Interview - Entrevista

Hey - Oi:
One of my New Year's resolutions is to combine the English and Portuguese blogs in one place - here!
Decidi começar o ano de 2007 combinando meus blogs em inglês e português em um só, aqui mesmo...

I posted on my site a lengthy interview I gave to the Japanese magazine Euro Rock Press earlier this year. They asked some quite interesting questions...to read the interview, click here.

Em abril de 2006 dei uma entrevista ao repórter Ivaldo Costa do jornal "The Brasilians", que é publicado em Nova Iorque. A entrevista foi publicada em outubro, e eu a pus no meu site, aqui.
Feliz Ano Novo - Happy New Year!

NPR Christmas show

I played a special Jazz Piano Christmas concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC earlier in December. NPR has made that show available for streaming on their web site. Click here to go there. Check out the bonus track with a round-robin version of "Silent Night" and the pictures...

Sivuca

I found out today that the great Brazilian accordionist Sivuca passed away last Thursday in his home state of Paraíba, Brazil. He was a true pioneer and a beautiful person. I had the opportunity to play with him and with Hermeto back in 1978. Below is an obituary from the L.A. Times.
Sivuca, 76; Brazilian accordionist, composer won Latin Grammy From Times Staff and Wire Reports December 17, 2006


Sivuca, the white-maned accordionist, composer and arranger known for his work with South African singer Miriam Makeba and others, died Thursday of throat cancer at a hospital in his home state of Paraiba, Brazil. He was 76.

Born Severino Dias de Oliveira, Sivuca was credited with arranging Makeba's most famous recording, "Pata Pata." During his 50-year career, he played with a wide range of musical artists around the world, including Harry Belafonte, Toots Thielmans, Airto Moreira and Hermeto Pascoal.

A master of the accordion-driven forro style of Brazil's northeast, he won a Latin Grammy in 2005 with accordionist Oswaldinho in the Brazilian roots category.

Born on the family farm in northern Brazil, Sivuca was an albino whose need to stay out of the sun allowed him to avoid farm chores and devote more time to music. He began playing the accordion at fairs and parties when he was 9 and by 15 was performing on radio programs. In 1950 he made his first recording, which included the hit "Adeus Maria Fulo."

He lived in Rio de Janeiro for many years before moving to Lisbon, Paris and New York City. He joined Makeba's group as a guitarist in the early 1960s and eventually toured the world with her.

Hermeto Pascoal - Programa Jazz Brasil

here is some more fotage of the Hermeto Group in 1991. This is an extended version of the tune "O Galo do Airan"

Hermeto Pascoal - Hermeto Campeão

here is an excerpt of the film "Hermeto Campeão", made in 1980. Here is the Grupo at a rehearsal...check out the hair!

...a beautiful quote by Glenn Gould...

I believe that the justification of art is the internal combustion it ignites in the hearts of men and not its shallow, externalized, public manifestations. The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenaline but is, rather, the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity.
Glenn Gould

California Brazil Camp

I had a fantastic week in late August/early September teaching and playing at the California Brazil Camp in Cazadero, CA. If you are interested in seriously studying Brazilian music, check out their web site
My friend Eric Crawford has taken beautiful photographs of this year's Camp, which you can see here.

Latin Grammy nomination

Well, I am very happy indeed..my latest CD, Roda Carioca, has been nominated to the 2006 Latin Grammys as Best Latin Jazz Record. For me this is a big honor and I am very grateful to all who have supported my music. If you have not yet heard the new CD, you can listen to samples of all the tracks (and also purchase the CD) at this link.
Obrigado!
JSN

Recording in Salvador

In Salvador, I spent 4 days in the Planeta Água recording studio, owned and operated by the singer and pianist Guilherme Arantes. I was working on a new CD by singer Heather Davis. we had a great group of baiano musicians, including the great guitarist Luiz Brasil, drummer Cesinha, bassist Fernando Nunes and other great folks.

Here is a picture of Guilherme Arantes, Heather davis and me in front of Guilherme's very nice Steinway grand piano. You can access his studio's website here.


Drummer Cesinha, Guilherme Arantes, Heather Davis, me and bassist Fernando Nunes.


Luiz Brasil, Heather and myself.

back to the blog...

I really have to apologize to all those who have returned to this blog and have not found any new posts since July...I had an amazing summer, and most of it was so busy that I did not keep up my promise to blog as I should have.
Anyway, in August I went to Brasil. I spent some days in Canavieiras, south of Bahia State, a beautiful city with amazing beaches and a historical past, going back to the old days of cacao exports. here are some pictures:


This is a view of the Pardo River from the Canavieiras harbor. You can see a statue of Iemanjá, the Queen of the Oceans, and also the boat "Fortaleza", where we went for a very nice ride all the way to the mouth of the river.


Fishing boats in Canavieiras and the most beautiful clouds I have ever seen...


This is a sample of the architectural style of most old houses in Canavieiras. Many of them have statues decorating their facades. These are remnants of the days of glory of the cacao trade...


Old growth mangrove trees, a very rich environment for crabs, fish, shrimp and sea birds


The main church in Canavieiras

More to come...

Gafieira big band at California Brazil Camp in August

You might have read an earlier post from me announcing the Gafieira Big Band I am leading this year at California Brazil Camp's second session, from August 28 to September 3 in Cazadero, California, in the heart of the redwood forest. Well, I am working on the arrangements right now, and would like to invite all interested musicians to sign up and participate.

In case you are wondering what this is, "gafieira" refers to a Brazilian ballroom samba dance style. The material is being compiled from the great Brazilian classic samba tunes, including compositions by Ary Barroso, Guinga, Toninho Horta and many more. The instrumentation is a traditional big band line-up: 2 alto saxes, 2 tenors, 1 baritone, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones plus rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass, drums, percussion). In addition, all other instruments (flute, clarinet, violin,etc.) are welcome, as well as vocalists. Requirements are: a basic sight reading ability and some familiarity with Brazilian grooves. The parts should not be very challenging technically, but there will be lots of syncopation...
We will rehearse all week and finish up with a concert/dance where we will play the material.

I will be posting all charts up on the Internet as PDF files, as well as MP3 files of demos of the arrangements by the beginning of August, so those who would like can print them out and start practicing.

California Brazil Camp is a great experience to all those who are interested in Brazilian music and dance. It's a weeklong immersion in the musical culture of Brazil with a stellar faculty who are experts in their areas.

For registration and all kinds of information, please visit CBC's website at www.calbrazilcamp.com , call415-824-2894 or email cbc@mameluco.com

I hope you can enjoy this opportunity to play great music in a beautiful natural setting. Please feel free to forward this message to anyone who might be interested.


I hope to see you at Camp!

Jazz Camp West 2006

I just returned from a beautiful week teaching at Jazz Camp West, a gathering of about 320 musicians held each summer in La Honda, located in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. This year was a special one, with lots of music and great musicians. I wrote a few new tunes during one of my classes, which focuses on spontaneous composition. The other classs I taught featured the music of my musical mentor Hermeto Pascoal, who just turned 70 years young last week.
The image above represents the peace and beauty of the place. We had coyotes howling in the morning and a strong musical bond among all participants.

Batuki di Bangu

This video of the JSN Quinteto was shot in New York City in 2005 when we performed at the Chamber Music America Conference. We are playing "Batuki di Bangu" from the "Canto do Rio" CD. I uplodaded it to YouTube.com...enjoy!

Hermeto Pascoal e Grupo - Peixinho

This is a rare film with Hermeto and Grupo playing the tune "Peixinho" circa 1985. The band is: Hermeto on electric grand piano, myself on flute, Carlos Malta on alto saxophone, Itiberê Zwarg on bass, marcio Bahia on drums and Pernambuco on percussion. Hermeto's piano solo is a classic!

Hermeto Pascoal - Susto

I found this video of the Hermeto Pascoal Group performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1979. WE are playing the frevo "Susto", from the "Zabumbê-Bum-á" record. The images are fuzzy, but the music is happening! The band is: Hermeto on soprano sax,Nivaldo Ornellas and Cacau on tenor saxes, myself on Rhodes, Itiberê Zwarg on bass, Pernambuco and Zabelê on percussion and the great Nenê on drums...check it out!

How Musical Is Man?

"It seems to be that what is ultimately of most importance in music can't be learned like other cultural skills: it is there in the body, waiting to be brought out and developed, like the basic principles of language formation"

This quote is by John Blacking, and it is found at the end of this great book I just finished: The Singing Neanderthals, by Steven Mithen (Harvard University Press). This is a book I recommend to anyone interested in the evolutionary origins of music. Very cool!

Gafieira Big Band at California Brazil Camp this August

As you probably know, I have been teaching at the California Brazil Summer Camp located at Cazadero in Northern California for a number of years. This is a great opportunity for all those who are interested in the many aspects of Brazilian music, as it offers a week-long immersion program, combining percussion, guitar, piano and ensemble classes as well as dance and Portuguese instruction. The daily jam sessions have become legendary as well.

For this year's second session (August 28 - September 3), we are working on a new concept: Gafieira Cazadero, A Brazilian Gafieira big band. Gafieira is the name given to the style of ballroom samba dance music as played by legendary Brazilian orchestras, including Severino Araújo's Orquestra Tabajara, Pixinguinha's Orchestra, Banda Mantiqueira and many others. The focus is on assembling a line-up of musicians who will work with me during the week, culminating with an all-Camp dance on the last day of the session. I am preparing arrangements of some of the greatest samba and baião classics of all time, combining traditional material with contemporary compositions. The focus is on great grooves, expanded solos and ensemble textures.

The intrumentation will be as follows:
5 saxophones (2 altos, 2 tenors, 1 baritone - doubling on flute, soprano, clarinet, and bass clarinet welcome)
4 trombones (tuba welcome)
4 trumpets (flugelhorn doubling welcome) Rhythm section ( bass, drums, piano, guitar, percussion)


We hope to also have other instruments, guest vocalists and soloists participating. This promises to be a great way for advanced and beginning musicians to become more proficient in phrasing, articulations and soloing options within Brazilian music styles. Basic sight reading skills are required. I intend to post the parts as PDF files online before the beginning of Camp, so players can start practicing the music ahead of time.

If you are interested in participating, please visit the Camp's web site at http://www.calbrazilcamp.com . You will be able to sign up for the Gafieira Cazadero there.

I hope to see you at Camp this year, and I am looking forward to a great musical experience.

Obrigado,

Jovino

Recent news

I was in Southern California last week. My daughter Maíra graduated from Claremont McKenna College, so that was a nice event. While in the area, I played a couple of gigs. I did a CD release concert at the Vic for Jazz in Santa Monica (www.thevicforjazz.com) with Mike Shapiro on drums and Leo Nobre on bass. Both play in Sergio Mendes' band, and it was a pleasure to perform with them. I also played with flutist Rebecca Kleinmann, who is releasing a new CD, "Raio de Sol". We played at La Ve Lee in Studio City and also at Soho in Santa Barbara.

I am reading some very interesting books about music perception. One of them is "Hearing in Time" by Justin London (Oxford University Press). The author goes deep into the nature of rhythm, meters, musical tempo and much more...

end of semester

I teach at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, and this is our final week. Lots of activities with the students, and the good feeling that we'll be done soon...Springtime is beautiful in this city, the flowers are beginning to come out.
Last weekend I went to perform at Stanford University. It was an event for the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoutics (CCRMA). I played some of my tunes and some free improvisations with Andrew Schloss (on the radio drum, an elctronic drum machine) and his wife Irene Mitri on violin. A different crowd...

Next week I am heading to Los Angeles for my daughter's graduation and a gig at the Vic for Jazz in Santa Monica.

Bye,
JSN

back to my Blog

First of all, my apologies to those who have come to visit my blog and have found it terribly outdated...the life of a musician is a busy one, and I always left this part for later - sorry!
I promise to become a more assidous blogger from now on...
Where do I begin? Well, how about the release of my new CD, "Roda Carioca" on Adventure Music? It has been out for a month now, and the feedback has been excellent. People are writing to tell me how much they are enjoying the music, which makes me very proud. It was a labor of love, all recorded in my home town of Rio de Janeiro with soem of my favorite musicians. Now I am going out to support the CD, playing many gigs around the country.
Last week I was in New York City, Oregon (Ashland and Portland) and in the Bay Area ( Larkspur, Felton and Yoshi's in Oakland). I played with different musicians, but the feeling was great as they all interpreted the music in their own personal and brilliant manner.
Now I am back in Seattle, teaching at Cornish College as the semester heads towards the end. Lots of talented students doing their recitals.
I will be commenting on more musical issues as we go...as always, your comments/suggestions are welcome!
Bye,
Jovino