Carnaval Postponed Until July 2021
Move Comes Over Uncertainty When COVID-19 Vaccine Becomes Widely Available
Earlier this month, Carnaval organizers from both the states of Sao Paulo and Salvador decided to move the century plus old party observed before Lent to July 8 through 11.
Before everyone in the United States thinks it is going to be a beach haven, think twice and their location closer to the Equator.
During that time of the year, Rio acts like San Francisco in a bulk of July and parts of August–rainy and some windy days at times. Basically, gather up that rain gear, stylish boots to keep your feet dry, and tons of umbrellas.
Everybody is on board, except for the organizers where it all takes place at the Sambadrome.
In this article translated, there might be talks of having a virtual Carnaval and if they do the smart thing, save all of the funds to hold their usual full-scale celebration in February 2022:
To put it another way, it would be like if major American cities from Boston, New York, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, and Los Angeles decided to not hold any type of Mardi Gras celebration. But the epicenter of all things beads, boose, and late night revelry up and down Bourbon Street in New Orleans would refuse to budge, virus or no virus.
One simple reason could be Louisiana’s state taxes are computed way differently than any other state. I should know because I had some cousins who spent a bulk of their lives in and around Shreveport, and they hated talking taxes so much that it almost made their heads spin.
Samba Schools May Have to Look Elsewhere To Outfit Dance Troupes
In that same article, a group called the Independent League of Samba Schools in Rio de Janeiro (or LIESA) indicated that they would prefer to wait for wide distribution of the vaccine.
Instead, what the locals refer to simply as the Marvelous City is hoping to convince the organizers to hold a virtual Carnaval. Sounds good, right considering it has been so 2020.
Even better, they should set an example for every struggling concert venue, bar, and restaurant in both the United States and Great Britain to pump much needed funds so all of Rio’s samba schools can narrow their revenue gap heading into 2022. The group plans to meet again in January 2021.
Similar to Congress, Brazil’s Political Issues Are Just as Horrible
It is no secret that every single world economy has taken catastrophic hits because of this coronavirus. Even though several nations have begun to keep their positive case count to a minimal–they are both the exception and the rule.
Countries from Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, and certain parts of Canada outside of their many metro areas spanning from Toronto to Vancouver are doing great.
Besides, if you look at recent history–China has had an up-and-down relationship with Carnaval as a whole. They lend financial and political support in helping assist with the Samba Schools which lead to very attracting offers.
It is worth again to emphasize from the above article by Rio de Janeiro Carnaval specialist/Blogger Dam Menezes at Metropolis.com:
“The material for making costumes comes from China. China is not exporting. [Samba] Schools would have to recycle old material. A school parade, however cheap, costs Real $5 million.” (* Worth around $930,287.45.)
*This financial information comes from mid-market rates found at xe.com, a world conversion website.
Menezes then briefly a brief nightmare scenario which reminds me of a certain small market baseball team that has a lower payroll across the board, but yet they shock the world in getting to the World Series. Ask the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays before they lost in six games to the very determined Los Angeles Dodgers at the bubble site at the new Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas:
“Let’s say it gets R $1.5 million (around $279,146.60) from the Brazilian government and R $2 million (a rather low sum of $372,116.09) from Rede Globo. You can’t do (a) big (time) carnaval (celebration) with that.”
FYI, Rede Globo on their Wikipedia page cites that it is “the largest commercial TV network in Latin America and is the second-largest commercial TV network in the world behind ABC (which equates today to a very low percentage to what parent company Disney does in covering all live and scripted primetime shows, plus each of their ABC News properties and their 24 hour network you can find on YouTube, along with being sister stations to all of the ESPN properties.)
What About Their Struggling Economy, You May Be Asking?
It has happened several times, before Super Bowls IV (1970), S.B. IX (1975) at the former Tulane Stadium, S.B. XIII (1979) at the former Orange Bowl in Miami, and sheets of rain affected the entire 60 minutes of Super Bowl XLI (2007) at the once named Pro Players Stadium also in Miami.
Who would be willing to spend their hard money not just on tickets, but for securing passports and other related documents, airline fares, hotel rooms, and all of the food and drink to keep you from getting hungry or thirsty on their many humid days and nights. On top of it, standing inside a very cramped stadium shoulder to shoulder–all spectators and participants would be violating social distancing protocols in a disastrous and potentially deadly set of circumstances over a six plus hour period.
Personally, I hope that Rio does the smart thing and pushes it out of July, mostly because it could cause some possible headaches for the athletes hoping to take part in the Tokyo Olympics later that month. Instead, officials should seriously consider on rescheduling their big nationwide celebration to its’ customary time on the calendar in the days leading up to Lent in February 2022.
Unlike with the National Football League where millions of dollars are thrown around like dice from sponsors and clients that dominate most of Super Bowl week leading up to America’s unofficial national holiday comes that true week of hype.
Speaking briefly with my Management minor hat on:
Each team gets a certain amount of tickets and many of the NFL’s proud partners help make the event a carnival-like atmosphere. This does not count however many lucky fans have to fork over hundreds of dollars to actually find their way through several layers of security just to find their seats. Many culinary hosts from Food Network do live cooking demonstrations for a few of the morning shows, while FedEx Air and Ground are key sponsors for the annual NFL Honors awards show the night before the game. And we must never forget the steady increases in those 30 and 60 second ad spots to really insane amounts nearing the double figure million dollar range. It has gotten so cutthroat at times that we as fans feel like we see many celebs making fun of themselves, but we don’t know what product they are pitching until the final seconds.
Again, it’s all relative and the way that this world is heading–something has to give. Hopefully, President Elect Joe Biden can smooth the waters by helping the United States again regain its’ rightful place as the world’s largest superpower and lead by example. As for nations like Brazil, here is hoping that they can somehow, someway try to form a new and different identity that collectively the thousands of volunteers did so well before and especially during the 2016 Summer Olympics.
To close out this blog, especially for any new members–first off, welcome aboard. Second, please tap or click on the link below to read my original thoughts on Carnaval 101–Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask Any Loyal Citizen or Any Singer/Songwriter That Spent Their Childhood Years Living, Breathing, and Speaking all things Portuguese:
The 411 on Rio’s Carnaval, if you are simply curious to know
Road Trip, Without Going to a Beach
Talk About Something Dreamy
Famed comedian, writer, actor, director, and musician Tim Heidecker came up with a really neat visual of 50 cities from throughout the world.
In promoting his upcoming indie folk album Fear of Death with Natalie Mering of Weyes Blood (it is currently available on all streaming platforms, and will be available on CD and vinyl on December 11, 2020) is a true pinch-me type movement as if you were riding along. If you manage to hear the entire album on the site below, you will get to hear one of his Office Hours podcasts.
Think of this as your virtual getaway to make up a bit for this lost year due to the Horrific Pandemic of 2020 (or what labels historians will tell our current/future kids, grandkids, etc.)
I found the best part to be where you can keep the speed of the car at normal speed, or speed it up 1 1/2 times or double the speed. There is another option if you actually want to hear the actual street noise, which is pretty neat–except if you are actually driving with traffic everywhere you look.
Really Cool Footage Seen of Brazil’s Pair of Popular Cities
For you loyal fans and other interested onlookers, there is some really amazing footage of Rio and Sao Paolo.
What I found to be very fascinating are the positions of the petrol stations, where are some of them are in the middle of a major 3 lane highway and grouped no less than 1/3 of a mile from each other. Also worth noting are the dozens of lights on the edges of the sand adorning their endless stretch of beaches.
At first glance, it looks less cramped than Lake Shore Drive is in Chicago (which is one of eight major cities in the United States highlighted.) Several tourism markers hang overhead, and a roving LED board flashes the time and temperature at various stoplights.
Sao Paolo has some streets that have several businesses that looks similar to a few shopping districts in Los Angeles. If you look up at a distance, their light towers appear like antlers that resemble the face of a cow. I kid you not.
Albeit that particular footage was shot on a mostly overcast day, thankfully it did not rain and the foot traffic seemed pretty light. Consider that their general population is around 22 million people, several million more than Rio standing at roughly 13,458,075 residents according to a simple Google search is pretty staggering for one of the poorest nations on planet Earth.
For those of you who call Canada home, there is some footage of Toronto that’s worth checking out, as well as other famous international cities and the Great Basin.
The site is:
Enjoy!
Bebel Gilberto Scores Impressive Return With Agora
After suffering the loss of both of her parents, coupled with delaying the release of Bebel Gilberto’s first album since 2014 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the wait was worth it.
The album covered, translated meaning simply “Now” conveyed many different emotions throughout the 11 tracks totaling nearly 40 minutes. Similar to new wave artists in Erasure and The Psychedelic Furs along with the fun rock from Chrissy Hynde and The Pretenders, this album from Bebel would have been great maybe 10 to 20 years ago.
It is that good.
My favorite songs include the title track, which I think might make for an awesome opening to your favorite serial drama in the veins of Mad Men or perhaps one of those spine tingling thriller series seen on Netflix or Hulu.
Her early single, “Cliche” (Track 3) is a nice number if you are on the road at night, just waiting for the miles to pass on the interstate in the hopes to lay your head on a hotel pillow and call it a night.
Meanwhile Track 6, “Na Cara” (translated “In The Face”) was an awesome duet when she sang alongside Mart’nalia and towards the end of Track 10 with “O Que Nao Foi Dito” (“What Was Not Said”) was a number that I could see play out in some romantic movie just as the woman slowly grabs a glass of wine and the guy unloosens his tie before one of the most non-socially distanced things humans usually enjoy doing–and that is kiss.
Sure, there are plenty of other online reviews dissecting every second of each track. This was the best way I could summarize what is truly a keeper. And if you felt like putting Bebel on some type of literal pedestal, she is definitely in the conversation–alongside her father Joao, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes, and Marisa Monte.
It is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, and other streaming music players and also physically in CD and vinyl on Amazon, eBay, and importcds.com.
Overall, it is an album worthy of adding to your jazz collection.
Alexia Bomtempo Featured in Daredaze Podcast
Talked on Variety of Subjects Worth A Listen
What a pleasant surprise to see come across my inbox, which is definitely worth sharing amidst this unrelenting COVID-19 thing (and yes, I consider this invisible enemy as such.)
Considering what has transpired since the release of her album Syspiro of which I discussed a bit early on in this pandemic, it definitely brought on some interesting storylines.
I talked about this in a prior blog worth checking out:
https://bigzbossanovabeat.wordpress.com/2020/04/24/alexia-bomtempo-honors-her-roots/.
After hearing the podcast done by New York City artist and photographer named Dasha Dare, this definitely provides how one artist is trying her best to only not survive in hopefully not joining the millions of people worldwide in contacting COVID-19 in any form, but thriving with being creative and always staying persistent–all the while with the hope that someday down the road, concerts and festivals of many types will return (even though this pandemic means that many longtime venues have been or will be forced to shut their doors.)
With that in mind, I briefly mentioned in a blog on July 25, I will be in the process of asking several other jazz and some indie pop/rock artists one open-ended question.
Sure, it is on many people’s minds–but I will be most curious about their thoughts not just when they hit the road, but for general health reasons in the hopes that fans will be invited back sometime in the future. There will be that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel–however long and dark tunnel has been since March 12. The question is not how it will happen, but when.
In my case, you will get some more blogs here to enjoy and more artists to explore on the same streaming media that you will find her podcast on Spotify, Apple Music, and other popular players.
Thank you again for reading, and remember that comments on this or any of my past blogs are always welcome.
Please make this a great day, or in the case for those of you reading in Europe, have yourself a great evening.
Olympic Update (and this one is not pretty)
Even as health organizations around the globe try to piece together solid and very grotesque evidence with the waterways in and around Rio de Janiero, only nine months remain until the Olympics get underway. The sailing and rowing venues are carrying many illnesses which could affect dozens of male and female athletes if something major doesn’t get solved soon.
This article by Brad Brooks from Wednesday, December 2 paints a very ugly picture. Please read with caution:
Artist Worth Checking Out: Lisa Ono Says Feliz Natal
Image courtesy of music-cool.tw
Born July 29, 1962 in Sao Paolo, Lisa Ono splits her time between Brazil and her family’s homeland in Japan.
By the time she turned 15, she began to learn to play the guitar. Nearly a dozen albums later (with Dream and Pretty World being the big sellers), my first entry of the Brazilian Christmas CD selections is a spiffy pop entry, especially getting to hear and read the Japanese lyrics.
Albeit it took me two years and half a world to find my copy (some bookstore in Germany fortunately had a copy back in June 2015 at a reasonable price), please don’t be taken aback by her English singing. I found that each song she sings features very light tones throughout the acoustic guitars on each carol. It is quite the opposite with the more dramatic orchestral effects heard on the wildly popular Amy Grant album Home For Christmas which was released the year before Boas Festas.
From “Winter Wonderland” to “Let It Snow”, “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Paz Azul” (which almost sounds lyrically like the lullaby song moms sing to their kids before tucking them to bed each night), this album labelled as a Winter Bossa album definitely ranks right up there with Halie Loren’s cool album, Lori Meachem’s near duplication of the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack and the Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 number on “The Christmas Song”.
The album is very pleasant and an excellent listen, definitely feels like a nice album to unwind to after a long day of baking your favorite holiday treats. This album is also definite holiday party material if the crowd does not feel like really going all out and just letting things stay chilled through the night.
And yes, she has continued to do more Brazilian albums even while raising two children of her own. Wikipedia has her credited with doing 22 albums to date, the last one during the first full year after the financial recession in 2009 featuring jazz standards from both Rio and Los Angeles.
Next week, you will get to read a two-fer from the same artist. Vinnie Zummo did his holiday compilations over a decade apart. I will note the key similarities and differences from each album once I get a bit of time separate from the hectic times currently taking place with my other blog in covering NCAA men’s college basketball.
Enjoy your weekend, and please try to pick up a copy online of this holiday album when you get the chance.
Master Composers: Nicola Conte brings on many singers as Free Souls amps up the Wow Factor
Image courtesy of junodownload.com
Nicola Conte brought some serious singers on his 2014 album that took five years to produce in Italy.
The likes of Bridgette Amofah, Melanie Charles, Marvin Parks, Jose James, Heidi Vogel, and Tasha’s World (not related to any adult film website) make this album excellent for late night listening or pleasant dinner party conversation.
The first three tracks are first rate, from “Shades of Joy” to the many female background singers listed above along with Kim Sanders doing a superb rendition of “Goddess of The Sea.” The title track is also an excellent listen. I wonder also if Bridget had that certain baseball team which resides in the American League Eastern Division and surprised everyone in upsetting the heavily favored New York Yankees to reach the postseason in 2014. But the song, “Baltimore Oriole” instead talked about the famous bird that you see smiling on their caps and uniforms for many games at Camden Yards.
The other songs offer a decent, melodic pace throughout. I give this album five stars.
Even as we remember those who lost their lives in that senseless tragedy in Paris, some excellent news for a special fan of this blog
Fabiana Passoni does it again. She received a special Lifetime Achievement Award in Brazil on Saturday. I am sure if you follow her on social media, there are lots of cool pics including one shot of her barefoot posing on a row of red clay bricks.
She is back in her homeland as she recorded another single. More details on when it will be released at a later date. I wonder if she composed a special song dedicated to the 2016 Summer Olympics?
Next week will be final regular blog review before the annual quartet of holiday reviews as Eliane Elias continues to shine on the Brazilian jazz music scene. See you all later in the week.
Master Composers: Kenny G brings his powerful sax to Brazilian jazz for an impressive debut album
Known mostly for his superior soprano sounds on the saxophone, Kenny G’s first foray into Brazilian jazz called on him doing mostly tenor and alto numbers. He cited in one YouTube interview his three biggest inspirations were Stan Getz, Cannonball Adderley, and Paul Desmond (who was famous for helping orchestrate Dave Brubeck’s 1962 smooth jazz classic, “Take Five”).
Image courtesy of getmusicasia.com
Born as Kenneth Bruce Gorelick on June 5, 1956 in Seattle, he is the best selling instrumental artist in this time.
After dabbling for nearly nine years with different jazz bands, Kenny G went solo in 1982 by signing on with Arista Records.
Fast forward through the 17 albums, including the most successful holiday album ever with Miracles: The Holiday Album back in 1994, but his first foray into Brazilian jazz was definitely an eye opener when this album was released to the public on January 27, 2015.
Taking the classic “Corcovado” tune on Track 2 and “The Girl from Impanema” on Track 9 is like getting the popcorn maker to work properly and putting up your feet to watch a cool movie. Also worth a listen are Tracks 3 and 4, the fast paced “Bossa Real” and the slower, more methodical pace of the title track.
Throughout the ten tracks, each song is Kenny G at his purest and his best. It definitely is one hot album, but longtime fans may be taken aback by how he had to abandon his signature notes in favor of doing something different.
There is also a deluxe version with four live tracks featuring the songs of, “Loving You” (different lyrics than what Fabiana Passoni gave us), “G Bop”, “Forever In Love”, and “Heart and Soul.”
Definitely a worthy addition to anyone’s smooth jazz collection. Both versions are available online wherever CD’s are sold.
Next week, I will continue my brief foray into some of 2015’s best works by veteran jazz artists with Nicola Conte. We may know him simply as the Italian man famous for “Bossa Per Due”, but he has really turned his game up several notches back in the spring and really opened up my eyes and ears to some very pleasant sounds.
But not to be outdone, the week of November 15 will feature Eliane Elias and her latest work. Enjoy your weekend, as it appears Extended Indian Summer is finally going to come to an end for most of the northern United States. At least, it was nice to go outside and see absolutely no bugs for a chance in spite of the simple fact that all outdoor yard work had to end a full hour before your network news hits the air.
Artists Worth Checking Out: Brazilian Architecture Is A Sure Treat
No tricks, just lots of really cool Brazilian jazz to enjoy any time of year
Image courtesy of allmusic.com
My album of the week pick just in time for Halloween is a sure-fire treat from November 5, 1991.
Just two days before Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson announced to the world that he was HIV positive, the Lindberg Hemmer Foundation must have had one of the Los Angeles Lakers primary team colors firmly in mind. The disk is embossed mostly in gold. But the best part, you don’t have to fork over the same amount for Tiffany & Co. designer jewelry in time for Christmas just so you can pair this album with Les Hommes’ The Mood is Modal (another past subject you can revisit from one of my prior blogs, just fyi).
All we know about the band is that they combined simple jazz arrangements with key electronic Minimoogs, bass, other Wurlitzer instruments, and some percussion.
Each member of the band is profiled in a one inch B&W pic, led by Keld Ipsen on trombone, Soren Runge on keyboard, Klavs Norso on percussion, Jens Runge on the choir, Ben Besiakov on the electric piano, Anders Gardmand covered the flute, and Regin Fuhlendorf performed effortlessly on the guitar.
Doing the backup vocals on a few of the songs were Marie Carmen Koppel (no relation to the longtime former ABC News Nightline lead anchor Ted Koppel) and Louise Nordby. They went under the cleverly designed label simply called Crazy Nation.
Hence, before you put on the “Monster Mash” or the Ghostbusters theme, put this album on as you divvy up those chocolate covered treats for the good little ghouls and goblins that will probably end up rotting most of their teeth before they go back well rested on Monday morning.
But that’s not really my point.
The point I am trying to make is that this CD is a great party album. Track 3 is an immediate winner in my book with “Manzonetti”, and close behind for a cool number as well is both Track 6, “Madras” and Track 8, “Just Another Party at Tony’s Beach.”
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As 2015 prepares to draw to a close in the final weeks, I thought November would be a great time to review three albums that were released during this past year and managed to get mostly rave reviews from many in the music community.
Before the American Thanksgiving holiday towards the end of the month, you will find in either your inboxes or just a thumb’s tap away on your smartphones these reviews:
Week of November 2, Kenny G lends his soulful sax in the Brazilian way for the first time in his storied career.
Week of November 9, Italy’s Nicola Conte brings on 13 neat tracks with Free Souls.
Week of November 16, Eliane Elias dons a rather tropical dress as if she was auditioning to be the first fully clothed subject for the March 2016 issue of Playboy Magazine. The veteran singer/songwriter does some neat versions of Gal Costa (“Aquarela do Brasil”), everyone’s favorite springtime song thanks to Astrud Gilberto (“Waters of March”) and another longtime favorite tune of “Vida” (“If Not You”) among the 12 tracks included there.
And if I get a brief moment from preparing my residence for the annual big turkey dinner, I will try to give the fans an Olympic update that Monday or Tuesday before the holiday break.
The only major news of note from October was the hiring of longtime San Antonio Spurs and multiple NBA champion head coach Gregg Popovich, as he will be taking over the reins of Team USA Olympic basketball from Duke’s legend in Mike Krzyzewski after the 2016 Rio Olympics conclude next August.
Artists Worth Checking Out: Bill Cunliffe Keeps Up On The Latin Vibe
Born on June 26, 1956 in Lawrence, Massachusetts and graduate of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, Bill Cunliffe has taken on Latin jazz for over three decades and spreading his love to students eager enough to learn while being a Professor at Cal State-Fullerton.
His career led him to many varying gigs through the years, most notably being a regular member of both the Clayton Brothers Quartet and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. He would later win a Grammy Award in 2009 for Best Instrumental Arrangement.
One of his early musical inspirations was the work done by Paul Simon. It eventually spawned on to making a dozen album under the Paul Simon Songbook (there is a brief mention on the AllMusic.com site if you want to learn more).
This week’s album entry features his 1995 journey to Rio–complete with simply picturesque postcard views of Sugarloaf Mountain embedded around the rather scary circumstances Bil faced when landing in Rio prior to making the album in June 1994. Mix in that a wild World Cup champion parade and then he finally meets the likes of Ricardo Silveira, Marcos Ariel, and Oscar Castro-Neves.
I will spare you the details, but I will say this: For those traveling internationally, always double and triple check to make sure that you do not leave behind every vital document (passport, visa, etc.) needed to gain proper entry and readmission back to your home country.
As for the album itself, it takes on a very methodical, calming, soothing pace. This would be excellent music for simple parties or just in case you had too many tomatoes mixed in with your favorite dinners–this album would most definitely calm any stomach pains that you might have lingering inside (for any true reason or not).
Besides the standards on Track 2, Vince Guaraldi’s famous rendition of “Cast Your Fate to The Wind” for all of you Peanuts cartoons out there (myself included) and Paul Simon’s rather hoky number on Track 4, “She Moves On.” The remaining tracks lend a very sympathetic ear…definitely not too fast, nor slow of a pace.
Overall, even by the time he returned to Los Angeles to complete the album, I can safely say that this album is a keeper, definite addition to your jazz collection.
Next week in time for Halloween, there won’t be anything spooky here I promise.
But rather, another nice entry as the leaves are just starting to turn to the gorgeous foliage where normally all of the leaves shed at once. But with all of the rain most of the northern United States experienced from April on, hopefully next week’s entry from the Lindberg Hemmer Foundation when they dealt with their 2001 entry on Brazilian Architecture should end the month on a very good note.
Look for that hopefully by the middle of this week. The reason being is that in my other blog–I will be working on some rather big things there with the curtain to rise on yet another exciting season of men’s NCAA Division One college basketball. Just you wait until the first blog of the new season goes live, it is going to be fun.
At least, I will leave behind some virtual treats to fill your plastic pumpkin bowls just in time for trick or treating. Leave the ghosts and ghouls behind and stick around here for more goodies yet to come for the rest of the year. See you then.
Information About Brazilian Jazz Legends and Rising Artists 
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