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JAZZ FESTIVAL 2008 BRASIL
Through an invitation given by stride pianist Judy Carmichael, I was able to attend a three-day jazz festival in Brazil this
September. Jazz Festival Brasil is rather unusual in that it is a traveling festival that visits seven cities within a few
weeks. The brainchild of trumpeter Marcelo Costa, a Brazilian who loves New Orleans jazz and swing, the festival
debuted in 2001 and has been an annual event since 2004. Costa (the artistic director) and Carmichael (the artistic
advisor) pick out the groups and organize the well-attended concerts. There was no actual Brazilian jazz at the festival
and the only Brazilian music that I saw during my visit was an excellent bossa nova singer, Vivi Limeira, who performed
in the lobby of the hotel in Sao Paulo while accompanied by a pianist.
Brazil is of course primarily known in the jazz world for bossa nova, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud and Joao Gilberto,
and the styles that evolved during the past few decades, so the music heard at this festival is pretty hard to find in
Brazil. While in Brazil, I had the opportunity to travel with Judy Carmichael’s Septet, visiting Sao Paulo (loads of graffiti,
continuous traffic jams, and largely undrinkable water), Brasilia (a well-planned if somewhat antiseptic capital city) and
Bela Horizonte (much more charming despite the co-existence of wealth with great poverty). Portuguese is the
dominant language with English being very secondary.
I saw Judy Carmichael’s group at a nightclub in Sao Paulo (the Bourbon Street Music Club) and a concert hall in
Brasilia (the JK Memorial). The band consisted of Americans, two Australians and tenor-saxophonist Nik Payton who
although from England, has moved to Brazil. Trumpeter Charlie Caranicas (who was recently at the Orange County
Classic Jazz Festival), trombonist Dan Barnett (sometimes hinting at Dickie Wells), the excellent tenor playing of
Payton and veteran altoist and baritonist Michael Hashim (who was consistently witty and inventive) made for a
powerful, loose and spirited horn section. Guitarist David Blackhorn hinted at times at both Charlie Christian and
Django Reinhardt while drummer Ed Ornowski added fire and drive to the group. Judy Carmichael, one of the top stride
pianists of the past 20 years, made the inclusion of a bassist unnecessary and was in top form, even taking a few
vocals along the way. They romped on such songs as “I’ve Found A New Baby,” “Deed I Do,” a variety of Fats Waller
songs and “Christopher Columbus.”
At Bela Horizonte’s Palacio das Artes, I saw the four other groups of the festival, which appeared two a night. Irakli and
the Louis Ambassadors is a group from France that emulates the Louis Armstrong All-Stars of the 1950s. Trumpeter
Irakli de Davrichewy often plays solos that quotes Satch’s recordings although his tone is different. Clarinetist Alain
Marquet (from Paris Washboard) was closer to Sidney Bechet than to Barney Bigard and was the co-star although the
drum solos of Sylvain Glevarec were the real crowd pleaser.
Some token modern jazz appeared during the performance by the David Braid Sextet, an excellent band from Canada.
While much of the music was from the Count Basie/Lester Young songbook, the solos tended to be more modern.
Tenor-saxophonist Perry White was impressive and pianist Braid contributed the date’s highpoint, a creative and
episodic solo version of “Yesterdays” that was dedicated to Oscar Peterson.
In contrast, it was difficult to know what to think of Gunhild Carling. An entertainer from Sweden, she straddled the line
between jazz and vaudeville, between swing and absurdity. She often blasted out notes on her trombone (always at the
same volume) but also sounded like Billie Holiday singing “Moonglow,” played trumpet and scatted on “Sheik Of Araby,”
attempted to create a hot solo on recorder during “Stardust,” tap danced on “China Boy” while holding her trombone (a
performance thato had her brother, clarinetist Max Garling, juggling), played harmonica on a blues, ran out into the
audience along with the other horn players on “The Hucklebuck” and, as an encore, playing three trumpets at once
during “The Beer Barrel Polka.” One watched with amazement part of the time as she worked hard to keep on topping
her last number. The band included guitarist Chris Flory but was very secondary to the antics of their leader.
Trumpeter-singer Leroy Jones wrapped up the festival in each city. His band mostly featured players from both New
Orleans and Finland. Jones captured the audience with the joy of his music and ranged in his solos from Clifford Brown
to Louis Armstrong, including a heartfelt version of “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South.” The soulful singer Trisha
Boutte was featured during the second half of a set that included Mardi Gras songs, swing standards and a lengthy
version of “The Saints.”
Marcelo Costa (who played trumpet with Gunhild Carling) and Judy Carmichael succeeded in presenting high quality
and entertaining traditional jazz for Brazilian audiences who otherwise rarely get to experience the infectious music.