Brazilian Jazz Fusion-y stuff

[fasstrack]

I have a dozen or so Hermeto discs (and a couple of tribute discs to him!) - he's very influential in the UK, having toured here with bands with a Brazilian core but UK horns etc (one of the best concerts I've ever attended was by Hermeto with such a band in Cheltenham). You can hear him all over the music of the Loose Tubes crowd from the 80s. The rock-fusion thing is only a part of what he does (and might be just a 70s thing)- the discs I have are maverick takes on more acoustic Brazilian music.

This talk of Hermeto has got me wondering who the third member of the erstwhile Rio Trio was, other than Hermeto and Sivuca. Also an albino? Not that that matters, but it sure would make a hell of a package in conjunction with all that talent.

Also, let me put in a vote for Toninho Horta, a world-class talent for many years as guitarist, composer, singer. His samba solo pieces, comping for himself and others, and just about anything he does on 'viola' (nylon-strung guitar) are beauty itself. His single-string soloing on solid-body electric are models of compositional melodicism. His time is to die for. It's sort of against the law in Brasil not to play guitar well, but he is special in a nation rife with guitar talent. I love his songs also, and he sings them with passion, accompanying himself. Some of them, truthfully, cross that line into 'flowerland', but they all are harmonically very well-made, at times ingenious, and there are darker ones too. All have beautiful melodies.

Much of what he does is unique to Tonhinho Horta, and the rest is unique to his native Minas Gerais---in the south, and culturally way different than Rio, Sao Paolo, or Recife. His connection to and love for jazz is also very evident in his playing, and I guess that's 'fusion' in the truest sense. Finally, I've met him and he's a sweetheart besides.

[Teasing the Korean]

A difficult one because it crosses over very easily into Martini music.

How do you associate a 1950s drink with 70s instrumentation and production values?

[BFrank]

No one has mentioned all those early Flora albums with Airto, Joe Hen, George Duke, etc.

[mjazzg]

A difficult one because it crosses over very easily into Martini music.

How do you associate a 1950s drink with 70s instrumentation and production values?

i suspect for the same reason I do.

Martini TV adverts were a dubious 'highlight' of 70s viewing in the UK - 'anytime, anyplace, anywhere' - Joan Collins, Leonard Rossiter, spilt drink. traffic dodging waiters....

and we're not talking classy cocktail here, either

[jazzbo]

No one has mentioned all those early Flora albums with Airto, Joe Hen, George Duke, etc.

Good call.

[Teasing the Korean]

A difficult one because it crosses over very easily into Martini music.

How do you associate a 1950s drink with 70s instrumentation and production values?

i suspect for the same reason I do.

Martini TV adverts were a dubious 'highlight' of 70s viewing in the UK - 'anytime, anyplace, anywhere' - Joan Collins, Leonard Rossiter, spilt drink. traffic dodging waiters....

and we're not talking classy cocktail here, either

OK, that explains it. Not the case in the US. When I picture Burt in his cable knit sweater at the ski lodge, circa 1973, I think of brandy, sherry and/or Martini and Rossi. Those were the major 70s beverages in the US, as seen in TV commercials and lots of made-for-TV movies. "Could I get you a brandy?" You could also add Lowenbrau, for whom Arthur Prysock did a commercial.

When I think of martini music, the first thing that comes to mind is the 1950s George Shearing Quintet, who did some of the most elegant cocktail music imaginable.

And "cocktail music" is not an insult. I don't want to listen to ANY music that I can't enjoy a drink with. So I consider all jazz cocktail music, except for godawful smooth jazz.

[JSngry]

I don't want to listen to ANY music that I can't enjoy a drink with. So I consider all jazz cocktail music, except for godawful smooth jazz.

But godawful smooth-jazz goes perfectly with those godawful "wine coolers"!

[A Lark Ascending]

The Martini adverts of the 60s used Bossa type music extensively (as did the Pearl and Dean advert trailers in cinemas!).

The 'Lounge' revival of the 90s also locked into that sound too.

I just find there's a thin line between the melodic beauty and light, airy rhythms of this sort of music and something that sounds smooth and not much else. Sometimes the rhythms can sound almost mechanical - I wonder how far this fed into the later drum machine styles.

Edited July 19, 2011 by A Lark Ascending

[Teasing the Korean]

You're not addressing my question. The aesthetic of alcohol in the 70s is completely different from that of the 60s and 50s. If you placed "and Rossi" after your use of the word "Martini," I never would have chimed in, other than to offer you some great musical suggestions that haven't been posted yet. I'll get to that part later.

Also, ALL good Brazilian and jazz is quintessential cocktail music.

Edited July 19, 2011 by Teasing the Korean

[GA Russell]

I can't believe I'm seeing otherwise intelligent grown men disagreeing with TTK on the subject of cocktail music!

[A Lark Ascending]

A difficult one because it crosses over very easily into Martini music.

How do you associate a 1950s drink with 70s instrumentation and production values?

To address the question:

Martini's were still being drunk in the 1970s. Adverts were also being made about them (I vaguely recall stacking bottles of Martini on shelves in supermarkets I worked in during the early 70s).

Bossa type music was used in the UK in the 60s and 70s to market this stuff, conjuring up an image of wealth, jet-set life, sophistication. I distinctly recall the early 60s adverts (which must have coincided with the Bossa craze) and wondering (at 9) if my future involved lolling around on boats off the south coast of France, surrounded by women in bikinis (it didn't).

There's a certain sound in the 70s music I'm talking about which immediately throws up those same images. Maybe it's just my brain that's wired that way.

No particular judgement being made on the music. I love the overall sound - it's just that sometimes the rhythms can get too regular, sometimes the sweetness a bit cloying for my tastes. But identifying the point where the bliss crosses to the beginnings of queeziness is not easy - I don't think the distance is that great.

And just in case anyone is feeling peckish:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bossanova-Martini-Lounge-and-Restaurant/102641161039?sk=wall&filter=12

Edited July 20, 2011 by A Lark Ascending

[Jazzjet]

Another album that is worth investigating in this field ( although more Cuban than Brazilian ) is Walfredo de los Reyes and Louie Bellson with 'Ecue de los Ritmos'.

Here's a clip :

Ecue

[JSngry]

Another album that is worth investigating in this field ( although more Cuban than Brazilian ) is Walfredo de los Reyes and Louie Bellson with 'Ecue de los Ritmos'.

Here's a clip :

Ecue

Stongly seconded. That album was a total surprise to me, since I'd never put Louis Belson in mind with any type fusion such as that. Great talent, but...I'm just saying...

But yeah,that album is TUFF!

[A Lark Ascending]

Another album that is worth investigating in this field ( although more Cuban than Brazilian ) is Walfredo de los Reyes and Louie Bellson with 'Ecue de los Ritmos'.

Here's a clip :

Ecue

What a great track! Fits perfectly with this thread. And the album is an E-music!

Thanks, Jazzjet!

Just listened to this, which fits the bill:

Edited July 20, 2011 by A Lark Ascending

[Jazzjet]

Another album that is worth investigating in this field ( although more Cuban than Brazilian ) is Walfredo de los Reyes and Louie Bellson with 'Ecue de los Ritmos'.

Here's a clip :

Ecue

What a great track! Fits perfectly with this thread. And the album is an E-music!

Thanks, Jazzjet!

Just listened to this, which fits the bill:

His son, Walfredo Jr, is also a percussionist who has played with Santana, Traffic, Steve Winwood, Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan among many others.

[Jazzjet]

A few other albums in the Brazilian / Latin / Fusion mould :

New York Connection - The Harris Simon Group ( with Michael Brecker and Joe Farrell ). Sizzling stuff.

Stone Alliance - albums include Con Amigos, Heads Up, Marcio Montarroyas

Double Rainbow - Terumasa Hino. Not sure about the rest of the album but the track 'Merry Go Round' was a dance floor staple on jazz dance floors back in the 80s.

Merry Go Round

Herbie Mann - Returns to The Village Gate. Mainly for the track 'New York is a Jungle Village' ( 9 minutes of latin heaven )

Dave Pike Set - Salamao, particularly for the track 'Samba De Rhoda', another dance floor staple. Here's the tune on YouTube :

Samba de Rhoda

Cecil McBee - Compassion ( 1977 ), mainly for the track 'Pepi's Samba'. Here it is :

Pepi's Samba

You shouldn't have got me started!

[A Lark Ascending]

Oh, keep them coming. I'm genuinely interested.

Played the Cesar 830 disc you recommended yesterday - great fun! Cuban really and just a bit 'funky-wah-wah' in places for me but the percussion was demonic.

[Jazzjet]

Oh, keep them coming. I'm genuinely interested.

Played the Cesar 830 disc you recommended yesterday - great fun! Cuban really and just a bit 'funky-wah-wah' in places for me but the percussion was demonic.

Well, there's Jerry Gonzalez and 'Rumba para Monk', particularly for the track 'Evidence'. And a Japanese album by Toki and Samba Friends titled 'Brasil'.

Then there's McCoy Tyner in his latin phase, particularly 'Love Samba' from 'Atlantis'.

Other artists worth looking out for include Jayme Marques, Barry Miles's Silverlight, Dom Um Romao, Michal Urbaniak, Janet Lawson and Clare Fischer.

And how about this batucada track from Parney de Castro ( might be Par Ney de Castro )? :

Batucada

[JSngry]

Bev, since I can tell that the Internet is your friend (and that "Brazillian" need not be a hard and fast qualifier here), allow me to suggest these three albums:

JORGE LOPEZ RUIZ - ENCUENTRO EN NEW YORK

Bobby Vince Paunetto - Paunetto's Point

Bobby Vince Paunetto - Commit To Memory

The latter two have been combined into a reissue at some point, I believe, so proceed accordingly. But the first one is likley to be lost in Vinyl Limbo forever.

[A Lark Ascending]

Jerry Gonzalez O know very well, Jazzjet - especially fond of his recent flamenco-related excursions. Saw Tyner with a later Latin band in the 90s at the Barbican - have the album from that tour. Dom I know but the others are unknown - I'm realising that Clare Fisher needs searching out.

I've recently discovered how the internet can be my friend; using it for some of these OOP discs. Will explore, JS.

[fasstrack]

Bobby Vince Paunetto - Paunetto's Point

Bobby Vince Paunetto - Commit To Memory

Yes, great stuff. Paunetto's Point (from 1974, I think) also has a hell of a cast, with Tom Harrell, Ronnie Cuber, and Milton Cardona, among others. Classic conjunto with the nice twist of Paunetto's vibes, the soloists, and nice tunes, too. A lot of musicians I know are hip to these recordings. Not sure about listeners.

Edited July 23, 2011 by fasstrack