My Swan Song

By Randy Paul of Beautiful Horizons

As Ezra returns tomorrow, I intend to make this my swan song and thank him for letting me fill in. I'm going to close with the immortal Elis Regina.

She could belt them out with the best of them. Here she is singing Belchior's Como Nossos Pais

Probably one of her greatest contributions to popular music in Brazil was championing young songwriters. One of her earliest was the brilliant composer Ivan Lins and his song Madalena. While I couldn't find a clip of her singing this song, I did find this clip of Ivan Lins singing the song with the excellent Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and João Bosco. Speaking of João Bosco, here is Elis singing his lovely Dois Pra la, Dois Pra Ca, although I've never understand that coda sung in Spanish.

Milton Nascimento is another songwriter she championed. here they are together singing Caxanga I hope you have all enjoyed these clips. I also hope that it's spurred some interest in Brazilian music and that you'll come visit my blog. Thanks Ezra e bem-vindo em casa!

Bahia and Its Wonderful Music

Rio gets so much attention and I love the city, but if given the choice between visiting Rio or Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia, I'd choose Salvador. One of the key factors is the musical history of Salvador.

For me it all starts with Dorival Caymmi

Not only has he written so many songs, but blessed us with his son Dori, a gifted songwriter in his own right. Although Toquinho is not a Baiano, few songs conjure up images of Salvador than his lovely Tarde em Itapuã, especially when he performsit with Gilberto Gil here (unfortunately the embedding is disabled). Gal Costa also hails from Salvador as does Caetano Veloso and Daniela Mercury They lift my spirits. i hope they lift yours.

Friday Frank: Peaches En Regalia; SNL, 1976

By Deborah Newell Tornello a.k.a. litbrit

I don't know about you, but after a week of getting up at 5:30 am, packing lunches and wrestling with three boys who are loathe to give up their summer sleep-ins, I am utterly wiped-out this morning. So here's a little selfishly-motivated something to get the old blood flowing--there will be plenty of time for the relaxing stuff later today.

FZ said Peaches En Regalia was one of his favorite pieces.  Mine, too. Tearing up the drums is brilliant Terry Bozzio, whose audition for Mr. Zappa was reportedly so over-the-top stunning, the remaining dummers who'd been waiting in line turned around and left. I'm uncertain as to the year (and place) this was performed From SNL's December 11th, 1976 episode--help me out thanks, Darkblack and kingmob.

Bon Weekend, everyone.

(H/T MiNo20320514)

Yamandu Costa & Paulinho da Viola

By Randy Paul of Beautiful Horizons

I have listened to Paulinho da Viola for years and have never been disappointed by this wonderful, joyous musician. He's equally adept at playing choro and samba and is a gifted composer.

Here he is performing with Marisa Monte one of his best works, the haunting Dança de Solidão

They are paired again for what may be one of the world's greatest love songs, Carinhoso, written by Pixinguinha and João Braguinha:

Paulinho is also fascinating on his own

I have just recently become acquainted with Yamandu Costa, an uncommonly talented guitarist featured in the film Brasileirinho. He plays the challenging 7-string guitar. One wonders how what is in his heart comes out so beautifully through his fingers.

Here he is in a trio setting. I'm wondering why he had the bass player. After all he plays a pretty decent bass himself with that seventh string.

Enjoy!

Brazilian Music - The Jazzier Side

Let's start with Hermeto Pascoal. Multinstrumentalist doesn't do him justice. Put him in the kitchen and he'll play your teakettle. Put him in your daughter's room and he'll make music from her dolls. Got some pvc pipe and cinderblocks? He's got a marimba of sorts.

He grew up albino in Brazil's Northeast, which meant that when his friends headed for the sun and the beach, he had to escape to the forest and the shade. The sounds of the forest continue to haunt his playing.

Of course he does play in somewhat larger venues, too:

A more straight ahead player - and a brilliant composer and arranger - is Moacir Santos

Carlos Malta, who used to be a member of Hermeto's band, in addition to playing with artists such as Gilberto Gil, also leads a band called Pife Muderno, playing instrumental popular in the Northeast of Brazil.

This clip is even better:

Finally, there is the late, lamented Sivuca. You've probably never an accordion played quite like this: Enjoy!

Some Talents Deserving Wider Recognition

By Randy Paul of Beautiful Horizons

Lately I've focused on some of Brazil's major talents and their music, but now I'd like to showcase some musicians deserving wider recognition in the US.

First up: Monica Salmaso, an uncommonly gifted singer

It should come as no surprise that Brazil is gifted with fine guitarists. Among my favorites are Romero Lubambo,

Ulisses Rocha,

and Toninho Horta.

Enjoy!

Joyce

By Randy Paul of Beautiful Horizons

There is probably no more complete musician in Brazil than Joyce, a gifted composer, guitarist with one of the loveliest voices in popular music. She is also arguably the best Brazilian singer to sing in English, having studied the language for two years to gain proficiency to sing well.

Listening to her always lifts my mood, so I thought she'd be good for a Monday morning.

Here she is singing Feminina, one of her signature songs

Sunday Morning Get Moving Brazilian Music Edition

By Randy Paul of Beautiful Horizons

Jacqueline had made the suggestion in the comments to my previous post, so here goes.

First off is Djavan. I love this clip of his song Samurai and I believe you will, too. The little boy  he jokes with at the beginning is his grandson!

Finally, as I know Ezra likes Jorge Ben, you can see the song that Rod Stewart ripped off for D'Ya Think I'm Sexy, Taj Mahal

Lee Hazlewood, July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007

By Kathy G.

This summer, we’ve seen the deaths of quite a few important cultural figures, from major film artists like Bergman, Antonioni, and Ousmane Sembene to the jazz great Max Roach.

One person whose passing didn’t get nearly the attention he deserved was singer/songwriter/producer Lee Hazlewood (perhaps because, due to the similarity in their names, people have perennially confused him with this jackass). In the grand scheme of things, Hazlewood wasn’t as important as the other folks I mentioned. But his musical vision was unique and compelling, and his best work still has the power to surprise and delight.

How to describe the music of Lee Hazlewood? I came up with this rough formulation:

Lee Hazlewood = Johnny Cash + LSD + Phil Spector – The Crazy

To explain: Johnny Cash references the fact that Hazlewood’s roots were in country music, and he never traveled too far afield from there. LSD because, by the late 60s, a psychedelic turn was quite pronounced. Phil Spector for the poppy girl-group influence and his lush, complex orchestrations. But minus The Crazy, because although Hazlewood was certainly an eccentric, unlike Spector he wasn’t known for, um, imprisoning his wives or pulling guns on people.

I’m going to post some YouTube videos of some of his most interesting work. Hazlewood was best known for his work with Nancy Sinatra, so I’ll start with their biggie. This is from Sinatra’s wonderful 1967 television special, Movin’ with Nancy, of which more later. But for now, just check this out. It’s totally outrageous.

Seriously, this one must have launched a million fetish fantasies.

Hazlewood was mostly known for being the man-behind-the-scenes Svengali for Duane Eddy in the 50s and Nancy Sinatra in the 60s. But although he didn’t look or sound like anyone’s idea of a pop star – he had a big droopy moustache and a somewhat goofy baritone voice – by the late 60s he started to come out front and center and do some of his own singing. He recorded a number of duets with Sinatra, of which “Some Velvet Morning” is the most memorable – an exceedingly strange yet haunting and eerily beautiful song with some absolutely gorgeous, magisterial orchestration. Check out it below (the clip here is also from the television special):

Here’s another Lee and Nancy duet, “Summer Wine”:

And another one below, “Jackson.” Unfortunately it’s audio-only, but it’s such a great song and I love what they do with it. I think it’s even better than the Johnny Cash/June Carter version, and that’s saying a lot, because I worship Johnny Cash. Lee and Nancy did a number of excellent covers of country hits – I'm especially fond of their version of Dolly Parton’s great “Down from Dover.”

Now, about that Nancy Sinatra television special, Movin’ with Nancy. Unfortunately Netflix doesn’t seem to have it but it is available from Amazon, and I highly recommend it. If ever a television show screamed “pure 60s,” this is the one. Watching it is like being inside a frenzied, pop-psychedelic dayglo dream. Not only does it have the high-concept, music video-like segments with Nancy and Lee, but there are several delirious production numbers in which Nancy is accompanied by small army of mini-skirted dancers in go-go boots. Plus, there’s a duet between Nancy and her dad that goes beyond Freudian. I think Nancy also duets with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. – though maybe I just dreamed that.

One of the bonuses of Movin’ with Nancy is that it includes the original commercials, which are fascinating. Here’s one of the groovy ads from the sponsor, RC Cola – “It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad cola!”:

Frank Zappa: On Freedom and the First Amendment; on Crossfire and in Prague, Czechoslovakia

By Deborah Newell Tornello a.k.a. litbrit

As promised  in the thread about Frank Zappa and the issue of PMRC labels yesterday, here is the video of Frank Zappa's prescient and pro-First Amendment brilliance as seen on Crossfire in 1986. Also in this post, I've uploaded a film short of FZ's Czechoslovakian adventures. And later today, I'll type out a portion of the transcript from the 1975 British lawsuit in which Frank Zappa sued the Crown and post that, too. You readers deserve the best, right?!

Okay, then, let's get started. What you're about to see is a video clip--in three parts--of Maestro Zappa appearing on the CNN program Crossfire. Also appearing are On the left! Tom Braden, On the right! Robert Novak, and along with Mr. Zappa--In the crossfire!--is Washington Times columnist John Lofton.

Also offered in three parts, here is a film short of Frank Zappa during his historic visit to Prague, where he met and socialized with mutual fan and friend Vaclav Havel. In comments at the FZ thread yesterday, Captain Goto wrote:

Vaclav Havel was an enormous fan, who invited Zappa to visit Czechoslovakia as a sort of cultural ambassador. Zappa was quoted as saying to Havel how sorry he was that Havel would have to meet with Reagan, mincing no words about his opinion of Ronnie's intelligence.

In Zappa's retelling, in less time than it takes to blink, US officials roared into Prague to inform the Czechs, in no uncertain terms, that Frank would be have *no* part of *any* kind of meeting with Havel for *any* reason, under *any* circumstances...

Some of the soundtrack is in English while other parts are in Czech, which I don't speak; even so, I thoroughly enjoyed--and therefore highly recommend--this rare and unusual film.

Milton Nascimento and Lenine

By Randy Paul of Beautiful Horizons

I like Bossa Nova as much as the next person, but let's blaze some trails outside of Rio and explore some music from Minas Gerais and Pernambuco.

My intro to non-Bossa Nova Brazilian music came via Milton Nascimento. Milton grew up in Minas Gerais, the inland state where my wife comes from and which has a culture markedly different from Rio. The focus is on the mountains, not on the ocean. While this clip has had its embedding disabled, it clearly shows that Milton has admirers among the jazz community.

This is a moving rendition of San Vicente with Nana Vasconcelos. You can truly hear the beauty of Milton's voice.

In addition to his talent as a performer, Milton is a terrific songwriter, especially with the lyricist Fernando Brant. Since Terry in Arizona requested some Elis Regina in the comments to Kathy G.s post linked to above, allow me to put Milton's songwriting skills on display via Elis Regina

Arguably one of the most intriguing talents to emerge from the Northeast region of Brazil is Lenine. Lenine comes from Recife, the capital of Pernambuco. He incorporates some traditional elements of his region such as the wooden flutes known as pifanos with rock, tongue-twisting lyrics and electronics. See if you can keep your feet still.

Blame It on the Bossa Nova

By Kathy G.

First of all, my profuse thanks to Ezra for inviting me to post here, and for his kind words. It's an honor, especially since I'm in the company of such talented co-bloggers. I'm feeling a little Wayne and Garth about all this ("I'm not worthy!") but I'll try to overcome that.

I wanted to start with a more substantive post but unfortunately I have another project that I need to finish today. So I'll start off with some quickies and get to the meatier stuff later today or tomorrow.

In honor of Ezra's Brazilian travels I thought I'd post some YouTube clips of classic Brazilian jazz, which I love. If a sexier genre of music has ever been invented, I don't know about it.

I'll start with the master, the great Antonio Carlos Jobim, seen here on piano with Joao Gilberto on guitar and vocals. The song is "Chega de saudade (No More Blues)"; English translation of the lyrics can be found here.

Here are some more favorites. First, a few clips featuring the singer Astrud Gilberto. This one needs no introduction:

This one is audio-only, but worth it:

Finally, there's this one. I tried to find the Astrud Gilberto version but was unable to. This one is not bad, however (English lyrics here):

Friday Frank: Alien Orifice; The Palladium, NY, 1981

By Deborah Newell Tornello a.k.a. litbrit

Over in my tiny, eponymously-titled island protectorate, located in the mid-left waters of Blogistan, we have a tradition known as Friday Frank.  This regular four-minute (give-or-take) bit entails sharing the genius of the late Frank Zappa with one another and sometimes even dragging new listeners kicking, screaming, and quizzically eyebrow-raising into the fray, never again to look at a snowcone or stack of pancakes in quite the same way.  Given that commercial airplay of FZ's music has, to the detriment of independent musical thinking everywhere, long been limited to a few of the humor pieces like Valley Girl and Dancin' Fool, far too many Americans miss out on the staggeringly broad and undeniably wonderful body of work Mr. Zappa left behind when he died of prostate cancer in 1993 at the age of 52.

You can't pigeonhole this sort of genius--neither the music nor the man.  Frank Zappa was an Italian-American autodidactic musician, composer, and conductor; he claimed, in his autobiography, The Real Frank Zappa Book, that because he was self-taught and couldn't play absolutely everything, he didn't consider himself a virtuoso.  Yet most devotees would argue he was that and more--he's certainly one of one of my all-time favorite guitarists.  One of my favorite classical composers too.  Politically, FZ was a conservative (yes, you read that correctly--conservative in the true, old-school, fiscal responsibility sense) who regularly encouraged his fans to register to vote and even run for office; in the last years of his life, voter registration booths were a fixture at Zappa concerts.  He was also an ardent supporter of First Amendment rights, a man with whom Tipper Gore--wife of then soon-to-be Vice President and avowed FZ fan Al--famously tangled over the issue of labeling music with "offensive lyrics".

Anyway, to my ear, this piece--Alien Orifice--is signature Zappa, combining as it does the shifting time signatures, blasting brass, mellow vibes, and blistering guitar for which Maestro's music was and is beloved, forging a sound that's at once rock, jazz, and pure flowing-from-elsewhere inspiration.  Enjoy.

(H/T Farksisten)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Adrienne admits to a "a love/hate relationship with Christmas music, in that I hate to admit I love it."  I've got a love/love relationship, in that I take great glee in non-ironically adoring Yuletide tunes.  A couple recommendations that assume you already possess the old Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Johnny Mercer basics:

You start with the classics.  A Charlie Brown Christmas was done by jazz great Vince Guaraldi and is, in addition to an injection of pure nostalgia, damn fine music.  I dare you to listen to Christmas is Coming and not feel like a kid again.  Go with the clean, original version, not the bastardized rereleases full of new tracks and studio cuts.

If Ray Charles had been born a bit earlier, he'd be a Yuletime staple.  As it is, this CD feels somehow classic from the very first listen.  Charles' voice aches on every song, and his final duet with Betty Carter is mindblowingly fantastic.

The king of the modern breed of Christmas music has to be the Six Degrees collection Christmas Remixed.  Old classics restructured, redone, but, on some essential level, preserved by top producers and MCs.  Sounds like it should be corny, but isn't.  It's danceable, gladdening, and frighteningly fun.  Indeed, this isn't even Christmas music to me, but simply a favorite CD -- and the CD that got me into Christmas music in the first place.  Need more convincing?  I played this for my girlfriend's parents a few years back and they promptly burned copies for everyone they know.  They brought out a Volume Two recently, which is good, but not as good.

Music of Christmas Future is a fairly odd beast.  Heavily synthesized, featuring everyone from Lucky Wander Boy to Analogue Model, this is glitch pop for the Holidays and, despite having no earthly right to work, it somehow does.

And I of course wouldn't forget us Jews.  Six Degrees brought out a series of remixed Chanukkah songs called Festival of Light.  They are, to be sure, a different beast than the bouncy, upbeat Christmas songs, tending more towards mournful, haunting sounds.  But it's good stuff.  I prefer Volume 2.

That should start you off.  Suggest your own in comments.

Rocking Out to Global Warming

Eugene Robinson is trying too hard:

Since the sky seems too angry to have a civil conversation, let's seek answers in science and poetry. In two newly published studies, climatologists use graphs, formulas and carefully hedged sentences to explain how the interlocking phenomena that non-scientists call "global warming" may be turning little nuisance hurricanes into Katrina-style killers. And as for poetry, the party-hearty rapper Nelly (I use a broad definition of poetry) issued his warning years ago: "It's gettin' hot in heerrre. . ." Somehow I doubt there's a Nelly playlist on George W. Bush's iPod, so I'll stick to the science -- and hope some of this penetrates the president's adamantine resistance to inconvenient facts.

Look, I know climate science can be a bit boring, but that's no excuse for such a gratuitous and unnecessary Nelly reference. Hell, Nelly's no longer even popular; so far as I can tell, he long ago packed up his band-aid and went home. And even if he hadn't, we've got two gargantuan storms whirling their way across our coastline, crashing into populated cities and wrecking our most considered defenses -- this stuff's dramatic enough, reaching for a rapper's chorus just jars the flow. And insofar as you need to invoke artists to gain credibility, Nelly's much too toolish. Go with Architecture in Helsinki's "Do The Whirlwind" or, better yet, "In Case We Die".

Perspective, People

T.A Frank on the recent shooting of Suge Knight, and his associate's plea to not make a big deal out of such an ordinary event:

Anytime you get a lot of people together, there's going to be the odd shooting or two. If the papers wrote about me every time I hosted a large event and the stray bullet or two went flying, there'd scarcely be room for anything else.

Word.

Lessons I Learned Last Night

Actually, it wasn't last night. Last night was probably my fifth Spearhead show. But if you've not seen them live, you really, really, should. For reasons I don't understand, blogospheric music recommendations are sole property of the Indy Music Alliance, and so all we're ever told is "go see Arcade Fire" or "Death Cab for Cutie is great". Now, I like AF and Death Cab just fine, but none of these skinny white boys with guitars can hold a candle to the six-foot-six force of nature that is Michael Franti. His shows are just mind-blowing. From beat-boxers to Louis Armstrong impersonations to covers to music that has left friends of mine in tears -- no joke -- it doesn't get any better. Ever.

What's that you say? You don't know Spearhead? Surely you jest! Well, for you poor souls out there, you can download some of their songs here ("Everybody Loves Music" and "Oh My God" are particularly good choices), or, in less legal venues (actually, iTunes carries them too), you should check out "Stay Human", "Every Single Soul", "What I Be", "Skin on the Drum", "Listener Supported", "Soulshine" and, well, really anything off Stay Human, Home, Live at the BAOBOB, or Everyone Deserves Music. But take my advice for it -- Franti and friends can change your life, or at least your outlook on it.

I Don't Walk Alone

Has anybody else noticed that, in the video for Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (First stanza: I walk a lonely road/The only one that I have ever known/Don't know where it goes/But it's home to me and I walk alone; Chorus: I walk alone/I walk alone), the lead singer is not, in fact, ever walking alone? He moans it through the whole song, but every scene has him walking with two guys I assume to be his bandmates. Seems like the sort of thing someone in storyboard should have picked up on. Visual incongruities aside, the song is damn catchy, but that doesn't excuse the sloppiness of the video.

Do You Want More?

I probably shouldn't admit this, but the Linkin Park/Jay-Z mashups are really much better than they have any right to be. Every time I listen to Numb/Encore I either have to write a polemic or punch someone in the face. Fear of jail time is probably going to mean more posting this week.