Contemporary America – Another Center

Contemporary America

This CD, for me, is the fruit of a magical encounter and the realization of a dream. I’ve always asked myself why Brazil has such little contact with the other South American countries. This is a question that has intrigued me for the past 15 years. Little by little, by way of some projects and the work of a few people, this accomplishment became possible. My collaboration with the Mercado Cultural da Bahia opened doors on a variety of fronts: through the materials that came in from several South American countries, whose quality really surprised us; though my acquaintance with the artists and producers that participated in the event over the years; as well as the trips that I’ve taken to these countries since 2001. Complimenting these connections was my contact with Carlos Aguirre, who I have had the privilege of playing with on other occasions.
So we began to think about the possibility of establishing a group with this formation. And through the suggestions, contacts, and partnerships we had with this diversity of musicians and producers, we came up with this current ensemble. Other countries are still missing… but this is a process under-construction that will give rise to new projects of collaboration and exchange; of rich and delightful mutual experience; of many stories and tales…
I hope this adventure of ours touches you all in the same way.
Benjamim Taubkin

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Tracks

Carmelita, adiós (Carmelita, Goodbye) (traditional folk song) – Lucia Pulido
A bullerenge. A women’s song with ritual origins from Colombia’s Atlantic coast.

La musica y la palabra (The Music and the word) (Carlos Aguirre)
A chacarera doble, a traditional rhythm from northern Argentina

Misterios de mayo (Mysteries of May ) (Alvaro Montenegro)
A piece based on the “saya-caporal” rhythm, a derivation of the Afro-Andean rhythms that gradually came to influence the whole spectrum of folk music in Bolivia.

Panguito Lando (Doing the Panguito) (traditional folk song) – Lucia Pulido
A traditional song from Colombia’s Pacific coast

A mis hermanos (To My Brothers) (Aquiles Baez)
A Venezuelan merengue dedicated to Aquiles’ brothers, Julio and Gustavo

Cantos de vaqueria (Cowboy songs) (traditional folk song) / El gavilán (The Hawk) (Angel Custodio Loyola)
Traditional verses from the Colombian cowboys

Vale do Jucá (Jucá Valley) (Siba)
A poem that speaks of ancestrality, origins and our search for them, set to the rhythm of the ciranda, a traditional circle dance in Pernambuco state

Cajoneando (Cajon-ing) (Lucho Solar)
A cajon solo with Afro-Peruvian rhythms inspired by the black slaves that came directly from Africa to Peru. The cajon is an authentic Peruvian instrument, that was absorbed by the Flamenco (just 30 years ago), and consequently spread the world over.

Tonada para mi niña (A Tonada for My Little Girl ) (Christian Galvez)
Based on a tonada chilena, a rhythmic and harmonic sophistication of la cueca, Chile’s national rhythm and dance, inherited as a result of the mix between Chile’s indigenous populations and its Spanish colonizers

Primavera (Spring) (Zé Miguel Wisnik)
“Spring is when no one else expects it.”

Musicians

Alvaro Montenegro – Bolivia
Composer, flutist and saxophonist, Alvaro Montenegro is one of the most active figures on the Bolivian music scene. With music in his blood (his father was a violinist and his grandfather, a pianist) he began studying music at age 8. He studied in the U.S and Nicaragua, and played in the Chamber Orchestra of Nicaragua from 1986 to 1989. As a composer, he has done soundtracks to films, plays, and dance performances. His compositions have been executed by important orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestras of Cuba and Bolivia, and have been presented in the principal festivals around the world. Versatile, he traverses through a variety of genres – from jazz to rock, from classic to pop. As a member of dozens of orchestras, he has transited through repertories from a diversity of times and spaces. In 1998 he released the CD Música Latino Americana del Siglo XX in partnership with Japanese guitarist Gentaro Takada. In 2001, he released El Parafonista, which gave rise to the Parafonista band, a Latin-American contemporary fusion sextet. With this band he’s released Los Frutos Prohibidos and República.

Ari Colares – Brazil
Percussionist and professor, for 25 years he has dedicated himself to the study, the practice, and the teaching of Brazilian percussion. He lectures in the Tom Jobim Center for Musical studies, USP, and Anhembi Morumbi. He has played with Naná Vasconcelos, Egberto Gismonti, etc. He is a musician in the Orquestra Popular de Câmara, directed by Benjamim Taubkin, as well as in the group A Barca. He plays with Mônica Salmaso and in Palavra Cantada with Sandra Peres and Paulo Tatit.

Aquiles Baéz – Venezuela
Venezuelan arranger, composer, and guitarist. His characteristic is to create a singular sound by mixing Latin American rhythms with sophisticated harmonies. With five albums recorded, he’s collaborated with artists like Paquito de Rivera, Farred Haque, John Patitucci, Ilan Chester, Mike Marshall, Gioria Feidman, and has participated in concerts like Ensamble Gurrufio, Worlds of Guitars and Boston Symphony, Simon Bolívar and
Bach Academy Orchestras. Aquiles Báez has won the “Venezuelan National Award for Best Artist of the Year”; the Leavitt Award at Berklee College of Music and other awards for the soundtracks he’s written for theater, cinema, and dance performances. He administers workshops at universities in the United States and in Europe. He currently lives in New York.

Benjamim Taubkin – Brazil
Brazilian music has been the playing field for this instrumentalist, arranger, composer, and producer. As a musician he has participated in several formations – that range from soloing to symphonic orchestras – presenting in Brazil and abroad. Some of the most recent projects he’s participated in as musician and arranger include: Jobim Sinfônico, Samwad – Rua do Encontro, Milágrimas, Orquestra Jazz Sinfônica, Paulo Moura and Monica Salmaso. His current projects include: the Orquestra Popular de Câmara, the choro ensemble Moderna Tradição, and his work with the traditional music group Abaçai. He directs the label Núcleo Contemporâneo, focused on recording Brazilian instrumental music. He is present as a musician or producer on more than 130 discs. He has coordinated projects for institutions like Itaú Cultural, and the São Paulo State Secretary of Culture. He has developed programs for SESC, CPFL, and CCBB. He is the musical curator for the Mercado Cultural da Bahia and is a member of the European Forum for World Music.

Christian Galvez – Chile
With highlighted participations in the foremost jazz and world music festivals, this Chilean bass player has recorded three discs: Christian Galvez (2000), Cero (2002) and Dinâmica solista (2004). He has participated in productions and recordings with important international musicians: Joe Vasconcellos (Chile), Luis Salinas (Argentina), Fareed Haque
(United States), Bruce Hart (United States), among others. He is a music professor that has lectured in several Chilean schools, and has given clinics in countries like Argentina, Mexico and Brazil. He created the band Gálvez Quinteto together with Jorge Diaz (guitar), Lautaro Quevedo (keyboards), Rodrigo Gálvez (drums) and Cláudio Ortuzar (percussion). He is currently the musical director of Pez Produções.

Lucia Pulido – Colombia
Colombian singer, who sings anything from jazz to her country’s traditional music. For more than 13 years, she partnered with the singer/composer Ivan Benevides in the duet “Ivan and Lucia.” They recorded three discs and toured through Spain, England, Colombia and Ecuador. Since arriving in New York in 1994, her work has been focused on traditional Colombian rhythms. In 1995 she recorded her first solo CD, Lucia (on the Sonolux label). With a full calendar, she has presented in theaters, universities, and clubs in the United States, as well several important festivals in New York. She is constantly invited to participate in concerts and on CD recordings by jazz musicians like Ed Simon, Erik Friedlander, Dave Binney and Fernando Tarrés. Her most recent CD is Dolor de Ausencia. Currently, Lucia is dedicating herself to projects with musicians in New York and from Latin American countries: an experimental one with Argentinean guitarist Fernando Tarrés that is based on traditional songs from Colombia and Argentina; the recording of the CD Pure and Impure by Erik Friedlander, based on poems by Colombian poets; and lastly, her next disc, contemporary arrangements of traditional Colombian music. Her calendar remains full of performances scheduled in Europe, the United States and Latin America.

Luis Solar Narciso – Peru
Peruvian percussionist who, for 15 years, presented nationally and internationally
with the group Peru Negro. He has played with important names in music such
as Nestor Torres,
Luis Salinas, Paquito de Rivera and Eva Ayllón, among others. He participated on
the CD Acuarela de Tambores by Alex Acuña, which was nominated for a
Grammy in 2002.
At the moment, Luis Solar Narciso is a member of the group Wayruro, as well as
Jean Pierre Magnet’s Grand Banda.

Lula Alencar – Brazil
Pianist, composer, arranger and acordion player, Lulinha began studying piano and jazz improvisation. He formed the instrumental trio LSD´Jazz and also formerly was in the Banda Buscapé, focusing on regional music. As an accordion player, Lulinha has been playing with groups such as Mafuá, Mawaca, Antônio Barros and others.

Siba – Brazil
Musician from Nazaré da Mata, Zona da Mata–Pernambuco state. As a member of the band Mestre Ambrósio, Siba moved to São Paulo in the early 90’s. A few years later he returned to the city of his childhood, where he has been exploring new aesthetic possibilities for ciranda and maracatu, thus providing new vitality and youth to the northeastern traditions. In Nazaré da Mata, he recruited a trio of percussionist/singers (Biu Roque, Mané Roque and Manoel Martins) to release his first solo CD, Fuloresta do Samba. This disc’s relationship to the sound of Mestre Ambrósio is apparent due to Siba’s peculiar voice as well as the format of its songs (percussion, trombone, trumpets, and voices), but at the same time it differentiates itself from the band by way of its ancestral sound that negates contemporary influences, thus bringing us a simpler, more rural Brazil, full of poetic subtleties.

Technique

Produção: Benjamim Taubkin
Assistente de produção: Marcia Duarte
Gravação ao vivo por Alberto Ranellucci – em novembro de 2005, no Estúdio Loop e Sala São Luiz
Assistentes: Deco e Carlinhos
Mixagem: Ricardo Mosca – no estúdio Mosca
Masterização Classic Master por Jade Pereira
Projeto Gráfico: Teresa Maita e Wagner Germano
Fotos tecidos: Teresa Maita e Wagner Germano
Fotos espetáculo: Angelica Del Nery
Transporte: Izildo

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