It’s also Brazil’s Month of Discovery. Let’s Do Both.
April is Brazilian Jazz Appreciation Month, and Connect Brazil is celebrating online and ‘On The Air.’ You won’t miss a moment with our Daily Listening Guide!
Connect Brazil is celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month with 30 days of Brazilian jazz favorites on the radio and our streaming channels. And we’re supporting our favorite Brazilian music with a month’s worth of top stories and streaming events on our homepage.
- Scroll down to our Daily Listening Guide For Brazilian Jazz Appreciation Month.
A Little History
Where did the music come from?
Brazil was discovered on April 22, 1500, by Portuguese explorers and became a nation on September 11, 1822. Its melting-pot history of welcoming Asians, Africans, and Europeans made an indelible impression on Brazil’s music, including Bossa Nova and Brazilian jazz.
Explore Brazil’s amazing history and culture with The Brazilian Minute story series.
The history of contemporary Brazilian jazz music begins in the 1940s with the worldwide popularity of Ary Barroso’s ‘Aquarela do Brasil’ and Carmen Miranda. Soon after, jazz-loving Carioca teens turned an appliance-and-music store called Lojas Murray in downtown Rio de Janeiro into a musical Mecca.
Loja Murray soon became a gathering spot (one of several) for various fan clubs. The Stan Kenton Progressive Fan Club. The Dick Haymes-Lucio Alves Fan Club, and The Sinatra-Farney Fan Club, where the little green wallet that validated membership was coveted above all others.
Perhaps even more than the “hot off the press” import jazz music records that Murray sold. Miles Davis, Ella, Coltrane, and Woody Herman. Nat ‘King’ Cole and guitarist Les Paul.
April is Jazz Appreciation Month
Yep, we love the acronym, JAM.
That’s precisely what this young generation of Brazilian musicians did. The teens who carried their membership cards with pride became college students by day while cheering their favorite homegrown stars by night.
These Bossa Nova and Brazilian jazz jam sessions became the center of Rio’s next-gen social scene for years to come. It’s where the seeds of Bossa Nova grew to become popular worldwide.
So, why this thumbnail history of Brazilian jazz?
Well, two reasons. First, to show the harmonious cultural connection between the USA and Brazil. Secondly, it’s a simple timeline for the birth of Brazilian jazz music.
After all, it is a special month for fans and musicians!
Daily Listening Guide For Brazilian Jazz Appreciation Month
Listen up! Each week in April, Connect Brazil’s streaming station will bring you a different look at Brazilian jazz. And we’ll post the best stories about Brazilian Jazz musicians and the music they create on our homepage at Connectbrazil.com.
Here’s what is coming up on Connect Brazil’s streaming station: Read on.
1. Daily Listening at Connect Brazil
You’re invited to listen to our live streaming station every weekday for these daily programming specials:
- A featured Brazilian jazz track at the bottom of every hour from 9 am to 3 pm CT.
- Brazil Back2Back features a Brazilian Jazz ‘twofer’ at 11 am, 2 pm, and 5 pm CT, MWF.
- Listen to 15 channels of Brazilian jazz anytime. Explore them here.
- Settle in with Quiet Nights, 8 pm CT, M-F
2. Weekly Listening at Connect Brazil
Connect Brazil is here to serve Brazilian jazz fans and to support the musicians who create the music we love. Each week in April carries its own programming focus for our live streaming station:
- Week One: Brazilian Jazz Vocalists
- Week Two: Brazilian Jazz Guitarists
- Week Three: Brazilian Jazz Keyboardists
- Week Four: Brazilian Jazz Horns
3. Specialty Radio Shows at Connect Brazil
Heart of Brasil
Hosted by Grammy-winning label owner George Klabin, Heart of Brasil features the best Brazilian jazz, along with unreleased recordings from Klabin’s personal collections.
Listen Live Here, Sundays at noon CT and Thursdays at 3 pm CT on our streaming station:
- 04/05 – Trumpeter Claudio Roditi – Playlist
- 04/12 – Female Vocalists – Playlist
- 04/19 – Male Vocalists – Playlist
- 04/26 – Brazilian Jazz Arrangers – Playlist
The Sounds of Brazil
Hosted by Scott Adams, The Sounds of Brazil features breezy Bossa Novas and contemporary Brazilian Jazz, along with compelling stories that pull you into the music.
Listen Live Here, Daily at 7 am, 2 pm, 6 pm, and midnight CT on our streaming station:
- 04/05 – Brazilian Jazzmasters – Playlist
- 04/12 – The Brazilian Guitar – Playlist
- 04/19 – The Brazilian Piano – Playlist
- 04/26 – Contemporary Brazilian Jazz – Playlist
Showcasing Brazil’s Best
Soon, Brazil’s first jazz musicians turned professional. Joao Donato, Paulo Moura, Cauby Peixoto, Johnny Alf, and Raul Mascarenhas among them. New names join them. Sergio Mendes, Tamba Trio, Carlos Lyra, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Oscar Castro-Neves and Joao Gilberto. Pioneers of Bossa Nova and Brazilian jazz.
Their generation inspired many of the names we follow and enjoy today. Keyboard players include Antonio Adolfo, Marcos Ariel, David Feldman, and Deodato. Guitarists such as Torcuato Mariano, Phill Fest, Sergio Pereira, Ricardo Silveira, and Nate Najar.
Talented jazzy Brazilian singers, too. Rosa Passos, Djavan, Daniela Soledade, Taina Maria, Flora Purim, and Eliane Elias. Consummate horn players like saxophonists Leo Gandelman, Mauro Senise, and Nivaldo Ornelas. And brilliant brass players, including trumpeters José Arimatéa and Walmir Gil.
Then there are trumpeters who are fondly remembered: Claudio Roditi, Paulhino Trompete, and Marcio Montarroyos.
- Read 12 influential Brazilian Jazz albums here.
So, now you are ready to enjoy all that the first full month of Spring has to offer, along with a perfect soundtrack, any time.
30 consecutive days of great music for Brazilian Jazz Appreciation Month!
Happy listening!
Scott Adams, Midday Host
Connect Brazil’s streaming station
April Is Brazilian Jazz Appreciation Month
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