The Beat Of Brazil - Sergio Mendes

 

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The Beat Of Brazil

Sergio Mendes

Arrangements by Antonio Carlos Jobim

Recording Engineers: Celio Martins & Sylvio Rebello

Recorded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by Philips Records

Cover Photo: George Holton

Cover Design: Haig Adishian

Supervision: Armando Pittigliani

Atlantic SD 1480

1967

Sergio Mendes - Piano

Sebastiao Neto - Bass

Edison Machado - Drums

Edson Maciel - Slide Trombone

Raulzinho - Valve Trombone

Hector Bisignani - Tenor Saxophone

On Primitivo & Nana, the featured tenor sax soloist is Aurino Ferreira

From the back cover: The first wave of bossa nova that swept over the United States, serving as an introduction for North Americans to the musical sound of contemporary Brazil, was really jut the opening of a door. It offered a first glimpse into a marvelously fresh and vital musical world that, along with its fascinating exotic, carried a familiar touch of American jazz.

Since that first international exposure of bossa nova, when all Brazilian music seemed to be a whispering, sinus song, other facets of the work of this remarkable creative generation of musicians in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have trailed north and found equally willing audiences. 

Sergio Mendes has been on of th most successful of these ambassadors of enlightenment. Mendes has been a factor in the exposure of this music each step of the way from the early days of bass anova in Brazil to his present eminence in the United States as the creative mind behind Brazil '65, '66 and '67.

The impact of Mendes' music rides on several factors. One is his choice of horns for his sextet. The combination of slide trombone, valve trombone and tenor saxophone creates a rugged, swaggering drive that gives the group tremendous rhythmic force. Even more important in creating this effect is Mendes' choice of musicians. The exuberant virtuosity of Edson Maciel on slide trombone and Raulzinho on valve trombone are a revelation to anyone who may have thought that free-blowing jazz talent slacked off south of the border.

Maciel, in particular, reveals himself to be one of the great contemporary jazz trombonists. His tone, his attack and his indomitable individuality slash and soar through all these pieces – Primitivo is an unusually striking example of the gutty shout that he puts out. Like the two trombonists, Hector Bisignani, the tenor saxophonist, slices through the ensembles with a searing solo attack (listen to him wail on The Girl From Ipanema) and he adds a surprising amount of body to the ensemble passages.

A second crucial factor is Mendes' rhythm section. Sebastian Neto, a big-toned bassist who comes from Mendes' home town (Niteroi, across the bay from Rio), and drummer Edison Machado have been teamed together from many years. In the early days of bossa nova, they formed tow-thirds of a very successful group called the Bossa Tres. Their experience together and within Brazilian music gives the Mendes sextet a unique and essential rhythmic quality.

"I've never heard an American drummer who can play Brazilian rhythm correctly," Mendes once remarked to the Los Angeles writer, Digby Diehl. "When you hear the sound in Brazil, there is no basic rhyme pattern –  – no straight temp – it's close – there are shifts. I guess it's hard to describe: the music has an emotional feeling; it's not so intellectual. It reflects the same kind of feeling that American drummers have when they play jazz. But for some reason, when they attempt Brazilian rhythm, it just sounds like a "nice' beat."

In addition to the authentic rhythm and the vibrant horns, Mendes uses a third vital element: Arrangements by Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was Jobim who brought Mendes into the inner musical circles of Rio when Sergio first crossed the bay from Niteroi. It is Jobim whom Mendes still considers his guide and mentor. Jobim's fame, of course, rests primarily on his compositions – on such songs as Desafinao, Garota de Ipanema (The Girl From Ipanema) and Corcovado. He plays guitar and piano at times. But, as these performance show, he is also an exceptional arranger.

Jobim's arrangements are no mere sketches, no skeleton frameworks designed to hold together a group of solos. He waves impeccable tapestries that glitter with constantly changing lines. The ensemble voicings go through subtle changes of coloration. The soloist are sometimes shaded by the ensemble, sometimes brashly exposed, sometimes dancing over a background figure. All the elements are insistently in motion. Nothing remains in one place for long. Variety, pacing, shading are constant complements to rhythm, melody, improvisation. 

And through it all – modestly, firmly, guiding and holding it all together like the supple controlling fingers of Count Basie – the piano of Sergio Mendes flows easily. He is a direct, economic pianist – much as John Lewis is. He can do amazing things with a smile chord – as Horace Sliver can. But he chooses his own, personal way of using all these elements. – Frank Talmadge

Nana

Amor Em Paz (Love In Peace)

Garota De Ipanema (The Girl From Ipanema)

Coisa No. 2

Primitivo

Ela E Carioca (She's A Carioca)

Corcovado

Noa Noa

Desafinado

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