River Wide (Kokopelli Records)

The musical partners who brought Brasilia to life are Ted Moore, a musician, composer and arranger, and Pamela Driggs, a singer and longtime aficionado of the modern Brazilian sound.

A graduate of the famed Eastman School of Music, Moore quickly established a reputation as a drummer and leader of a jazz group before accepting an unusual job offer that would dramatically alter his professional and personal life.

For two years in the late 1970s, he served as a percussionist and timpanist with the Rio de Janeiro-based Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. It didn't take him long to embrace the local culture, learn to speak Portuguese, and begin exploring the traditions of Brazilian rhythms. Soon, Moore became one of the first resident foreign musicians to find steady work with some of Brazil's most creative young jazz musicians. His superb recordings with the late saxophonist Victor Assis Brasil are revered today as coveted collector's items.

At virtually the same time Moore was basking in the glow of Rio's cultural milieu, Pamela was soaking up the pure essence of Brazil's African and colonial heritage in Salvador. The hilly city of winding cobblestone streets, ornate churches and the colorful rituals of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé has been home to such great Brazilian musicians and singers as Dorival Caymmi, Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil and Simone. During a six-month stay as a university exchange student, Pam learned Portuguese and honed her knowledge of the kinds of rhythms and melodies that today spice the Brasilia sound.

"I never thought that authenticity was the crucial issue here," Moore says of the Brasilia experience. "I felt that what was most important was that we try to capture the spirit of a music we love so much, yet turn it into something that's our own creation."

The affection the members of Brasilia have for the genre is evident throughout this expressively performed program. "We are calling to you from deep inside with our gentle rhythms," vocalist Pamela Driggs intones on the beguiling opening track, "A Chamado Do Rio." It's that spirit of evocative and emotional communication with you, the listener, that Brasilia is all about.

The drummer/leader's cohorts for this musical excursion include some of the most sensitive and resourceful practitioners of the music to come along in years. "Brasilia is half and half," Moore observes, "although sometimes the lines get blurred. It's half Brazilians who have studied jazz and half North Americans who have studied Brazilian music. And, most importantly, they all have that special spirit."

Driggs, who speaks several languages, is so comfortable singing in Brazilian Portuguese that Brazilians who attend her live performances are faced with an "is she or isn't she?" dilemma. They usually come up to the stage after the set and begin chatting in Portuguese. Studying the work of such masters of the Brazilian genre as the late Elis Regina has helped with the all important sense of timing and phrasing.

A native of Northern Nevada, Pam was hooked on bossa nova at an early age. "I knew from the very first time I heard it that Brazilian Portuguese was so special," she recalls, commenting on the very musicality of the language itself. "And what else could fit into this music the way it does? There are very few songs that have been translated into English that work. It really is in the language."

Guitarist Romero Lubambo of Trio da Paz fame is the most in-demand Brazilian string master of the nineties. His gorgeous bossa strumming and astounding solo work are central to Brasilia's success.

Percussion whiz Café is a veteran of countless gigs and recording sessions with Herbie Mann, Eliane Elias, Luiz Bonfa and Sergio Mendes, while bassist Jerry Watts is known for his work with Mendes and Dori Caymmi.

The two pianists, who alternate on various keyboards, are likewise skilled in a variety of jazz and Brazilian settings. Phil Markowitz, recently a member of saxophonist Dave Liebman's group, counts a wealth of experience that includes work with the Brecker Brothers and trio experience with Al DiMeola and Airto. Phil Strange maintains a successful recording and performing career in Japan.

As Brasilia, the musicians find common purpose in translating the Brazilian samba, bossa and baiao vision of Moore and Driggs into a cohesive program characterized by exuberant rhythms and seductive melodies. Credit the duo's strong sense of thematic development and inventive arranging concepts for a program that evolves with an uncommon blend of logic and emotion.

"One of the songs on the album I'm most proud of is 'River Wide," Moore states, "and the reason is that it breathes so much. There are ups and downs, peaks and valleys, highs and lows. On 'Seeds of Joy,' we begin with a simple vocal and percussion arrangement, but it builds into something much more. Performances should be a journey; there should be a sense of destination so the listener can feel they're going on a ride, an adventure."

And there's plenty of adventure on Moore-penned tunes like "Sanctuary," with its moody reflection of the Rio of our dreams, and the uptempo "Tudo Joia," with Markowitz digging into a solid jazz samba feel and Lubambo delivering a breakneck chorus solo.

"I could be happy just listening to 'The Girl from Ipanema' over and over again," Pamela admits, "because songs like that are so wonderful. But then you hear the music of Ivan Lins and Dori Caymmi and other more recent composers and I think we just want to be a part of it, to help expand the music and be a part of that legacy in our own way."

"If we can capture the spirit of this music that we really love and turn it into something that's uniquely our own," Moore adds, "then I'll be happy with what we've done."

Rest assured, the members of Brasilia can be very happy indeed.

(Adapted from the liner notes to 'River Wide' by Mark Holston)

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Tracks

1. A Chamado Do Rio 
2. Angel Voices 
3. River Wide 
4. Tudo Joia 
5. Sanctuary 
6. Seeds of Joy
7. With Open Arms
8. Voce Ja Foi A Bahia?
9. Samba Em Preludio
10. Song of Praise

Musicians

Pamela Driggs: Vocals
Ted Moore: Drums, low drums & chorus
Phil Markowitz: Piano
Phil Strange: Piano
Romero Lubambo: Acoustic guitar & chorus
Jerry Watts: Bass
Café: Percussion & chorus

CD Information

Produced & arranged by Ted Moore
 
Executive Producer: Herbie Mann
  
Recorded at Carriage House Recording Studio, Stamford, CT

River Wide may be purchased online at Amazon.com