NOVA BOSSA NOVA… in brief

They are a veteran crew. They are an eclectic bunch. They fuse a hard-core be-bop horn section with a thumping Brazilian rhythm section, creating a unique, exciting sound. They are, simply, Nova Bossa Nova.

The founding members of the group, Guilherme Franco (drums) and Alberto Beserra (bass), are both natives of Brazil. They had to travel to Japan, however, in order to become acquainted with one another and with each other's music. It was 1975. Franco was on tour as a member of theMcCoy Tyner Group and Beserra, who was living in Japan (as he still does) caught his future friend perform in concert. Then it was Franco's turn to watch Beserra play, at the club where he was a featured artist. By the end of the night, the two were jamming side-by-side, and making plans to form a band together. 20 years later they have done just that.

Franco began his career as a regular in the São Paulo club scene, a frequent performer on Brazilian television, and a member of the symphony orchestra. He came to New York in 1971, and within a week he had joined Keith Jarrett's group. A year later, Franco was asked to join the McCoy Tyner Group. He stayed with Tyner for 7 years, during which time he was voted by the readers of Down Beat to the number 2 position on the Best Drummer's List. In 1980, Franco moved away from the jazz mainstream and back to his own roots, forming the power samba band, Pe De Boi, which became a fixture on the New York club scene.

Beserra started off in his home town too, playing in clubs around Rio and on television. Then, like Franco, he moved overseas, to Spain and Portugal, then to South Africa, and finally to Japan. A distinguished member of the vibrant Japanese jazz community, Beserra has played with the leading lights of the local scene and the best of the touring bands who visit. In recent years, he has also devoted increasing energy to composition and is the lead writer of Nova Bossa Nova. Several of his efforts appear on the group's first album.

In the course of their many travels, Franco and Beserra may have occasionally found themselves hungering for a taste of home. At the same time, all that moving around has clearly enriched them greatly, especially from a musical perspective. By hearing, learning, and playing a wide range of styles, they are able to return to "their own" music, equipped with all sorts of new ideas. And more than just ideas, they also bring friends, i.e. the accomplished musicians who make up Nova Bossa Nova.

Claudio Rodito, a native of Brazil, is essentially a jazz trumpeter, and a very good one at that. Eddie Monteiro, while not from Brazil, brings a lot of that country to his unique accordion/vocalese. Bob Mintzer, on the tenor sax, has gained renown as an orchestrator, the leader of his own big band, and as a member of the Yellowjackets. Joe Ford, on the flute, the alto and the soprano sax played with Franco during the McCoy Tyner days. Pianist Atsushi Inoue frequently collaborates with Beserra in Japan.

In 1996, Nova Bossa Nova signed an exclusive recording contract with New York's Arkadia Jazz. Their first album, Jazz Influence, has just been released, and several other projects are in the works. If all holds to plan, we will be hearing a lot more from this exciting band, which unites the melody and improvisations of jazz with rhythms of bossa nova.