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Getz and Astrud Gilberto. Antonio Carlos Jobim and Creed Taylor. Sergio Mendes
& Brasil 66. The US and Brazil have a long history when it comes to crossing
borders, and what better way to appreciate it than with music? Today,
those legendary names have given way to closer generations of talented performers
from both countries who have taken bold steps to traverse the distance between
our two cultures. Sometimes the length of the journey can best be measured in
terms of careers - or even in the minutes and seconds of a single song. Guitarists
Lee Ritenour and Charlie Byrd come from opposite ends of the jazz spectrum, yet
both have played an important role in bringing Brazil closer to us, albeit decades
apart. But
it didn't start there: Laurindo Almeida brought that same instrument to Stan Kenton's
band in the late 40's, only a few years after Carmen Miranda wowed America with
her carioca caricature. Bananas would never be the same. And it took a mouse,
a duck and Walt Disney to bring us two of Ary Barroso's most memorable songs:
'Brazil' (Aquarela do Brasil) and 'Bahia' (Na Baixa do Sapeteiro). Both were major
radio hits here. And before João Gilberto ever crooned into a microphone
at Radio Nacional, Nat Cole was reworking Brazilian tunes in the studio, along
with more than a few others from Latin America. Then
the Bossa Boom came, and it inspired dozens of young Brazilians to make the journey
north: Oscar Castro-Neves came to play in the early 60's, and stayed to become
an American citizen. João Gilberto came to New York to sing in 1963, and
stayed long enough to re-marry and father an American-born child, Bebel Gilberto.
Claudio Slon brought his drumsticks, so did Dom Um Romão, who anchored
the group Weather Report for a while. A generation later, Heitor T.P. carried
his Brazilian guitar for Simply Red during their heyday, then later with K.D.
Lang. Don't forget Deodato with Frank Sinatra and with Kool & The Gang. Ricardo
Silveira recorded his guitar with Vanessa Williams, but before that he was a Berklee
School of Music (Boston) grad. As was saxophonist Leo Gandelman, fellow guitar-player
Toninho Horta and trumpeter Marcio Montarroyos (he plays our theme song for The
Sounds of Brazil). Today, its talented Marina Elali who carries the Berklee tag,
singing in English and Portuguese on her top-selling debut CD back home. Pianist
Antonio Adolfo has addresses in both Rio de Janeiro and Miami as an award-winning
performer and Brazilian music teacher in the US and Brazil, and Manfredo Fest
(another great Brazilian pianist) spent several years living in chilly Minneapolis,
Minnesota - he often played at a little jazz bar I frequented during my college
years. It was called the Longhorn Grill and was my introduction to beauty of Brazilian
jazz. Brazil's
musical misogyny spread to distant shores, too: Chico Buarque and Toquinho both
lived in Italy. Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil called London home. And in the
1800's classical maestro Heitor Villa-Lobos sharpened his craft in the salons
of Paris. All
of this helps us understand what we know instinctively about Brazilian music:
There's that sense of implied familiarity. It falls easily on the ears. The
'why' of it all is the reason we offer up our 'Crossing Borders' feature each
year and it goes much, much further than the strum of a guitar - all the way back
to 1721, when Mason Jose Joaquim da Maia met with Thomas Jefferson to discuss
Brazil's emerging nationhood. Who would have thought that such an informal meeting
would be looked back as a cornerstone for the convergence of our two countries? Few
non-English speaking countries have enjoyed the close cultural companionship as
Brazil has over the past century, and we'll expand our view with fresh additions
to both our Brazilian Blend webcast channel and the Connectbrazil.com Premium
channel all month long. And don't forget each weekly radio show for The Sounds
of Brazil is available via 24/7 on demand webcast, all week long. So,
enjoy the music and make a promise to cross a few musical borders of your own
this month by browsing through our hundreds of pages at Connectbrazil.com. You're
sure to enjoy the journey and who knows what you will find? All
the best, Scott
Adams, Publisher
Connectbrazil.com Program
Host,
The Sounds of Brazil radio show
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