Moacir Santos - The Maestro

by Jason Ankeny

For his Blue Note debut, Maestro, Brazilian composer Moacir Santos assiduously avoids his homeland's familiar bossa nova and samba rhythms, instead reinventing lesser-known idioms like baiao and frevo to create his own complex yet pulsating signatures and cadences. Opening with "Nana," easily Santos' most familiar and oft-recorded composition, Maestro quickly proves an uncommonly vast canvas for a who's who of Los Angeles session greats including Joe Pass, Clair Fischer, and Don Menza, all of whom explore new territory throughout the LP. For all their depth and intricacy, Santos' songs never box in their players, but allow them the space and the tools necessary to spread out. Though little-heard on its original release, many of the songs that comprise Maestro were later re-recorded by an all-star Brazilian group for the 2001 Santos tribute effort Ouro Negro, reaffirming their timelessness and their vitality.

Moacir Santos - Saudade

Moacir Santos is a Brazilian composer, arranger and saxophonist from the first team of Brazilian Jazz. He's one of those artists who are underrated by the big audiences but widely known by those who appreciate inspiration, beauty, intelligence when applicable to music composition and arrangement.

This is the second of his three albums for Blue Note Records, a long time awaited for reissue. Catalog number was BN-LA260-G, recorded in New York, 1974. A natural follower to the first `The Maestro' (from 1972), also a memorable album with the unique Santos' way of doing the thing what includes an intricate shape of samba, an uncommon way of dividing that is unique in his compositions, a kind of registered mark which identifies Santos. (Carlos from Rio)
 Moacir Santos
baritone saxophone, alto saxophone, arranger, conductor
Jerome Richardson
alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, alto flute
Ray Pizzi
alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, bassoon, flute, piccolo flute
Lee Ritenour
electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Steve Huffsteter
trumpet, flugelhorn
Benny Powell
trombone
Morris Repass
bass trombone
Sidney Muldrow
French horn
Mark Levine
piano, electric piano, arranger
John Heard
bass
Harvey Mason
drums
Carmelo Garcia
congas, percussion
Mayuto Correa
congas, percussion
Duke Pearson
producer

Moacir Santos - Carnival of the Spirits, 1975

sublime 70s session from Moacir Santos – a set that mixes the complex grooves he forged in 60s Brazil with the warmly jazzy sound of American fusion – all in a result that's totally unique! The album's quite different than any other electric Brazilian sets recorded in the US at the time – a complex album that's filled with soul and imagination – and not just an electrification of earlier styles from Brazil. Santos' vision here is wonderful – and he works with his own arrangements, and key help from producer Dale Oehler – who knows how to bring in all the right electric elements without losing the edge of Moacir's music. Players are great too – and include Jerome Richardson on soprano sax, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Don Menza on tenor, Gary Foster on alto, Larry Nash on Fender Rhodes, Clare Fischer on piano, and Jerry Peters on organ. The sound builds and swirls in nice chunks, while the soloists creep in and lay down some horn parts – and a few vocalists, including Santos, add some slight lyrics from time to time.....~

Brazilian Adventure

Brazil 1958-1969 by Kingcake on Mixcloud

Tenorio Jr. - Embalo 1964

On one of my earlier Brazilian posts, an old and loyal friend of this blog, Cvllos, made a lovely contribution of this album. All of us here enjoy it when you guys and gals give back to the blog, but it often takes me, anyway, a little bit to actually listen and pass it to the front. Sorry it took so long, because this one is all killer!

If you enjoyed Turma da Gafieira and Os Cobras, you will certainly love this as many of the same giants are involved. A magnificent jewel from the birth of Bossa Nova.

"Fantastic! This is one of the all-time Brazilian jazz classics of the 60s – and one of the most sought after bossa albums ever! Pianist Tenorio Jr leads a crack ensemble through some fantastic tracks – as warm and soulful as they are tight and angular, a perfect summation of the bossa jazz idiom at its truest expression! The writing is fantastic throughout – and the album includes loads of great numbers – including the famous "Nebulosa", instantly recognizable from a sample used by United Future Organization, and the tracks "Clouds", "Nectar", "Embalo", and "Estou Nessa Agora". A delight through and through – and one we never tire of!"  © 1996-2015, Dusty Groove, Inc.

Thanks Cvllos!

Brazil, Roots, Samba (vinyl/flac)

 My rip, a truly lovely album...

Nelson Sargento

"Real Rio samba sounds like this: fine small groups, seemingly a bunch of friends in a corner bar, mostly with the little cavaquinho guitar well to the fore, as well as (of course) the usual jubilant percussion. Some of the bands heard on Brazil -- Roots -- Samba sound professional, some semi-professional, but they're all pretty close to the street. Ten minutes of this stuff would be preferable to an hour of the trendies anytime." AMG Review by John Storm Roberts

Wilson Moreira

Whew, as useful as they are, sometimes AMG can stagger you with what they don't know or even bother to look up. The first sentence is fine, the last sentence is fine, but oh that middle one! Far from being semi-professional the tracks on this album come from some of the greatest samba masters the world has ever known!

Velha Guarda da Portela

Nelson Sargento, Wilson Moreira, and the group Velha Guarda da Portela are far from obscure street performers as you can see by clicking the links behind these names. In fact had Mr. Roberts even bothered to check the data base that he was contributing to he would have acquired a fairly good idea that he was, in fact, listening to an astonishing compilation of the founding fathers of Samba, all giants! What I find even more confusing is the lack of any other reviews of this glorious album except for the raves of every Amazon customer who had the good sense to buy it. This is a very appropriately named record, you get exactly what's advertized!

Os Cobras - O LP 1964

My copy of this one is a gift from my friend Robert Celier who was at the actual recording session and who wrote some of the original liner content. This was something of a Brazilian super group in it's day. The band was formed around Raul de Souza at the behest of some RCA honcho. An earlier 1960 version of the band included the previously posted Moacyr Silva and the second track here is a luminous version of Moacir Santos' 'Nana', his most famous song.

" A landmark session of bossa jazz – about as great as you can get for the genre! This little beauty was recorded in 1964 – and it features work by some of Brazil's greatest bossa musicians of the time: Milton Banana on drums, Tenorio Jr on piano, Raulzinho on trombone, and Paulo Moura on saxes. The group's incredibly tight – and despite the individual fame of the players, they come together as a seamless unit, one in which the egos of each is put aside for the sake of the bossa grooves! Brilliant stuff throughout – and essential for any collection." dusty groove

 Tenorio Jr. (piano)
José Carlos "Zezinho" (bass)
Milton Banana (drums)
Raul de Souza (trombone)
Hamilton (trumpet)
Meirelles (sax alto, flute)
Paulo Moura (sax alto)

Special Guests

Jorginho (flute)
Aurino (sax baritono)
Cipó (sax tenor)
Roberto Menescal (guitar on 10 & 12)
Ugo (vibraphone on 10 & 12)

Moacyr Silva - Sax Sensacional No 5

Another Brazilian sax player with a very similar name. "Moacyr Pinto da Silva (1918-2002) was probably Brazil’s busiest sax player releasing about 40 albums in just 14 years from 1956 to 1970 under his own name, and one with the alias of Ted Fleming. The about 20 albums with the alias of Bob Fleming are special as Moacyr Silva shared this alias with Zito Righi. In fact, only the first two Bob Fleming albums were recorded by Moacyr Silva whereas the subsequent albums featured Zito Righi.

Apart from his own albums, Moacyr Silva also appeared as a session player on numerous recordings as well as in groups such as Os Cobras (the 1960 outfit) and the American Dancing Quartet. He recorded collaboration albums with singers Elizeth Cardoso, Marisa Gata Mansa, Francineth and Mara Silva, besides being a composer, arranger, conductor and producer.

His father was the conductor of the municipal orchestra in Moacyr Silva’s hometome. He played the piccolo at a local club at the age of ten and started to learn the tenor saxophone shortly after. At 17, after his family moved to Rio de Janeiro, he joined a military band. He was invited to play at parties and subsequently played bigger venues such as the casinos in Rio de Janeiro where he became musical director of the Copacabana Palace. In 1953 he formed his own group with Sacha Rubin on piano, Célio on bass and Dom Um Romão on drums, performing in nightclubs for Dolores Duran and Francineth. In the late fifties, Nilo Sérgio, owner of the label Musidisc, suggested to record an album with international hits, and invented the alias of Bob Fleming for it. In the sixties Moacyr Silva started his fifteen year stint as artistic director with the Copacabana label, but from 1970 his presence has diminished considerably."

Dizzy Gillespie no Brazil com Trio Mocoto 1974

 Dizzy Gillespie was one of the most influent jazz trumpeters because he was the header, along with Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, of the bebop's verve, which large changed the genre around the forties. Therefore, some critics asks themselves what's the impact in universal music if the Dizzy Gillespie and Trio Mocotó's album had had released in that faraway year of 1974.Only a few months ago the Biscoito Fino Records released this phonographic pearl. In fact, Dizzy recorded this work through joining between the Verve Records and the Brazilian Philips, and took the master tape as soon as it was recorded, in eight hours of rehearsals, to go to stores in 1975.
Even until now, nobody knows why Dizzy didn't release that material. He rehearsed other songs with Brazilian musicians, but decided to lock them. Lucky for us, the big friend of the trumpeter, the Swiss Jacques Muyal, had found that master in 2009 and made contact with the Trio Mocotó's percussionist João Parayba, who catches more information about the album credits.
After a long research in the Brazilian's radio station Eldorado and months mixing that material in Los Angeles, Muyal signs the production and made sure to release it as soon as possible.
What about the results? Fascinating, if compared to fusions between samba and jazz. Could be smoother – and even easier - if had taken ride in a Bossa Nova vehicle. But the bebop's freedom-pungency is more explored, as we can see perfectly in "Dizzy's Shot (Brazilian Improvisation)". This track suffers instrumental variations up to fall to the cool jazz.
But the insane aura of the album is present in "Rocking With Mocotó", marked with a fast bebop's measure reached by the high-notes played by Dizzy. Mickey Roker was really inspired on drums, creating a Carnival set raised by the splendid speed from the Fritz Escovão's cuíca. This track is remarkable if we can imagine the perfect union between two rhythms punctuated by the urgency and virtuosity (also, we can dance with this song).
Here, it's evident the divergent influences from Dizzy. Despite his musical path, he was a big fan of Brazilian music, from Samba's School battery until Bossa Nova's smooth. Of this syncretism, Dizzy approach that bridges, remembering the Bossa Jazz Trio in "The Truth" and the jazz-singing in "Evil Gal Blues", which made great success on Dinah Washington's voice and was write by Lionel Hampton and Leonard Feather. In Dizzy Gillespie no Brasil, the song was interpreted by Mary Stallings's deep voice – also with Dizzy taking risk on vocals.
Dizzy Gillespie no Brasil brings two paradigms: to know much more one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time and cognize how the trumpet sounds fuzzy when intersperse on samba's roots. The wedding of jazz and samba didn't occur only on bossa nova. Maybe the whole Brazilian music had followed other paths if the album was released in the seventies.

Written by Tiago Ferreira.

Moacir Santos - Carnival Of The Spirits 1975

If you read the notes on the previous Santos post then you are aware that Moacir came to America in 1967 and by 1968 he released his first U.S. album "The Maestro" which was picked up by Blue Note in 1972 as the first of a 3 album contract. A second album "Saudade"followed in 1974, and the final of the set (this album) followed in 1975. If anyone wants to offer up those first 2 Blue Note releases, you have only to click on my blogger profile to get my email.

 "A sublime 70s session from Moacir Santos – a set that mixes the complex grooves he forged in 60s Brazil with the warmly jazzy sound of American fusion – all in a result that's totally unique! The album's quite different than any other electric Brazilian sets recorded in the US at the time – a complex album that's filled with soul and imagination – and not just an electrification of earlier styles from Brazil. Santos' vision here is wonderful – and he works with his own arrangements, and key help from producer Dale Oehler – who knows how to bring in all the right electric elements without losing the edge of Moacir's music. Players are great too – and include Jerome Richardson on soprano sax, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Don Menza on tenor, Gary Foster on alto, Larry Nash on Fender Rhodes, Clare Fischer on piano, and Jerry Peters on organ. The sound builds and swirls in nice chunks, while the soloists creep in and lay down some horn parts – and a few vocalists, including Santos, add some slight lyrics from time to time. Titles include "Tomorrow Is Mine", "Jequie", "Coisa No 2", "Quiet Carnival", "Sampaguita", and "Anon"."  © 1996-2015, Dusty Groove, Inc.

Moacir Santos - Coisas 1965

"Moacir Santos (1924–2006) was a Brazilian composer, multi-instrumentalist and music educator. Baden Powell de Aquino and Wilson das Neves both studied under him. As a composer, Santos worked with Nara Leão, Roberto Menescal, Sérgio Mendes and Lynda Laurence, among others." wiki

" One of the main Brazilian arrangers, having renovated the country's harmonic language in the '50s, the underrated Moacir Santos had nevertheless a highly influential role as he had as his pupils, in the '60s: Paulo Moura, Oscar Castro-Neves, Baden Powell, Maurício Einhorn, Geraldo Vespar, Bola Sete, Sérgio Mendes, Dom Um Romão, João Donato, Roberto Menescal, Carlos Lyra, Dori Caymmi, Airto Moreira, and Flora Purim, among others.

In 1968, he was admitted into Henry Mancini's cinema music writing team and, four years later, he launched his first album in the American market, The Maestro, which was nominated for a Grammy award; it was followed by Saudade (1974), Carnival of the Spirits (1975), and Opus 3, No. 1 (1979).
Owner of a distinctive Brazilian style as a composer and arranger, Santos' most-known tunes are "Nanã" (written with Mário Teles), which had over 150 different recordings (including those by Herbie Mann and Kenny Burrell); and "Coisas" (number one to 12); not to mention a series of compositions with Vinicius de Moraes ("Triste de Quem," "Menino Travesso," "Se Você Disser Que Sim," "Lembre-Se"), who praised him in his "Samba da Benção." Having written the arrangements for, among others, Vinicius de Moraes e Odete Lara (1963), Santos also composed the soundtracks for the films Love in the Pacific, Seara Vermelha (an adaptation of Jorge Amado's novel, directed by R. Aversa), Ganga Zumba (Cacá Diegues), O Santo Médico (Sacha Gordine), and Os Fuzis (Ruy Guerra), among others." AMG

***This album has been quite rare for a long time - the original Forma vinyl sells for over $1,000 and the cd reissue disappeared rather quickly so it sells for big bucks as well. This album made the New York Times 100 essential Jazz albums!***

Quarteto Em Cy [vinyl rip to flac]

Here is a treat for those into Brazilian music - the first album of Quarteto Em Cy.

"Quarteto em Cy (a play on words of the Portuguese for Quartet in B by poet and lyricist Vinicius de Moraes) is a Brazilian girl group originally composed of four sisters hailing from Ibirataia, a town located in the Brazilian state of Bahia: Cybele, Cylene, Cynara and Cyva - their real first names.

They started performing in 1959, appearing on local television in that year. Cyva, the leader of the group, then moved to Rio de Janeiro, and persuaded her three sisters to join her there. They then started to make regular appearances in the boates (small nightclubs) of Rio, particularly Bottle's bar and the legendary Zum-Zum, where they caught the attention of de Moraes and other prominent figures of the bossa nova scene. Their first album was released in 1964, and was to be followed by regular releases up to the late '90s, at the frequency of one a year, and sometimes more. Connoisseurs of MPB and tropicalia have a particular regard for the first few years of their recording career, when they were signed to Brazil's most daring label, Elenco.

The Quarteto em Cy, noted for the extraordinary precision of the vocalists' intonation and delivery, performed and recorded with almost every single major Brazilian artist of the '60s and '70s; their popularity exceeded and still exceeds the borders of their native country. They met with great success in America in the mid-sixties, and have a considerable following in Japan, where they still tour regularly.

The line-up of the quartet (which briefly split up, from 1970 to 1972) has changed a great deal over the years. However, the current formation (Cyva, Cybele, Cynara and Sonya) has been active since 1980, by far the most stable period in the group's history." wiki