Milton Nascimento and Tim Hauser of Manhattan Transfer at Xuxa Som Livre Studios in Rio

Milton Nascimento and RPM Ivan Lins and Roberto Carlos Paulinho Da Viola

Tracking the Rise of MPB Brazilian Popular Music o BRAZILIAN TALENT: A DEEP RESERVE OF MUSICAL GREATNESS TO COME o m Brazilian music is very rich, as American mu- Sergio Mendes that showcases the beautiful melodies terprets everything from rock to baiäo and frevo (two . sic is very rich. I think right now Brazil has and harmonies (inspired by the mt. sic of Bahia, Minas northeastern styles) to Carnaval marches. Her last ° the great reserve of music in the world, the great Gerais and Debussy) of Dori, whose songs also ap- two RCA LPs were released in Japan, Argentina, Vene- potential. What we need is for our artists to have the pear on Sarah Vaughan's "Brazilian Romance" disk. zuela, Spain, and Israel, and the diva from Bahia has will to work outside Brazil, and for the record com- Quiet storm, new age and jazz programmers should drawn SRO crowds at the Montreux Jazz Festival and panies to believe in the music. But I think that it is all take notice. in Carnegie Hall; Costa is currently contemplating LPs starting to happen and that Brazil will affirm itself in MPB (MUSICA POPULAR BRISILEIRA): MPB is in English and Spanish. the international music market because of the a catch -all marketing category tha includes most ev- Simone, a superstar chanteuse on the CBS label, force, power and richness of its music." erybody in Brazilian popular music except for samba, has a sensuous, mellifluous voice and has scored No. Gal Costa regional and rock musicians. Some of MPB's top art- 1 albums in Argentina and gold in Portugual, and has ists are also those who may have ':he highest chance performed sell -out dates in Europe and Japan. Her With the increase in Brazilian product being re- of succeeding in the international music market, as voice, stage presence and choice of material all point leased by labels in the U.S. such as PolyGram, None- they have typically fused a variety Df different idioms such, Island, and CBS -and the impending worldwide (including foreign musical influences) into their dis- releases of LPs by Milton Nascimento, Djavan and tinctive, sophisticated styles. V V A Ivan Lins- American and international audiences are Gal Costa is always at the top of the Brazilian pop being exposed, often for the first time, to the great charts, with a beautiful, highly -emotive voice that in- originality, diversity and appeal of contemporary Bra- zilian music. It is a music with roots in Africa and Europe that QUINCY JONES on the has evolved an impressive variety of styles and rhythms: samba, forr6, frevo, afoxé, baiäo, mara- Magic of Brazilian Music catu, lambada, choro and many more. And in the last `:. 'THE DIVINE MARRIACE OF "IN few decades jazz, rock, reggae and other styles from 'I ¡1 . , -;\ outside have had an influence in the creation by Bra- LYRICISM AND RHYTHM' .; i `.= i`; zilian composers of bossa nova, deboche By GEORGE W. GOODMAN to increased worldwide success. "I want to do an al- and other new forms, bum outside Brazil, and I am planning on living in the and have helped give a uincy Jones, the legendry producer and U.S. for several months to perfect my English," vows cosmopolitan, trans - one of the top figures in the American music Simone. cultural edge to MPB business, has been a loyal fan of Erazilian music for Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil were two of the (Brazilian popular mu- more than 30 years. It is, he says, "music that I ab- leaders of the Tropicalismo movement (which updat- sic). solutely love" and "the only music outside of this ed native Brazilian styles with rock influences and so- The following is a country that turns my head." cially- and politically- conscious lyrics) in the late '60s capsule look at many Since the mid -'80s, Jones has intensified his ef- and had a huge impact on Brazilian music. Veloso's of Brazil's leading mu- forts to support and promote his favorite Brazilian mellow yet always boldly experimental work is show- sicians, with an em- musicians, and his publishing coiopany Qwest Mu- cased on the critically -acclaimed Nonesuch '86 LP phasis on those with a Brazilian record producer sic Group is actively involved in nmerous projects "Caetano Veloso" and on PolyGram U.S.'s upcoming high potential for in- Mazzola and Sting in Los with Brazilians Milton Nascimen `o, Ivan Lins and release of the live acoustic LP "Totalmente Demais." ternational success. Angeles Djavan, with whom it has co-publishing deals in the Gilberto Gil's extroverted, upbeat music includes Milton Nascimento, U.S. In addition, Jones has produced two cuts on afoxé (an Afro -Brazilian rhythm from Bahia), samba, Djavan and Ivan Lins are discussed elsewhere in this the new CBS LP (due this fall) b! Nascimento, an rock, funk and reggae (played individually or in inter- issue. album that features several American superstars esting fusions) and U.S. acclaim would surely greet JOBIM /CAYMMI: Antonio Carlos Jobim, the and may break the great Brazilian singer- songwriter any Gil English- language effort. Gil records for WEA master of the bossa nova style, is the composer of internationally. Brazil. songs such as "Wave," "The Girl From Ipanema" and BB: What is your latest Brazilian venture? Maria Bethania -Veloso's sister -is one of Bra- "Aguas De Margo," which-with their timeless melo- QUINCY JONES: I've just produced a collaborative zil's greatest female vocalists and she was the first dies and sophisticated harmonies-are among the effort between Paul Simon and M Iton Nascimento. woman (with "Alibi ") in Brazil to top one million units most -performed songs in the world. Verve has just re- (Continued on page B -14) sold for an album. Her deep, rich, remarkable voice leased Jobim's latest LP, "Passarim," in the U.S. can be heard on RCA Brazil's "Dezembros" (her lat- Dorival Caymmi, is another of Brazil's all -time est). great composers and his tunes -rich with the Joao Bosco's wholly original music is a tasty, spicy rhythms and flavors of Bahia -have been covered by stew with ingredients from Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio, everyone from Carmen Miranda to Paul Winter. And it Djavan and the Caribbean and Africa. His extroverted, infectious- runs in the family: his son Dori Caymmi is also one of Quincy Jones ly rhythmic music defies categorization but has so far Brazil's top songwriters, his other son Danilo proven irresistible to SRO audiences in Brazil, Japan Caymmi is a talented flutist who tours with Jobim and and Europe. "My next objective is to arrive in the U.S., daughter Nana Caymmi is one of Brazil's top female record in English and work a lot there," says Bosco, vocalists. whose latest CBS LP "Ai Ai Ai De Mim" was produced In '86, EMI -Odeon released "Caymmi's Grandes by Ronnie Foster (with David Sanborn and Harvey Amigos," an LP that joined all four, and this fall None- Mason as guest artists) and released outside Brazil by such bows "Dori Caymmi," an album produced by (Continued on page B-11)

BILLBOARD NOVEMBER 7, 1987 B-3 www.americanradiohistory.com