian music here in the US. Kenia
pioneered a different kind of Brazilian pop with her late-80s releases Initial
Thrill and Distant
Horizon - her jazzy style in Portuguese and English - often with guitarist
Chuck Loeb at her side - provided a authentic alternative to Basia's 'Time &
Tide' debut in 1987. A series of jazz based CDs followed, culminating with her
critically acclaimed Project
Ivan Lins CD in 1997. Now
comes 'Simply Kenia', her first album in more than a decade with an April 1st
launch. Described by her label as the most well-rounded and stylistically authentic
album of her career, 'Simply Kenia' features the Brazilian expatriate's take on
compositions by Pixinguinha, João Bosco, Gonzaguinha and Jair De Oliveira.
She also croons Djavan's classic 'Avião,' with lyrics from American vocalist
Lorraine Feather, using the English title 'Being Cool'. Besides
Kenia's usual forays into Bossa Nova and MPB on the album's 15 tracks, the album
also sees the vocalist venturing into Choro with 'Lamentos', written by Choro
pioneer Pixaguinha and with lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. Choro is a jazzy,
pre-Samba style that has recently seen a rise in popularity here and in
Brazil. Kenia said she was excited about the opportunity to enter new musical
territory: "I love what is happening with the Choro revival," she said
while announcing the new album. "For the past couple of years, I've become
very interested in learning more about this great music and performing it." Several
special guests appear on the record, which was partially recorded in Brazil and
in the United States, where Kenia has lived since 1990. Romero
Lubambo provides guitar and other stringed instruments, Grammy winner Cesar
Camargo Mariano serves as orchestrator and "keyboard stylist"
and Kenia's son Lucas Ashby plays pandeiro on one track. Listen for more of Kenia's
newest music in the coming weeks. As journalist Mark Holston proclaims: "'The
voice' is back!" April
will also herald the release of a long-awaited album from another well-known female
singer. But this one didn't exactly cut her teeth singing sweet sambas. Nevertheless,
Carly Simon says her April 29 release, 'This Kind
of Love' will have a distinct Brazilian feel. "You don't have to be singing
Bossa Nova or Samba to get the essence (of Brazilian music)," she states
in a press release announcing the CD, which will be available worldwide next month
"There are songs that fit no one rhythm or generic type or song progression."
The album is her first of original material since 2000's 'Bedroom Tapes'. (Fans
might recall that Simon covered "Manha de Carnaval" on her 2007 covers
album, 'Into White'). From
one Simon to another: Paul Simon is about to begin
a month-long residency at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Billed "Love in
Hard Times," the program will find Simon performing and talking about the
most important phases in his career. The second set of the series, "Under
African Skies" (April 9-13), will spotlight the African, Brazilian-and Afro-Brazilian-styles
Simon focused on for 1986's Graceland and 1990's The Rhythm of the Saints. Milton
Nascimento, who partnered with Simon on the song "Spirit Voices"
is scheduled to appear. Sound
Checks:
After wrapping up a three-week performing stint in São Paulo this week,
singer Rosa Passos is
back in the studio to wrap up another new album set for US release in May. Look
for her to debut these songs during her shows at New York's Lincoln Center (May
23) and the San Francisco Jazz Festival on May 25th. You can get the details at
www.rosapassos.net. As our reader know, Rosa
Passos is near the top of a long list of our favorite Brazilian singers. I once
wrote that "Somehow this young singer has made a pact with the devil for
João Gilberto's musical soul and got the better part of the deal."
Don't miss her if you have the chance to catch her on stage. Meanwhile,
the 'real McCoy' is set to inaugurate Bossa Nova's 50th
anniversary this summer with a rare concert appearance at Carnegie Hall
on June 22nd. You won't find it on their website yet, but "signed, sealed
and delivered" is how the booking agency put it when we placed a follow-up
call earlier this week. I'm referring to João
Gilberto, the Father of Bossa Nova, who will likely do a solo set - as has
been his practice. Carnegie Hall with its near-perfect acoustics has always been
a venue well suited to Gilberto's whispery vocals and his subtly syncopated guitar
accompaniment, so we'll let you know when tickets
officially go on sale for what promises to be an historic event. Like
millions of Brazilians worldwide, one of my favorite
end-of-year traditions is to tune into the annual Roberto Carlos special on TV
Global. Now, his US fans can plan to see
him perform later this spring: May 23rd at Madison Square Garden in NYC, May
24th at Boston's Agganis Arena, Jersey City on May 25th (venue tba), May 31st
in Miami at the American Airlines Arena, and June 7th in Los Angeles at the Universal
Amphitheater. That's great news. Pianist
Marcos Ariel swings into L.A.'s Jazz Bakery on April
8th to support his '4
Friends' CD, and Djavan returns to the US this year. Tickets go on sale April
2nd for his date at the Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on Friday, June 13th,
although rumors abound with reasons for the abrupt cancellation of his last US
tour seven years ago: One story goes that his shaman advised the Brazilian star
not to make the post-911 flight from Rio, so he didn't. That 'Friday the 13th'
date has already got people wondering. Let's hope superstition
doesn't get in the way of what promises to be a great show. Catch
singer Mônica Salmaso
with guitarist Paulo Bellinati on April 7th and Yoshi's in San Francisco,
and Brazil nuts in Chicago can rejoice at the rebirth of the legendary Hot House
with a new location at the Viaduct Theater.
They'll present Chicago Samba on April 26th. Tickets,
Please:
I promised to keep you posted on the ups and downs of
my recent travels in Brazil, with the hope of saving you from some of the problems
that can crop up when traveling on your own. As you may have recall from my earlier
reports, getting to Brazil is only half the story: getting around the country
these days can be a real challenge. When
it comes to airline ticketing, the digital age has come to Brazil, but some of
the procedures still require a little 'jeitinho' - that's Portuguese for a quick
fix to a stubborn problem, and its a way of life in Brazil. But even a
crafty jeitinho won't cure Gol airline's website woes when it comes to buying
tickets for travel from São Paulo to Rio. Gol
is Brazil's second largest airline, but you wouldn't
know it from a name search on Google: it took a link from Wikipedia's entry on
the airline to reach their web site. Then after 'flying blind' through their international
sections, I arrived at a page in English which invited me to make my reservation
and pay with my MasterCard. "Great,"
I thought as I quickly entered my flight and payment information and clicked on
the 'processing' button. But wait - no confirmation. Calling their customer service
line gave me the option of speaking to someone in English so I pressed '2' on
the phone pad and got a voice message - in Portuguese - telling me to check the
website for more information. And then a dial tone. A
second call got me to a representative in Portuguese, who magically switched me
over to an English-speaking agent who advised me that only
American Express cards are a sure way to make it through the transaction
process if you are using a credit card from a country other than Brazil. Only
Visa and MasterCards registered with a special 'security code' program are accepted
by Gol. I was told that very few US banks issue these cards, and no, it has nothing
to do with that three-digit number on the back. For
$50 Brazilian dollars more, the agent said that he could hold a reservation for
three days, giving me enough time to a) find someone with a Brazilian credit card
to purchase the ticket for me, b) drive a few hours to pay for the ticket in cash,
or c) locate a licensed travel agency nearby which may or may not charge me another
additional fee for the service of doing nothing more than accepting my credit
card. Whatever
you do, don't wait until the day of departure to
purchase your ticket at the airport. This used to be common practice in Brazil,
but now prices are based on need and availability - just as they are in the US
- and using a foreign card for payment will cost you even more. On
the plus side, Gol has done a good job at driving
air fare costs down, and the prices are still a bargain with today's exchange
rate. But Brazil's airlines are not very tourist friendly these days, and Gol's
web site should do a better job at clearly stating their credit card policies.
And be prepared to pay extra for your luggage, as Gol allows only 50 pounds of
baggage per person, charging tourists a hefty .5% of the ticket price per
kilo over that limit. Problems
like these discourage travel to Brazil, especially when all US citizen's are now
required to carry valid Passports and Mexico's beaches are nearby. I'm sad to
say that I had this conversation with a high-ranking official inside of the tourism
industry 12 months ago and nothing has changed, although there now appears to
be a plan in place to smooth out the rough edges for those of us who travel without
the aid of a tour guide. Antonio
Carlos Jobim
once famously said that "Brazil is not for beginners" and he was right.
But that's no reason to stay home and hopefully these tips will help you with
your next - or first - trip to Brazil. U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the news
today, but during her visit last week to Brazil to discuss politics and trade
she was given a healthy dose of the country's music and culture. Rice requested
a side trip to Salvador, which is Brazil's most authentically African city
and was once a major slave port. Visiting the city's historic 'Our Lady of the
Rosary of Black People' church, Rice listened to parishioners sing traditional
songs from the slave trade era. Later, at dinner Rice is said to have danced and
played the tambourine with Gilberto Gil, Brazil's
minister of culture. Addressing Gill afterwards, she is said to have committed
to hearing him again when the singer performs in Washington D.C. this summer.
Rice also heard performances from Carlinhos Brown and Olodum during her trip. Acclaimed
Italian pianist Stefano Bollani has eccentric tastes,
playing everything from classical music to Beach Boys covers during some of his
sets. But one of Brazil's biggest music legends is on the top of his mind these
days. Recently interviewed by The Gothamist, the 35-year-old Bollani said his
biggest dream is to record an album with Caetano Veloso
- and it may very well happen, since Veloso returns his admiration. Asked in the
Italian newspaper La Nazione if he ever considered recording an album of Italian
songs, Veloso replied: he would do one with Bollani. "So now I'm chasing
(him) down, " Bollani told Gothamist. "That's my main
goal of the year, to go into the studio with Caetano Veloso, that would
be a dream come true." Could
some of Brazilian music's biggest names be part of the biggest
musical event of the year? Maybe, if the people behind World
Peace One have their way. The group - which includes organizers of Woodstock
and last year's Live Earth event - want to stage another multi-continental concert
starting May 17 of this year to promote worldwide peace. Among the names being
bandied about by the group's founder, Doug Ivanovich: Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso,
Ivan Lins, Sergio Mendes and Linox. Discussions are also being held with U2, Madonna,
Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and Lionel Richie, Ivanovich recently told Billboard.
Brazil is being mentioned as a potential venue, along
with Beijing; Istanbul, Turkey; London; Johannesburg; and Miami. Among
the notables who passed away last month was a non-Brazilian
who had a major impact on the country's music scene. Henri Salvador was 90 and
preparing to record another record when he died from an aneurysm in Paris February
13. In several interviews, Antonio Carlos Jobim had said he was inspired to slow
down the samba after listening to Salvadore croon, "Dans mon nle,"
a song Salvador released in 1957. In 2005, Salvador was awarded the Brazilian
Order of Cultural Merit by then-cultural minister Gilberto Gil. In his
other role as a musician, Gil went on to perform a duet with Salvador on his final
recording 'Rivirence' in 2006, which also featured Salvador and Caetano Veloso
combining on a new version of "Dans mon nle."
One
of the Brazilian bands fans flocked to catch at last week's massive SXSW Festival
in Austin, Texas, is Bat Makumba. Named after the
song 'Bat Macumba' written by Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso and later popularized
by Os Mutantes, the "highly visual" group consists of two Brazilian
natives and an American who, according to Gallo, play "tropicalia and forro
filtered through ska and punk rock and clothed in a party atmosphere." That's
Variety's Phil Gallo's opinion. You can learn more about them for yourself at
http://www.batmakumba.com/ Cheers:
Sure, you can dance to it. But how about drinking a nice refreshing "Brazilian
Samba?" That's what Pepsi is envisioning through a
new drink line it is about to launch, according to the New York Times.
'Tava'is the name of a line of no-calorie, carbonated beverages that will be aimed
at adults 35 to 49. Reports say that Pepsi is heavily promoting the brand with
its own web site (tava.com) and by giving away free samples at high-profile events
such as the Sundance Film Festival. Among the drink's
exotic-sounding flavors: Brazilian Samba, Mediterranean Fiesta and Tahitian Tamure.
No word on whether they'll also introduce Bahia Batucada
- now that's a flavor that you can't beat with a stick. Connectbrazil.com
Tip Of The Week: You
can use our keywords to access various pages at Connectbrazil.com from the top
of most any page in our website. Listen for these keywords during The Sounds of
Brazil radio show. Try it right now: Type in keyword 'club' for information on
our new Buyers Club and keyword 'radio' for our radio & webcast page. If you
have a suggestion for a tip, please send it along by replying to this message
or at any time from our Contact
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