The Sounds of Brazil’s 30th Anniversary Radio Special

The Sounds of Brazil made its broadcast debut on 90.9 FM WDCB 30 years ago this week.

We’ll celebrate The Sounds of Brazil’s 30th Anniversary radio special by recreating that very first radio playlist from April 5th, 1992.

The Sounds of Brazil’s 30th Anniversary Radio Special

‘The Sounds of Brazil’s 30th Anniversary Radio Special’ is produced for your listening pleasure by Connect Brazil. Live365.com is the official streaming radio partner for The Sounds of Brazil!

| Air Date: 04-03-22 through 04-10-22

| On-Demand: 04-03-22 through 04-17-22 here.

This two-hour program airs 4X daily on our streaming Station. You are invited to listen, Monday to Friday at 7 am, 3 pm, 6 pm, and midnight Central Time (US). Weekend times, too:

• On The Radio: Listen to The Sounds of Brazil every Sunday, 2-4 pm on Chicago’s 90.9 FM WDCB and streaming live at wdcb.org. 
• On-Demand: Click here to listen to this program anytime through April 17, 2022.
• Sign up for our emails on music, travel, friends & fun. Click here to like us on Facebook.

Daily Listening Schedule | Time Zone Converter | Connect Brazil This Week

Make A Request | Send a message to Scott

Welcome! Nice to have you stop by today.

The time was right.

Many of today’s established Brazilian jazz stars were just starting out with their careers, and several had already been signed to Verve Records by virtue of their years at Berklee School of music in Boston.

Sometimes I still wonder if there was ‘cap and gown’ moment for Leo Gandelman, Toninho Horta, Claudio Roditi, and Ricardo Silveira. What a picture that would be!

On the radio side, Jazz was in full bloom, riding on a pop trend started in the 70s which gave rise to the careers of the new jazz generation, like Chuck Mangione, Grover Washington, Jr, and Pat Metheny. The New Age radio format arrived in 1987 to give a spot on the dial for Baby Boomers to discover.

And The Sounds of Brazil! found its place. But not at first. My opportunity came after several trips to Brazil, in the Spring of 1992.

Months of planning and a pair of spiral notebooks were filled with ideas (including a name change for the show).

Knocking on WNUA’s door

I had my sights set on Chicago’s New AC station, WNUA, 95.5. Danae Alexander was hosting ‘Lights Out, Chicago. So I thought, ‘Why not ‘Lights Out, Brazil”?

I earned a meeting with Program Director Lee Hansen. Lee was interested and supportive. Then, the reality check: “Get it on the air somewhere,” he said. “Then, we’ll talk.”

So I looked at my options and I placed a call to 90.9 FM WDCB. I recall my first meeting with Ken Scott, WDCB’s Program Director. I explained my idea and shared my vision. And my goal. “I want to get on the air here so I can bring The Sounds of Brazil! to WNUA”, I said.

Amazingly, and to his credit, Ken thought about it for a quick minute and said, “That’s fine. You can come here to perfect your show and when the time comes for you to move on, we’ll have had a great weekend radio program!”

I created The Sounds of Brazil for listeners like you, and to support the musicians who create the music we love. I could never possibly thank Ken Scott enough for the decision he made that day.

On my way home, I recall being overwhelmed by the opportunity he had given me. I remember thinking “I can’t wait to share Gal Costa’s voice with Chicago radio listeners!”

17 Weeks and 17 Years

Initially, the show spent a relativity short time with WDCB. In July of ’92, WNUA became my radio home in Chicago for 17 wonderful years. A brief run with WLFM followed before I was welcomed back home to WDCB nine and a half years ago to anchor Sunday afternoons at 2 pm.

As the Smooth Jazz format grew in popularity, so did the show’s affiliates list which brought The Sounds of Brazil! to fans in more than 60 cities in the US, Caribbean, and Central America.

Today, our show reaches more than 1,000 cities around the world with our ‘Always Live’ 24/7 streaming station, and it’s still growing, thanks to the creativity of the musicians and the passion of listeners like you. Your love of Brazilian music inspires me every day.

After having the privilege of hosting this show for 29 years, somehow the words ‘thank you!’ seem woefully inadequate to express my deep appreciation to you.

And I’ll be forever grateful to WDCB’s Ken Scott, Scott Wager, and Dan Bindert. WNUA’s John Gehron (thank you John!), Lee Hansen, Paul Goldstein, Carl Anderson, and Steve Stiles. And my personal thanks to Rick O’Dell, and Bill Cochran for the incredible support they have shown me over the years.

I’ll be sharing more stories from The Sounds of Brazil’s first thirty years, so watch for them on the homepage. Let’s do thirty more.

What’s On The Playlist?

The music from that first show is telling: many of these songs are still part of our playlists today due to their popularity over the years.

For many radio stations, the music is selected by automation software. But The Sounds of Brazil! has always been programmed by me, one song at a time.

I love to show off the emotion of the music in the best possible way. I recall agonizing over each song for that critically important first show, and it’s no different today.

Except for this week, where the hard work was done three decades ago.

This show allows me to kick back and relive how it all began with this 1,557th consecutive weekly show.

Oops! I meant ‘Program #0001’ for The Sounds of Brazil!

Happy listening,

Scott Adams, Host

The Sounds of Brazil!

Hour One – Set 1:

Mountain Flight<>Toninho Horta/Diamond Land

Saci<>Astrud Gilberto/Plus

Only A Dream In Rio<>James Taylor/That’s Why I’m Here

Introduce Next Song

Aquarela<>Toquinho/Brasil     

Set 2:

Ainda Lembro<>Marisa Monte/Mais

Gabriela’s Song<>Dori Caymmi/Dori Caymmi

Serrado<>Nestor Torres/Flight of Phoenix

Introduce Next Song      

Sun And Rain<>Ricardo Silveira/Small World

Tropical Horizon<>Azymuth/Crazy Rhythms

Anthem<>Full Circle/Secret Stories

Set 3:

Leva E Traz<>Ivan Lins/Awa Yio           

Better Days Ahead<>Pat Metheny/Letter From Home

Hour Two – Set 1

Bein’ Cool<>Djavan/Puzzle of Hearts

Sorte<>Gal Costa & Caetano Veloso/Gal Costa

Introduce Next Song

Dança dos Meninhos<>Milton Nascimento

Garoto<>Carlos Barbosa-Lima/Brazil with Love

Your Smile<>Kevyn Lettau/Kevyn Lettau

Introduce Next Song

Distant Horizon<>Kenia/Distant Horizon

Lume<>Marvio Ciribelli/Teclado         

Set 2:

Carly & Carole<>Deodato/Prelude

Serra do Luar<>Leila Pinheiro/Novo Millennium

Spirits Of The Forest<>Leo Gandelman/Visions

Introduce Next Song

Edge of the Night<>Paulo Ramos & Shelby Flint/ Futuro

Catamarca<>Max Groove/Aqua Frio

Set 3:

Tin Tin Por Tin Tin (Little By Little)<>Joao Gilberto/Amoroso

Tender Storm<>John Klemmer/Brazilia

~ ~ ~

Next week, it’s a musical celebration for Rosa Passos, just in time for her birthday! I hope you’ll enjoy the show and please – tell a few friends about us, Sundays at 2 pm Central on 90.9 FM WDCB. It’s always great to share the music.

Always a pleasure,

Scott Adams

The Sounds of Brazil!

AccuRadio.com: Listen to all of our award-winning streaming Brazilain channels at AccuRadio. Apps for Apple, Android, and more here.