LINER NOTES FOR NOVA BOSSA NOVA: JAZZ
INFLUENCE
Led by percussionist Guilherme Franco and bass-player Alberto Beserra, Nova
Bossa Nova is an innovative ensemble whose breakthrough sound fuses the traditional
Brazilian rhythm section with a hard-core jazz front line. Among the players recruited by
Franco and Beserra to give voice to this unique musical blend are Claudio Roditi on
trumpet, Bob Mintzer on tenor sax, Joe Ford on alto sax, Eddie Monteiro and his unique
accordion/vocal style. The songs on Jazz Influence, the group's first album, trace
their origins to a variety of different sources, from classic standards to walks in the
park. Bassist Beserra explains:
"The Bird" is a song I did for my bird-I have a singing
cockatoo who improvises a lot. He's like a son-he eats from my mouth. He loves Charlie
Parker, so I decided to make this song for him.
"New Hope" was born one day when I was walking in the
park-I'm trying, you know, to lose some weight. It was an inspiration. I was walking and
the melody came into my mind. When I got back home I picked up my midi guitar and started
writing the tune. I gave it a name, but I didn't really like it, so I crossed it out. It
was Guilherme who named the song.
"Three Places" well that song, I guess, is about me. I
live in Japan, I love the States, and I love my home country of Brazil too. That's my
dilemma. Thinking where I'd like to spend the rest of my life, where I'd like to die.
"Jazz Influence" is a Carlos Lyra song from the bossa
nova era , in Brazil. It is a standard, and a song which I've always liked. It is a very
happy song, I think, alive, a very jazzy tune with a lot of syncopation.
The Jaquitiba is a big tree, a Brazilian tree. It was also a soap
opera with an actress who was a very cute lady. I got inspired by that. It is a love
song.
"Convite" which means "invitation," is a very
beautiful ballad that Guilherme wrote. (Alto saxophonist) Joe Ford does a beautiful job
playing here. My friend, the pianist Atsushi Inoue composed it.
"Children's Song" for his [Atsushi's] kids, as a kind of lullaby
for them. He did the music and the arrangements. The tune is more arranged than the other
songs on the album.
The beautiful "Sky and Sea" is by Johnny Alf, a very
famous composer in Brazil, from the bossa nova era. It is very jazzy and fun to improvise
to.
Guilherme called me and said, "We need one more song, you have
to help me. I've made half a tune, and maybe you can finish it for me." He faxed
me the music to Japan, and there I finished "Passaic Blues".
ARKADIA JAZZ