Last month I saw two shows performed by outstanding Brazilian-born singers and instrumentalists. By all means see them if they perform in your area.
August 14, 2010--Oscar Castro Neves and Katia Moraes at Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles.
Of course we all know about the old-pro master guitarist and composer Oscar Caster Neves. At 70 he is still at the top of his game. His jazz quintet included Don Grusin on piano (Dave's brother). Katia Moraes is a wonderful singer with the looks, the voice, and the moves (she loves to dance) that grabs your attention immediately. Amoung today's singers, Katia is my favorite interpreter of Brazilian songs. I've had the good fortune of seeing her perform in Southern California a number of times often with the group Sambaguru. The group includes keyboardist Bill Brendle a superior songwriter whose songs so closely resemble the popular music of Brazil that you would swear that they were written by Brazil's top pop composers. Katia and Sambaguru perform equally well samba, MPB, bossa nova and forro. It is always an extra treat when Brendle plays the accordion on the forro numbers. Back to the show...most of the songs performed were classics by Jobim or written by Neves himself. A personal highlight was their performance of Edu Lobo's classic award-winning song "Ponteio". Neves and Katia's vocal harmony was sublime.
August 20, 2010--Trio Da Paz and Maucha Adnet at Jazz at Lincoln Center at the Time-Warner Building in New York
The showroom was incredible with a huge picture window overlooking Central Park. Trio Da Paz a Brazilian jazz group is comprised of guitarist Romero Lubambo, acoustic bassist Nilson Matta and drummer Duduka da Fonseca. They performed the classic Brazilian standards. What a joy it is to hear high quality Brazilian acoustic jazz. The beautiful Maucha Adnet added vocal support. She has a delightfully unique smoky voice and was a singer with Jobim's touring group between 1984-1994. An employee there said that they bring all these performers back every year and they always draw the largest crowds. I can see why.
August 14, 2010--Oscar Castro Neves and Katia Moraes at Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles.
Of course we all know about the old-pro master guitarist and composer Oscar Caster Neves. At 70 he is still at the top of his game. His jazz quintet included Don Grusin on piano (Dave's brother). Katia Moraes is a wonderful singer with the looks, the voice, and the moves (she loves to dance) that grabs your attention immediately. Amoung today's singers, Katia is my favorite interpreter of Brazilian songs. I've had the good fortune of seeing her perform in Southern California a number of times often with the group Sambaguru. The group includes keyboardist Bill Brendle a superior songwriter whose songs so closely resemble the popular music of Brazil that you would swear that they were written by Brazil's top pop composers. Katia and Sambaguru perform equally well samba, MPB, bossa nova and forro. It is always an extra treat when Brendle plays the accordion on the forro numbers. Back to the show...most of the songs performed were classics by Jobim or written by Neves himself. A personal highlight was their performance of Edu Lobo's classic award-winning song "Ponteio". Neves and Katia's vocal harmony was sublime.
August 20, 2010--Trio Da Paz and Maucha Adnet at Jazz at Lincoln Center at the Time-Warner Building in New York
The showroom was incredible with a huge picture window overlooking Central Park. Trio Da Paz a Brazilian jazz group is comprised of guitarist Romero Lubambo, acoustic bassist Nilson Matta and drummer Duduka da Fonseca. They performed the classic Brazilian standards. What a joy it is to hear high quality Brazilian acoustic jazz. The beautiful Maucha Adnet added vocal support. She has a delightfully unique smoky voice and was a singer with Jobim's touring group between 1984-1994. An employee there said that they bring all these performers back every year and they always draw the largest crowds. I can see why.
