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2002–2009
Daniella Thompson
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Daniella Thompson on Brazil
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Rock stars of the mandolin
Mike Marshall & Hamilton de Holanda live and on disc.
Watching Mike Marshall and Hamilton de Holandain concert is an experience that borders on the erotic. The two face each other, hardly ever looking at the audience. Mandolin virtuosos both, they feed on each other, egg each other on in unceasing flights of fancy, always seeking new ways to wrest maximum expression and surprise from their instruments.
Mike and Ham’s appearance on Wednesday, 21 February at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley was of this exhilarating kind. The two played the repertoire of their new CD, New Words (Novas Palavras), which is a potpourri of Brazilian and American music.
Although the CD is technically excellent and emotionally satisfying, the verve of the live performance isn’t as palpably present here as it was at the Freight. Happily, this lacuna is remedied by the inclusion of a DVD in the same package for practically the same price (how often have you seen that happen?). The DVD includes three of the evening’s big applause getters, all choro standards.
Ernesto Nazareth ends up as the duo’s big champion, with two tunes on the DVD. A true vindication for the composer who died penniless in 1934. A notable curiosity is Hamilton’s “Valsa em Si,” which eerily recalls Tito Madi’s “Cansei de Ilusões.” I was very tempted to break into Mentira, foi tudo mentira, você não me amou... during the performance of this tune.
Mike Marshall & Hamilton de Holanda: New Words (Novas Palavras) (Adventure Music AM1029 2; 2006) CD: 60 min.
CD 01. Receita de Samba (Jacob Pick Bittencourt) 02. Blackberry Blossom; Apanhei-te Cavquinho (Traditional; Ernesto Nazareth) 03. Egypt (Mike Marshall) 04. Brejeiro (Ernesto Nazareth) 05. Valsa em Si (Hamilton de Holanda) 06. Cochichando (Pixinguinha) 07. Big Country (Bela Fleck) 08. Desvairada (Aníbal Augusto Sardinha “Garoto”) 09. São Jorge (Hermeto Pascoal) 10. Pra Sempre (Hamilton de Holanda) 11. Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma) 12. New Words (Hamilton de Holanda) 13. Ham & Mike (Mike Marshall) 14. Receita de Samba ‘Reprise’ (Jacob Pick Bittencourt)
DVD 01. Receita de Samba (Jacob Pick Bittencourt) 02. Blackberry Blossom; Apanhei-te Cavquinho (Traditional; Ernesto Nazareth) 03. Brejeiro (Ernesto Nazareth)
Flávio Chamis shows his lighter side in Especiaria.
Courtesy of Flávio Chamis
What is the difference between a Lied and a pop song? The boundaries are not always as clear-cut as one would expect, and in that no man’s land between the erudite and the popular, beautiful flowers grow.
Flávio Chamis cultivates this plot of land with fruitful results. Having begun his career in the classical music realm, Chamis has been Music Director of the Villa Lobos Ensemble in Vienna, Leonard Bernstein’s conducting assistant all over the world, and Music Director of the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra.
On the composing front, Chamis has created solo, chamber, and symphonic pieces, as well as jazz and popular Brazilian music, writing his own lyrics for the latter.
Flávio Chamis and Leonard Bernstein (courtesy of Flávio Chamis)
Chamis’ first popular album, Especiaria (Spices), was recorded in 2003 at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in Pittsburgh, his home town since 1994 (his wife, Tatjana Mead Chamis, is associate principal violist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra). The CD was released at the end of last year by Biscoito Fino.
One would expect a sophisticated album from a classical musician, and Especiaria doesn’t disappoint. The twelve tracks—six vocals and six instrumentals—were arranged by the composer and produced by jazz trombonist/percussionist/arranger Jay Ashby, who has a close affinity for Brazilian music.
Like good spices, the musicians participating in Especiaria hail from all corners of the globe. The principal vocalist is Joyce; the drummer, her husband Tutti Moreno. The third Brazilian heard here is trumpeter Claudio Roditi. Two Israelis, pianist Alon Yavnai and clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen, join Cuban-born violinist Andrés Cárdenes (concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony), German-born harmonica player Hendrik Meurkens, and three Americans from Pittsburgh: Jay Ashby on trombone, Marty Ashby on guitar, and Dwayne Dolphin on bass.
On the face of it an entertaining jazz album, practically every track here carries a hidden meaning, a hidden structure, a pun, a private joke or reference. But not to worry, the composer doesn’t leave you in the dark; his liner notes explain the essential points.
To begin and close the play[ing] in proper fashion, we are presented with a prelude and a postlude of the theme “Estrela.” The prelude, a leisurely excursion of voice, piano, and violin, sets out on a journey of discovery, navigating by the composer’s inner star:
A estrela solitária Estrela passageira Estrela que sou eu apenas
Navigation and exploration are a constant theme that takes on different aspects. “Samba Pra Quem Sabe,” a bouncy jazz instrumental in samba rhythm, possesses an unexpected symmetrical form, passing through five keys: C, Eb, Gb, A, and C. At one point, the piano, playfully off-key, quotes the line Se você disser que eu desafino, amor from “Desafinado” (Jobim/Mendonça).
The title track “Especiaria” was written five days before the recording to supply Joyce (and the album) with a lighthearted song. The lyrics allege that the Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, bored with his bacalhau, set off in his ship to find spices and thus discovered Brazil.
“E Dai?,” for piano trio, demonstrates that even when the rules of compositions are broken on purpose, the results are highly listenable. Among the hidden references here is a tip of the hat to Tom Jobim’s “Brigas Nunca Mais.”
“O Intrínseco da Vida,” for voice and piano, ruminates on the journey of life in brief, three-line stanzas:
Compreensão É navegar Verdades
“Soroco’s Song,” for piano and rhythm, was inspired by João Guimaraes Rosa’s short story “Sorôco, Sua Mãe, Sua Filha,” whose narrative revolves around a journey and a song.
“Two Note Samba” speaks (or sings) for itself. A tribute to Tom Jobim and based on his “One Note Samba,” the song puns both lyrically and musically: Me desculpe o tom, que é bom [...] Minha alma canta assim sem direção [...] Do, si, do, si, doce exato assim como nós dois. It all ends with a hearty gargalhada from Joyce.
Hendrik Meurkens’ harmonica takes center stage in “Tristan Blues,” which is based on the Tristan chord. If you’re not a Wagner fan, take heart—this is a yearning blues, not an opera. As Chamis points out, the Tristan chord is almost a personification of the blues scale.
“Modinha Fora do Tempo” is another pun. Not only was this modinha written more than a century after the genre’s heyday, it’s composed in an atypically asymmetrical 5/4 compass. The theme of voyage returns in the final lines:
Caminhei mil léguas Por caminhos meus Só pra te dizer Que eu apaixonada Não me esqueço de você
Chamis characterizes the jaunty instrumental “Qual o Que” as a samba-bossa-pop whose fast harmonies reflect his life as a Brazilian in the USA. Piano and clarinet enter into the urban spirit of things with gusto.
The final vocal is “Deuses do Ceu,” a contemplative song focusing on the inward journey:
Deuses, que assim como eu Riem, choram e rezam e crêem Crêem que eu ainda serei Tudo aquilo a que vim
“Estrela” returns as an instrumental postlude, in which the voice is that of Claudio Roditi’s muted trumpet.
The journey continues.
Listen to Flávio Chamis presenting Especiaria on the KRCT FM program Cantinho Brasileiro (128 and 48 kbps).
01. Prelúdio: Estrela 02. Samba Pra Quem Sabe 03. Especiaria 04. E Daí? 05. O Intrínseco da Vida 06. Soroco’s Song 07. Two Note Samba 08. Tristan Blues 09. Modinha Fora do Tempo 10. Qual o Quê? 11. Deuses do Céu 12. Póslúdio: Estrela
Sunday, 18 February at 2:00 pm Admission $20 (includes reception)
Info: Mary (510) 228-3218 _________________________
01:130 comments
Friday, February 09, 2007
Listen to Sacramentos on KPFA FM
Eddy Pay and I play tracks from Marcos Sacramento’s latest CD and compare them to original recordings by Carmen Miranda, Orlando Silva, Aracy de Almeida, Isaura Garcia, and Luiz Gonzaga, among others.
You can also hear Sacramentos in the program Aplauso on Rádio Câmara, Brasília. Sacramento himself is there to talk about the disc (in Portuguese, of course).
