Brasil '05 in Cleveland

[Brasil_Nut]

From the Cleveland Orchestra Website:

The tenth season of Jazz on the Circle concludes on April 24, 2005, as Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland presents Sergio Mendes Brasil 2005 in Severance Hall’s Concert Hall. Mendes first put Brazilian music on the Top 10 Hit Parade with Brasil ’66, and always captures the musical idiom of Portuguese song in his work.


http://www.clevelandorch.com/html/PressRoom/pressreleases.asp?ID=54

I've seen Sergio with an orchestra...a real treat. For all who are able to attend this concert, enjoy!!

Jon

 

[Rudy]

Well, that's probably the first time in many years he's even been THIS close to Detroit. That's just a 3½ hour trip for me, actually.

 

[Mr Bill]

That's just a 3½ hour trip for me, actually.

...And well worth the drive. Cleveland's not halfway between You and Oklahoma, is it?

--Mr Bill

 

[Rudy]

...And well worth the drive. Cleveland's not halfway between You and Oklahoma, is it?

Actually, Buffalo NY. On a good traffic day.

 

[Harry]

Looking at the schedule, it appears that Kevyn Lettau and the Yellowjackets are there this evening, 10/15.

Harry

 

[Rudy]

Yep...the Jackets are so close, but I'm way too busy to even think about going.

 

[Brasil_66_Fan]

Well, that's probably the first time in many years he's even been THIS close to Detroit. That's just a 3½ hour trip for me, actually.

Almost exactly 200 miles away (from my house) and maybe more like 3 hours - I can do it without a map, since it's right on the Case Western Reserve University campus, where my daughter got her BSME & MSME degrees. Let's plan on going, I'll pick you up ......!

 

[Dave]

Hmmmm...maybe I can swing this trip, too! Hope it's on a day I have off from work...

Well, I've been wanting to see Sergio preform nearby....


Dave

 

[Rudy]

Heck, I can't even predict what I'm doing 24 hours from now, not to mention a few months away. That's why I haven't been to any concerts in the past year--no sense in buying a ticket I most likely won't use, and my schedule is way too variable right now. And if it's a weekend, I couldn't go anyway.

 

[Brasil_Nut]

I'll be there, although I can't for the life of me figure out where this place is!! I'll depend on the hotel the airline puts me up in to give me directions. You know...depend on Mr. Taxi Driver!!

Jon

 

[Rudy]

Cleveland...you'd be west of the downtown area near the airport, most likely. We used to stay there when we took a weekend trip to Cleveland and Cedar Point (which is west of Cleveland).

 

[Brasil_Nut]

You know, I won't be there after all...I'm teaching a flight attendant class that month. Oh well, not as if I can say I haven't seen Sergio on stage before. Whoever does attend...enjoy the show!!

Jon

 

[Captaindave]

That's about 40 miles or so for me...about an hour from here.

But, I do rather dislike driving around the Cleveland area; it can get ugly when the weather is bad, but by the end of April it's good...would need to get motivated...

What would this show be like? Any even remote comparison to the Sergio Mendes of old? I saw them maybe late 1969, when it was Brasil 66, I believe. Lani Hall was one of the two vocalists.

I haven't followed Sergio as closely as Herb Alpert, especially since the Brasil 66 days. I don't know what to expect from him these days...

What do you think?

 

[mikeargo]

I saw him for the first time in Sept. '03 here in Austin (without orchestra) and thoroughly enjoyed his show. The band played a nice mix of old and new--mostly old, perhaps in support of his then-recent Brasil '66/77 reissues. Incredibly tight band, too, and Sergio has never lost his knack for picking attractive female singers to front the group.

Mike A

 

[bob]

hi people. in our newpaper this past friday it is a separate section called friday magazine, as I live in Cleveland,ohio and severence hall is about 20 minutes in a section called university heights, and it said the tickets are avaible at all ticket master locations. the best seats are $50.00.
to bad herb alpert is not coming as part of that jazz fest.
bob

 

[LPJim]

I hope all or most of you make the trip. Three hours each way isn't so bad if you don't have to do it alone. Just take plenty of music to play and drink plenty of Mountain Dew to stay awake.

Most of the time you can find a ticket at the last minute, even if it's supposedly 'sold out.' Those spare tickets get cheaper as the show time approaches, and if there's some unknown opening act you won't miss any of Sergio's set.

I hope he will play somewhere near me soon.
JB

 

[Dave]

I would like to attend... But, I have gotten so FEW job-assignments (as opposed to a REAL job, where I was soooo over-worked!) that my chances of getting over there really stand on trial... (Despite living so close by!)

To those who can make it: "Have a good time for me!" I probably don't have anything (good--heh!) for Sergio to sign, anyway...


Dave

 

[Mr Bill]

I probably don't have anything for Sergio to sign, anyway...

...or at least nothing that hasn't been hacked into pieces. Sergio would probably be shocked to sign your Crystal-Me-Le-On The Hill Frankenalbum anyway!

--Mr Bill

 

[Dave]

I probably don't have anything for Sergio to sign, anyway...

...or at least nothing that hasn't been hacked into pieces... Sergio would probably be shocked to sign your Crystal-Me-Le-On The Hill Frankenalbum, anyway!

--Mr Bill

OK, leave it to you...! I knew you'd put in your "wise-#$%-2-Cents", Mr. Bill...!! Yo're a Riot...!!!

Dave

"...A regular RIOT...!!" ...getting out my "tile-cutter"...

 

[Steve Sidoruk]

Mendes has a new Brasil but spirit of '66 lives on
Sunday, April 24, 2005
John Soeder
Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic
Sergio Mendes laughs when I tell him my local record store stocks his CDs in two separate sections: easy-listening and jazz.

Under which heading would he prefer to be filed?

"I don't care," the Brazilian-born pianist says with a sigh.

"I've never paid attention to the labels they put on what I do," he says. "I just do the music I love."

Mendes and his seven-piece Brasil 2005 band perform today at Severance Hall. Presented in conjunction with the Jazz on the Circle series, the concert is the finale of the 26th annual Tri-C JazzFest.

"It's going to be an outstanding show to close the festival," says Willard Jenkins, JazzFest's artistic director.

Mendes and his seminal Brasil '66 combo conquered the United States with a dual female vocal attack and shagadelic accompaniment. Their repertoire ranged from Brazilian folk songs to Beatles tunes.

Even if you've never owned any albums by Mendes and Brasil '66, chances are you've had a taste of their tropical ear candy in an elevator near you.

The group became Brazil's best-selling musical export in the 1960s, scoring a pair of Top 10 singles with bossa nova-tinged reworkings of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David ballad "The Look of Love" and the Beatles' "The Fool on the Hill."

Brasil '66 had "a magical component I don't know how to describe," Mendes says by phone from Los Angeles, his adopted hometown since 1964.

"It wasn't like I had a formula for combining two girls and a Beatles song," he says. "It was just a natural progression."

Mendes, 64, is a native of Niteroi, Brazil, near Rio de Janeiro. He was in his teens when he began playing piano professionally, after honing his chops in a conservatory.

"When I started, I was very interested in jazz," he says. "My early idols were Dave Brubeck and Bud Powell, then Charlie Parker."

Before he put together Brasil '66, Mendes led a series of other groups. He also worked with bossa nova legend Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Throughout his career, Mendes has found himself drawn to great melodies, regardless of their country of origin.

"The wonderful songs of the Brazilian songbook and the American songbook - the songs by the Jobims, the Irving Berlins, the Henry Mancinis, the Cole Porters - I still like very much, because the strength is in the melody," he says.

Mendes and Brasil '66 made their debut in 1966 with a self-titled album, the first in a series of well-received releases put out by A&M Records. Label co-founder Herb Alpert doubled as the band's record producer.

"Sergio put together a magnificent sound," Alpert says. "The rhythms just turned me on."

He didn't stop at loving the music of Mendes, either. Alpert married Brasil '66 singer Lani Hall.

Mendes can't recall the last time he performed in Northeast Ohio. In the '60s, he shared bills in Cleveland with Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Stan Getz and Frank Sinatra. In the '70s, Mendes headlined Blossom Music Center.

He's still on the road at least seven months a year, although he hasn't made a studio album since 1996's "Oceano."

Brasil 2005 is very much in the spirit of Brasil '66, although Mendes is the only holdover from the latter group's glory days.

"It's a continuation," he says. "We do a lot of songs from an album I recorded in the early '90s, 'Brasileiro.' It won a Grammy for best world music album.

"We also revisit the old repertoire, but with the same enthusiasm we had back then."

Mendes is in the early stages of planning a new album.

"I just want to go with great songs, like I've always done," he says. "For me, the most important thing is the song."

 

[Steve Sidoruk]

Mendes washes away the gray with bossa-nova color and style Tuesday, April 26, 2005
John Soeder
Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic

Nothing beats those bonus winter blahs like a bit of bossa nova.

It was snowing Sunday afternoon outside Severance Hall. Inside, however, the forecast called for sonic sunshine, courtesy of Sergio Mendes.

A matinee performance by the Brazilian-born keyboardist and his Brasil 2005 band brought the 26th annual Tri-C JazzFest to a fun close.

"It's great to be here in Cleveland," said Mendes, 64. He was a convincing liar.

"Lua Soberana," an Ivan Lins number revisited by Mendes on his Grammy-winning 1992 album "Brasileiro," got the concert off to a lively start.

Another early highlight, "Pretty World," was an idyllic throwback to the height of the headliner's easy-listening fame in the 1960s.

The latter tune showcased the twin lead vocals of Jessica Taylor and Dawn Bishop. Like the long line of frontwomen for Mendes before them, they tended to face each other for the first verse of any given song, then turned toward the audience - a cheesy yet effective maneuver.

Each singer got to bask solo in the spotlight, too. Taylor did right by "Dindi," a poetic ballad. Bishop's voice soared on "Bridges."

The sound was disappointingly bottom-heavy at the onset of the gig, although all was well by the time Mendes & Co. paid tribute to bossa-nova legend Antonio Carlos Jobim with a tender rendition of his tropical standard "Desafinado."

An extended percussion solo in the middle of the 90-minute show featured the remarkable handiwork of Nailton "Meia Noite" Dos Santos. He drew a round of applause when he made a hand drum whimper like a lost puppy.

Rounding out Brasil 2005 were guitarist Kleber Jorge, keyboardist Bill Cantos, bassist Leonardo Nobre and drummer Kevin Winard.

Perched behind a synthesizer, Mendes led the well-oiled group through "The Look of Love," "The Fool on the Hill," "Mais Que Nada" and other polyrhythmic crowd-pleasers from his '60s heyday.

A three-song encore had fans on their feet and clapping along to the feel-good music like revelers during Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.

By the time Mendes and Brasil 2005 sent everyone home with the upbeat sounds of "Indiado" still ringing in our ears, the exodus to the parking garage felt like the world's longest samba line.

 

[Brasil_Nut]

One thing's for sure: Sergio's still got it!!

Thanks for the reviews, Steve!!!

Jon