BOSSABRASIL Festival, Birdland NYC Apr 15-19

[Lois Gilbert]

BOSSABRASIL Festival
With Legends: CESAR CAMARGO MARIANO

And JOAO BOSCO

Special Guest: HARRY ALLEN

“From Ipanema to New York “

April 15 - 19

The sounds of Brasil are returning to Birdland with the BossaBrasil Festival, launched in ’07 to great success, produced by Pat Philips and Ettore Stratta who have a long history of working with Brazilian music.

This year features Grammy Award winning master Pianist/Composer/ Producer, CESAR CAMARGO MARIANO

with his Trio and renowned Vocalist/Guitarist/Composer,

JOAO BOSCO, joined by the beautiful sound of Saxist, HARRY ALLEN.

JOAO BOSCO is acclaimed world-wide for his special musical creations which have a very personal signature. His voice, full of soul, still sings Brazil’s melodies with the blood of African slaves in his veins and weeps melodic songs from his Lebanese ancestors. This ethnic mix makes Joao Bosco a very eclectic artist.

Born in the state of Minas Geraes, he moved to Rio where he was introduced to Jobim, Chico Buarque, Bossa Nova. During the 1970’, together with poet Aldir Blanc, Joao composed a vast repertoire, recorded first time by superstar artists Elis Regina and now considered classics.

CESAR CAMARGO MARIANO appears this year with his Trio. Mariano, famous for his ability to ‘swing’, compose, produce and arrange, will perform with a Trio, which was a large part of the history of his early life and prominence in Brazil. As a renowned artist, he has worked with everyone from Elis Regina to Gal Costa, to Simone, Jobim….and so many other greats. His contemporary concepts focus on harmony and arrangement and the musicians’ performance as a combination rather than the concept of much soloing.

He appears with his son, MARCELO MARIANO on bass who has a technique and style that falls within the modern-day “Samba Jazz” and “Funk”, playing with a very rich rhythmic and harmonic base. JURIM MOREIRA, one of the most in-demand drummers of Brazil performs with all the greats such as Gal Costa and other stars. His simplistic and melodic techniques are very creative and immaculate.

At Birdland, the sounds of Brasil, virtuosity, special compositions, and beautiful vocalizing will take centerstage. BossaBrasil presents a rare combination of some of Brazil’s most acclaimed musicians and one of our own, Harry Allen….the Brazilian ‘feel’ at its best…Samba and Jazz – From Ipanema to New York !

Birdland – 315 West 44th Street - Tickets: (212) 581-3080 www.birdlandjazz.com Shows: 8:30 and 11 pm

With the support of The Consulate General of Brazil in NY

[Pete C]

I'm there, but it's a rather liberal use of the language to call a club gig a "festival." Last year, at least, they had two different (great) programs during the "festival."

[Pete C]

By NATE CHINEN
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Jazz
BOSSABRASIL FESTIVAL Jazz and Brazilian music have a history far deeper and more complicated than popular perceptions would suggest. The legacy of jazz-inflected bossa nova, as epitomized by the ageless 1964 album “Getz/Gilberto,” has often eclipsed myriad other options: Brazilian jazz with a sharper thrust, a fuller sound, a flashier application of technique. Next week’s second annual BossaBrasil Festival, produced by Pat Philips and Ettore Stratta, is likely to encompass this broader range of styles, even as it flirts with a familiar brand of lyricism.
The festival, really a high-profile club engagement, features two celebrated artists from Brazil: the pianist and composer Cesar Camargo Mariano, above, and the guitarist and singer João Bosco. Both are dynamic, charismatic performers with a healthy regard for jazz harmony. Both have applied a crossover sensibility to the art of improvisation, delving into funk-based fusion as well as rhapsodic classicism. And both have been crucially involved in bossa nova, working closely and consequentially in the 1970s with the legendary singer Elis Regina. (Mr. Mariano was Ms. Regina’s second husband; their daughter, who goes by Maria Rita, has enjoyed great success as a singer herself.)
Here Mr. Bosco will join Mr. Mariano’s trio, with Sergio Brandão on bass and Jurim Moreira on drums. The additional presence of an American tenor saxophonist, Harry Allen, seems to indicate at least some acknowledgment of the “Getz/Gilberto” sound. (The Getz in that equation was Stan Getz (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/stan_getz/index.html?inline=nyt-per), whose fluid style and silvery tone can rightly be understood as touchstones for Mr. Allen.) But it would also be reasonable to expect some piano-and-guitar duets, in a style that suggests the more high-spirited, effulgent side of the Brazilian-jazz spectrum. (Tuesday through April 19 at 8:30 and 11 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Clinton, 212-581-3080, birdlandjazz.com (http://birdlandjazz.com/); cover, $30 and $40, with a $10 minimum.) NATE CHINEN