YouTube Pick of the Week #4: Na Levada do Choro - Full Documentary (English Subtitles)

When people think of Brazilian Music, they tend to think of either Bossa Nova or Samba. Rarely do they think of a musical genre which not only combines the harmonic sophistication of the former with the rhythmic sophistication of the latter, but could also be considered their predecessor and originator: Choro.

To my mind, Brazilian Choro can be compared in many ways to Dixieland, but played primarily with string instruments (although brass and woodwinds are also used). The mood of the music is, for the most part, lively and relies heavily on modulations, intertwining voices and instrumental virtuosity.

Although it originated in the 19th Century, Choro is still very much alive an in vogue. This documentary features interviews with many old veterans, as well as new voices who are keeping the music alive. (Note, the subtitles don't seem to appear when this program is watched on an iPad. They do appear on a desktop computer)>

Thank for reading my posts. Check back often. Our featured artist of the week will be posted Friday or Saturday.

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YouTube Pick of the Week #3: Tom Jobim and Astrud Gilberto - Viva Brasil

One would think that a massively influential recording artist, especially one with a decades-spanning career like Antônio Carlos Jobim would have lots of live recordings available for purchase in the marketplace. The truth is, Jobim was primarily a writer/arranger, not  a touring musician and therefore did not have a regular backup  band. The vast majority of his live recorded output was released after his death in 1994.

On his (to my knowledge) only 100% solo recording, the 2004 released Em Minas Ao Vivo: Piano e Voz recorded in 1981, Jobim admits that the idea of performing live usually came from his music partners; like Vinicius de Moraes or Toquinho.  When they did go on the road for the occasional one-off show, the backup bands tended to be elaborate affairs with lots of extra people on stage, like backup singers and string players, as well as the occasional relative or family friend thrown in for extra support. 

As a consequence, the vast majority (if not all) of Jobim's live recordings available were never intended for public consumption beyond the immediate moment, and so we find ourselves with much material that Jobim would probably not have approved for commercial release. Of course, considering its scarcity, we have to accept things for what they are and be happy to have them at all.

This show, recorded circa 1988 at the ZDF Jazz Club in Leonberg, Germany for the "Jazz aus Südamerika" series, is a perfect example: Jobim sits at his piano and croons his great songbook, acting as a bandleader and delegating most vocal duties to his backup singers, as well as family friend and flautist Danilo Caymmi (Son of Dorival Caymmi), who also handles lead voice duties on A Felicidade. The cellist is Jaques Morelenbaum.  Cradled by this relatively large cast, Jobim proves Woody Allen's point that 90% of life is showing up.

After hearing Jobim's set, Astrud Gilberto s set offers an interesting contrast: For one thing, her backup band is a real touring band with fewer people and so the arrangements sound cleaner and much tighter. Consequently, it is also easier to isolate and hear each individual player's parts, something most music lovers like to do. Furthermore, the band members are more easily identifiable, as they are part of a regular touring group: The bassist is Astrud's son Marcelo Gilberto. William O'Connell is the pianst, Jay Russell Ashby is the trombonist, Romero Lubambo and Duduka da Fonseca, (who would later join bassist Nilson Matta to form Trio da Paz)  play Electric Guitar and Drums, respectively. Antonio Carlos' son Paulo Jobim provides additional guitar on some songs.

Gilberto's set, like Jobim's borrows heavily from the classic Bossa Nova Songbook, but with one pleasant addition: The penultimate song is Edu Lobo's Ponteio, written by Lobo with lyrics by Jose Carlos Capinam  Other than the João Gilberto song Adeus America, It's the only Non-Jobim tune in the entire set and is not covered very often. You can find a  song chart for Ponteio in The Latin Real Book, From Sher Music, Co.

Song List:

1-Agua de Beber
2 -The Girl From Ipanema
3 - Aguas de Marco
4 - Chega de Saudade
5 - Wave
6- Corcovado
7-Garota de Ipanema
8- A Feliciade (Lead voice: Danilo Caymmi)
9-Samba de Uma Nota So
10 - Adeus America
11 - Ponteio
12 - Agua de Beber


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YouTube Pick of the Week #2 - The German Elis Regina Special (1970s)

As the host of a weekly radio show, I am always on the lookout for new material, even though I have a very extensive music collection. Fortunately, I have found that YouTube is an amazing resource and a great way to supplement my own repertoire.

Of course, not everything I find on YouTube is suitable for radio, and so I've decided to share some of those things on this blog so that it'll be more than just a repository of old shows. 

Our second pick of the week is an Elis Regina Special from the 1970s Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest Brazilian  singers of all time, she certainly deserves to be recognized as one of the most versatile voices of her generation, as evidenced by this short and comparatively tame set. Also on the bill are Tunisian-born singer Roberto Blanco and  French composer and pianist Michel Legrand.

Partial list of songs: 

Samba do Aviao (Jobim)

Roda (Gilberto Gil)

Cinema Olimpia (Caetano Veloso)

Bala Com Bala (Joao Bosco-Aldir Blanc

Pedro Pedreiro (Chico Buarque) Sung in German by Roberto Blanco

Comunicacao (Edinho-Helio Matheus)

TBA

Casa No Campo (Ze Rodrix)

Upa Neguinho (Edu Lobo)

Nega do Cabelo Duro (TBA)

Black is Beautiful (TBA)

Duet with Michel Legrand - Song list TBA.


 Check back for updates and to find out who will be our next featured artist! It'll be the last show of the month, so it'll be broadcast entirely in Portuguese!

For more Elis Regina content, check out our very first radio show by clicking on the following link: http://www.fccfreeradio.com/archive/bem%20brasil/brasil_previous_2012-07-15_15-58-07.mp3

Bem Brasil with Will Crawford is a Native Alternative Production. 

Listen Live 6-8 PM Pacific Standard Time on FCCFreeRadio.com , Studio 1A

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Follow us on Twitter @bembrasilradio.

YouTube Pick of the Week #1 - Night Music, Featuring Milton Nascimento and James Taylor with Naná Vasconcelos

As the host of a weekly radio show, I am always on the lookout for new material, even though I have a very extensive music collection. Fortunately, I have found that YouTube is an amazing resource and a great way to supplement my own repertoire.

Of course, not everything I find on YouTube is suitable for radio, and so I've decided to share some of those things on this blog so that it'll be more than just a repository of old shows. 

So here it is, my first pick of the week: an episode of the short-lived Night Music show, co-hosted by David Sanborn and Jools Holland, featuring performances from Milton Nascimento with Naná Naná Vasconcelos and James Taylor . It's an interesting meeting of talents, as the backup band features Marcus Miller on Bass, Omar Hakim on Drums, Hiram Bullock on Guitar, and Don Grolnick and Philippe Saisse on Piano/Keyboards. Milton sings four songs and backs James Taylor on one song. Naná Vasconcelos accompanies them all, Except JT on Roadrunner. This is probably the funkiest tune I've ever heard James Taylor sing and sure enough, the man is not funky at all. No surprise there. The real gem for me is the Nascimento-Vasconcelos duet on San Vicente. Fittingly, it's the last performance of the set.

 The Song List is below with the time of the footage in case you'd prefer to skip to it:

3'08"  - Only a Dream In Rio -James Taylor

8'39 - Cravo e Canela - Milton Nascimento

12'42" - Vendedor de Sonhos - Milton Nascimento w/ James Taylor
19'54" Road Runner - James Taylor

29'28" Canções e Momentos - Milton Nascimento

36'07" San Vicente - Milton Nascimento

42'29" - I Cover The Waterfront  - Vintage Louis Armstrong footage

The gentleman in red pictured above is comedian Kevin Meaney. As an aspiring comic myself, I have studied his act (he's done this same set on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I don't know what Johnny thought of his act, but at one point, he hid under his desk! Look it up on YouTube if you feel like seeing it) There are also some well intended humorous skits here and there. I'll leave it up to you to decide how funny they actually are. 

Milton Nascimento was featured on our third show. Check it out at http://bembrasilradio.blogspot.com/2013/04/show-3-featuring-milton-nascimento.html

Peace,

Will

Bem Brasil with Will Crawford is a Native Alternative Production. 

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