lthough
the temperatures are getting colder day by day as we prepare for
the Holiday season, that doesn't stop the warmness of Brazilian
arts, who are flourishing and becoming more and more present
stateside as the number of music releases, concerts and art shows
increase during the fall/winter season.
After
releasing her Live at The Blue Note album stateside, Gal
Costa comes out with the international release of the Latin
Grammy-nominated Today (DRG) , which hits stores in November. The
album, which was originally released as Hoje in Brazil last
year, shows a different phase in the singer's career ---- she
takes on compositions by writers such as Moreno Veloso,
Congolese-born Lokua Kanza and others. This is Costa's first album
of original material in more than ten years, when she recorded
O Sorriso de Gata de Alice. Hoje was deservedly well
received by the press in Brazil, even though it was not so well
publicized there, according to what she told this writer over a
phone interview.
Some key tracks are "Sexo e Luz" (Sex and Light)in which Kanza
duets with Gal, and "Embebedado" (Drunk), a song written by
newcomer Jose Miguel Wisnik and Chico Buarque - a partnership
brokered by Costa herself.
Gal Costa will be performing at The Blue Note Jazz Club on the
week of December 04 - For more information on her residence there
(her only planned U.S. dates as of this writing), visit http://www.bluenotejazz.net
Also
on the DRG label, Maria Bethânia releases Sings the Vinicius de
Moraes Songbook, in which she lends her dramatic voice to
classic songs co-written by the late poet and diplomat. She avoids
clichés such as "The Girl From Ipanema", opting instead for
lesser- known material as "Tarde Em Itapoã"(Afternoon in Itapoã, a
tune co-written with one of his many partners, guitarist Toquinho)
and "Gente Humilde"(Humble People), an obscure song that gave
Chico Buarque his first published songwriting credit --- legend
has it that he contributed a single rhyme to the Moraes lyric, and
then the poet included his name on the credit to help boost his
career. Another notable track is "Bom dia Tristeza" (Good Morning
Sadness), a rare Adoniran Barbosa/Moraes collaboration whose
lyrics seem loosely based on "Good Morning Heartache" Bethania
takes it even closer to the American classic by giving the tune a
bluesy arrangement. The singer is backed on this project by some
of the heirs of bossa nova - Marcel and Phillipe Baden-Powell,
pianist Daniel Jobim, plus greats such as Argentine guitar wiz
Victor Biglione and legendary bassist Jorge Helder.
Ernest Barteldes is a
freelance writer based on Staten Island, NY. He is a regular
contributor to The Miami New Times, Brazzil.com, The New York
Press, Global Rhythm magazine and All About Jazz-NY. He is also a
columnist with The Brasilians and The Greenwich Village Gazette.
His work has also appeared on The Staten Island Advance, The
Florida Review(in Portuguese), Today's Latino(in Spanish), Out
Magazine, The New York Blade, The Boston Bay Windows, The New
Times BPB, The Village Voice and other publications. He can be
reached at ebarteldes@yahoo.com
After
releasing her Live at The Blue Note album stateside, Gal
Costa comes out with the international release of the Latin
Grammy-nominated Today (DRG) , which hits stores in November. The
album, which was originally released as Hoje in Brazil last
year, shows a different phase in the singer's career ---- she
takes on compositions by writers such as Moreno Veloso,
Congolese-born Lokua Kanza and others. This is Costa's first album
of original material in more than ten years, when she recorded
O Sorriso de Gata de Alice. Hoje was deservedly well
received by the press in Brazil, even though it was not so well
publicized there, according to what she told this writer over a
phone interview. 
Also
on the DRG label, Maria Bethânia releases Sings the Vinicius de
Moraes Songbook, in which she lends her dramatic voice to
classic songs co-written by the late poet and diplomat. She avoids
clichés such as "The Girl From Ipanema", opting instead for
lesser- known material as "Tarde Em Itapoã"(Afternoon in Itapoã, a
tune co-written with one of his many partners, guitarist Toquinho)
and "Gente Humilde"(Humble People), an obscure song that gave
Chico Buarque his first published songwriting credit --- legend
has it that he contributed a single rhyme to the Moraes lyric, and
then the poet included his name on the credit to help boost his
career. Another notable track is "Bom dia Tristeza" (Good Morning
Sadness), a rare Adoniran Barbosa/Moraes collaboration whose
lyrics seem loosely based on "Good Morning Heartache" Bethania
takes it even closer to the American classic by giving the tune a
bluesy arrangement. The singer is backed on this project by some
of the heirs of bossa nova - Marcel and Phillipe Baden-Powell,
pianist Daniel Jobim, plus greats such as Argentine guitar wiz
Victor Biglione and legendary bassist Jorge Helder. 
