Samba Jazz

10 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Bossa Nova, JAZZ: Bebop



Details:
Impressions, Rio
January 2006

It has become a habitâor something of a pilgrimageâfor me to join Claudio Roditi on his annual visit to his native city of Rio de Janeiro. Some years ago I had accompanied Claudio to record the album âClaudio, Rio and Friendsâ on the Groovinâ High label (GS 1013), but for this trip I had nothing planned. This trip was purely a holiday, and it came during the right season for Rioâin the heat of January, just before Carnival. For Claudio, the yearly connection with this incredible city includes, of course, the reunion with his family and his musician friends.

This year, his sojourn included engagements at two of the most famous jazz spots in town. The first was a concert at the Drink Café in Lagoa, a magnificent open-air café by the side of Rioâs lagoon (âlagoaâ means âlagoonâ in Portuguese). The second was a performance at Modern Sound. A few words about Modern Sound: This is a one-of-a-kind record shop, located in Copacabana, where you can find everything youâd ever want in jazzâand Brazilian music, too. And as if that werenât enough to lure anyone in the door, every afternoon at Modern Sound you can enjoy live music by the best jazz musicians in Rioâand there are many! This treasure spot in Rio brings together the music fans of the city as well as all the artists, so itâs a great spot to meet people. Not only is the combination of recorded music to purchase and live music to enjoy unique, the music specialists working in the shop bring to your table all the albums you had in mind to buy! It sure lends new meaning to the term âtable service!â

When Claudio is scheduled to appear anywhere in Rio, the return of lâenfant prodige sells out the place instantly. For Claudio, this recognition is taken very seriously, and the selection of local musicians for his performances is never easy. All jazz musicians in Brazil idolize himâfor his playing as well as his career with the great masters of jazz worldwideâand hope to get a place on the bandstand to play with him.

So this trip, immediately upon my arrival in Rio, the agenda did not involve going to the glorious beaches of Copacabana, but hanging with Claudio as he set up the music and the rehearsal time and place for his performances. The quintet was comprised of Idriss Boudrioua on alto and soprano saxes, Dario Galante on piano, Sergio Barroso on bass, and Pascoal Mereilles on drums.

A longtime friend of Claudioâs, Idriss has a deep understanding of his music. These qualities combine to create the perfect blend when he plays Claudioâs music with him on the bandstand. Idriss is a unique person and his story an interesting one. Born in Algeria, he later emigrated to Paris, where he worked with the Selmer family producing saxophones. No doubt, the instrument holds no secrets for him at this point! Having fallen in love with the music of Brazilâas well as a Brazilian womanâIdriss moved to Brazil, settling in Rio. It took him only a few years to become one of the best musicians in the country. He joined the singer Rosa Passos, trombonist Raul de Souza and saxophonist Paquito DâRivera in a performance with Claudio Roditi at the 1999 Jazz Festival in Bern, Switzerland, a now-legendary concert produced by Claudio and myself.

Two years prior to this trip we had met Dario Galante, and he made such a strong impression on us. Dario became part of the group Claudio brought to Jazz in Marciac 2002, in France, along with the famous composer and harmonica player Mauricio Einhorn (this concert will also be released on DVD). Like Idriss, Dario could not resist his love for the samba-jazz beat, and left his native Italy to become a Carioca (a native of Rio).

Every time I have heard good music in Rio, Sergio Barroso was on bass. He is one of the most in-demand bass players in Brazil, and if you really want to understand the samba âlaid-back beat,â just listen to the lines developed by Sergio on bass.

Pascoal Mereilles is another longtime friend of Claudioâs from the very early days, in the 60s, in Rio. Pascoal was the drummer in all the productions I had the pleasure to organize with Claudioâfrom the album âClaudio, Rio & Friendsâ to all their European concert performances. Pascoal is not only a living example of the power and understanding of Brazilian rhythms, but was also co-founder of the very famous group Cama de Gato.

So with an eye to the performances to come at Drink Café and Modern Sound, a rehearsal was set up at Pascoalâs studio, a small room where a drummer can practice and teach. The music and arrangements written by Claudio went very well at the rehearsal. In the middle of the rehearsal it became obvious to meâthis group should be recorded! The rehearsal took place on a Saturday and my travel schedule demanded that the recording be made on Sunday. And again, another miracle in Rio: thanks to Dario, in half an hour we had a studio set up for the very next day! On Sunday afternoon the studio was preparedâthe piano tuned by a famous tuner in the city, the set of drums readied, mikes selectedâeverything was ready to roll. And the session ran, one good thing after the other. All the tunes were recorded from the first take; only two had double takes, recorded at different tempos.

The music that resulted in this CD is Claudio at his best in the language at which he excelsâjazz and samba. Taking jazz standards and giving them a samba beat is the quintessential Roditi style.
We had done it in the first Groovinâ High album, âJazz Turns Sambaâ (GH 1012-2), which was recorded in New York City. This time, Claudio was amplifying the same idea, but with the best musicians of Brazil. And to paraphrase the writer Jean-Paul Sartre, who insisted on hearing jazz only live, âSamba is like bananas, you have to eat them on the spot.â Rio was the spot this holiday for me, and this music gave me so much pleasure I wanted to share its âfruitâ with everyone. Enjoy!

âJacques Muyal