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Manny About Town

Jamie Ousley: A Sonic Soul

by Manny Meland on August 31, 2010

Jamie Ousley is one of the most in-demand bassists in the South Florida music scene. I always enjoy his creative solos and I love to hear his big bass rumble at the bottom of a jazz piece. Ousley follows the tradition of “the good teach.” He teaches full time in the jazz department at Florida International University. Internationally, he has given clinics, taught master classes and provided private lessons in Japan, Switzerland, Germany and Costa Rica.

I saw Jamie at Churchill’s Pub the other day and I asked him at what age did he start to play. He replied, that as a child of five, he was so smitten by the musical score of Star Wars, he was able to tinkle out that piece on the piano without any assistance. That was when his parents realized that he possessed a musical gift and lost no time in enrolling him in Suzuki violin lessons. Fortunately, at that time, his school had an orchestral program and he was able to practice violin throughout his public school years. Then, at the age of twelve, in middle school, he switched to the double bass. That all happened in Johnson City, Tennessee where he was born.

I was curious why he switched from violin to bass. He told me, “I switched because in our middle school class new students were just beginning to learn the violin while I had been doing it since I was five. So by switching to bass, I was learning something new. Plus, it was real cool to play the biggest instrument in the class.”

Jamie went on to earn his B.A. in Music at Virginia Tech. He continued his education after arriving in Florida in 1998 by enrolling in the prestigious Jazz Program of the University of Miami. There he gained a Master of Music (M.M.) degree in Jazz Bass Performance which was followed by a Doctorate of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in Jazz Bass Performance.

Ousley has performed in many festivals such Ballydehob International Jazz Festival in Ireland, the Montego Bay Jazz Festival in Jamaica, Festival Mizik Jakmel in Haiti, Marian’s Jazz Room in Bern, Switzerland, the Burlington Jazz Festival in Vermont, Jazz in June in Lincoln, Nebraska, Festival Miami, and at the Associations of Jazz Educators in New York, Los Angeles and Osaka, Japan.

The list of heavy duty musicians that have invited Jamie Ousley to back up their performances sounds like ‘who’s who’ in the jazz world. It includes Ira Sullivan, Eddie Higgins, Arturo Sandoval, Benny Golson, George Sheering, James Moody, Dave Liebman, John Fedchuk, Maria Schneider, Vince Mendoza, Jim McNeeley, Nestor Torres, Bucky & John Pizzarelli, Carmen Lundy, Harry Allen, Chip McNeill, Bob Berg, Greg Abate, Royce Campbell, Duffy Jackson, Steve Davis, Adam Nussbaum, and Vic Damone.

You are in luck if you would like to see him, as he is a prolific performer. For example, just look at his August schedule: Friday the 13th at Blue Jean Blues with Turk Mauro, the next day on Saturday (Aug. 14) at the Globe with Mike Gerber and Rodolfo Zuniga, which he followed on Monday (Aug. 16) at the Palm Beach Steak House with SAMM. The next Saturday (Aug. 21), he repeated his gig with Gerber at the Globe. Then on Monday (Aug. 23), he and Jim Gasior played Churchills Pub. This same pair took their act the following Friday (Aug. 27) to the Bass Museum of Art for the museum’s ‘Hot Nights, Cool Jazz’ series.

And it was fun seeing him at Churchill's Pub on Monday, August the 23rd. The scene there reminded me of the old New York loft scene, which was a testing ground for creative young musicians. Several bands showed up that night to strut their stuff. I felt that the Jamie Ousley Trio, with Jamie on bass, Jim Gasior on keyboard, and John Yarling on drums, stole the show.

See Jamie Ousley's performance schedule at www.jamieousley.com.

Check out the Jamie Ousley Trio (one incarnation) on this video of "If I Were A Bell."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oD6qZrgVS0

Jowee Omicil and The Core

by Manny Meland on August 20, 2010

Montreal saxophonist / composer Jowee Omicil wrote on his website - “I’ll play it and tell you what it is later.” Actually, he borrowed this mantra from iconic trumpeter, Miles Davis. Elaborating, Jowee describes his music as forging a path between the smoother elements of jazz that toe the line between world sounds he experienced in the Americas and Asia with the Caribbean steadiness of Haitian music, with hints of Brazil and Afro-beat

This sax man also plays the clarinet and flute and he sings. Curiosity led me to check him out at the Van Dyke Café on Miami Beach on Aug.12. What struck me was, although he does most of his own compositions, he was able to involve a packed room at the Van Dyke to join in the choruses. How did they know the words? Well, he produced a couple of CDs that are evidently enjoying great success. In 2006, he recorded “Lets Do This,” and then “Roots and Grooves” in 2009 which became one of the top ten albums played at Radio Jazz Plus in Montreal. His band, ‘The Core,’ consists of pianist Chris Cadenhead, bassist Carlos Alabaci and drummer Harvel Nakundi.

Omicil was born in Montreal to Haitian parents. He began playing sax in his father’s church when he was fifteen. “I fell in love with the alto sax,” he declared. His talent was apparent. Within three years, he was accepted at the prestigious Berkeley College of Music in Boston where he majored in Music Education. His studies continued when, as one of twenty hand-picked students, he was selected to attend the Thelonious Monk Institute. That led to his being featured on the cable network BET Jazz.

Following his father’s preacher instincts, he tutors and mentors many young people in their musical growth, and often conducts workshops and master classes. He developed the curriculum for the woodwind and brass department at Bronx Preparatory Charter School, and chaired the music department at Mission School in Boston, Massachusetts. He prays his programs- “Stop the Violence,” “Love of Music” and “Stay in School” will save young lives by means of music.

 

Jowee has shared the stage or collaborated with jazz greats such as Branford Marsallis, Wyclef Jean, Marlon Saunders, Kenny Garrett, Black Dada, Sweet Micky, Richard Bona, Beethova Obas, Marcus Miller, Pharoah Sanders and Lionel Loueke.

Some of his other accomplishments include: the release of Jazz Mix Festival DVD ‘Mezzo TV’ in Paris, France (where he also played the Olympia Theatre), performances for Honorable Bill Ritter, Jr., Governor of the State of Colorado at Kent Denver School, and for United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon for 'Unite to End Violence Against Women,' and participation in the Festival International de Jazz de Port-au-Prince in Haiti. Recently, he received an invitation to play at the Obama White House for the ‘Inaugural Celebration of Haitian Flag.’ And to commemorate the victims of the Haitian quake, he wrote a track called “4 My People.” (see video below).

Jowee Omicil has built up some momentum here in Miami. Last September, he excited a crowd that gathered at the Jazz at MOCA series in North Miami. He gigged at Jazid on South Beach on Aug.10 and two days later at the Van Dyke Cafe. His interactions with his audiences are energetically connective. He gets down. Way down.

For more information of Jowee Omicil check out www.joweeomicil.com.

 

Check out this video: "4 My People."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlhC-dbUNgE

The Many Sides of Gary Campbell

by Manny Meland on August 08, 2010

Which Gary Campbell do you know? Is it the saxophonist who accompanied many top musicians in New York and South Florida? Is it the composer? You may have heard a piece or two that was composed and/or arranged by him. Or have you read any of this author’s five books on jazz that he wrote or co-wrote? Perhaps you met Mr. Campbell, the teacher, from one of his very popular classes at Florida International University, or at one of his jazz clinics such as at the Jamey Aebersold's Summer Jazz Workshops (which he has been doing since 1987)? This Fulbright scholar has accomplished all these things and more.

Campbell grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana where all members of his family were musicians. “I’ve been interested in music for as long as I can remember,” he told me. As a teenager, he embraced the “Naptown” jazz community. “I would sit in at local clubs and jam sessions to learn the ropes.” This he did while still immersed in his studies at Indianapolis University in the early 60s. (He earned his Bachelor of Music Degree in Jazz Performance at the University of Miami in 1989 followed by a Masters in 1992.)

In the late 60s and 70s, the loft scene in New York beaconed. The lofts were a testing ground for creative young jazz musicians. There, Gary presented concerts of original music, some of which he later recorded or performed with stars such as Randy Brecker, Jan Hammer, Michael Moore, Bobby Moses, Dan Wall, Adam Nussbaum, David Friesen, Ira Sullivan and guitar great John Abercrombie. Gary recorded his most recent CD “Thick & Thin” with Abercrombie. Other original CDs by Campbell are “Lago Turvo,” “J.A.,” “Samba de Gringo,” “Tango,” “Almost Lost,” “Down Here,” “Hair of the Dog,” “Tenor Waltz” and “Song & Dance.”

His published books, Patterns for Jazz, Expansions, Hank Mobley Transcribed Solos, Connecting Jazz Theory and Triad Pairs for Jazz are all great tools for learning jazz and improvisation. Intersection for example, fuses Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music into mainstream modern jazz. Triad Pairs for Jazz details how to use triads in jazz improvisation by limiting tone selection. All are excellent teaching tools and have been well received.

Gary is a sought after performer and teacher who has also played and taught in Europe and Latin America. Since 2005, he has been working and touring with the Miroslav Vitous Group in Europe. They have produced two CDs on ECM Records. One is “Universal Syncopations ll” and the other, “Remembering Weather Report.” (Bassist Miroslav Vitous was a founding member of Weather Report.) Gary recently gave two clinics on jazz improvisation at the Paris Conservatory of Music in France. This was followed by one in the Hochshulen fur Musik in Helsinki, Finland and then throughout Germany. He continued this program at the Franz Listz Academy in Budapest, Hungary and then back to the Western Hemisphere, at the Conservatories of Music in Puerto Rico, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

This teacher, author, composer, arranger and musician doesn’t gig much in Miami. So it is always a treat to catch his act when he does. Several months ago, I saw him perform at a Noontime Concert Series in downtown Miami at the Wolfson Campus of Miami Dade Community College, and at a Cool Nights, Hot Jazz Series at the Bass Museum of Art on Miami Beach. Last Saturday, drummer Rudolfo Zuniga tipped me that Gary would be accompanying him in a gig at the Globe Cafe in Coral Gables. I was there and enjoyed his great music.

If you wish to purchase a book, a CD or register to one of his classes, his website is www.garycampbelljazz.com.

 Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvhT3A6N1Kc

The Ortas

A FAMILY AFFAIR

by Manny Meland on July 19, 2010

I caught the Ortas performing last month at the High Note Jazz Club in the Gables. It is hard to miss the Ortas. One or the other is probably performing at some hot venue or another around town. Mike is a piano virtuoso. His brother Nicky plays the bass and Nicky’s wife, Debbie Orta, is a singer. They don’t always play together. When they do, it’s a family affair.

Mike Orta and his brother Nicky were born into music. Their father, Ernesto Orta was a guitarist who inspired his sons to learn music. Mike began to study the piano at seven. Nicky took up the bass when he was eleven. Their talent was evident from the start. Each eventually earned a scholarship to study music at Miami Dade Community College.

Mike earned an Associate of Arts Degree at MDCC. A Bachelor and a Masters of Arts in Music Degrees at the University of Miami followed. He is very active on the jazz scene and has recorded two albums with his Mike Orta jazz/fusion group. Superstars Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D’Rivera engaged him to accompany them in their recordings. They were not the only ones. Mike has played with all the top acts in town. He has toured extensively and has played most of the big jazz festivals. Besides composing, arranging and playing, Mike is an Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Performance at Florida International University. He teaches jazz piano and jazz improvisation. He also directs their jazz and Latin jazz ensembles.

Nicky played with a group called Top Secret Sextet while still studying at MDCC. Top Secret played the Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals. The United States Information Agency recruited this sextet to tour Africa as Ambassadors of Goodwill. Through the years, Nicky has been part of the rhythm section of many top orchestras in their performances and recordings including Arturo Sandoval, Othello Molineaux, Toots Thielman, Chick Corea, and the list goes on. And Nick also teaches. In 2009, he participated in the University of Miami's Young Musicians' Camp and is presently on the adjunct facility at the University of Miami Frost School of Music teaching electric bass and directing the Classic Bop Ensemble.

Debbie brings glamour to the act. She has great stage presence. You can sense her connection to her songs. Her ballads are heartfelt and moving. Debbie found her voice as a child. She began to sing in front of an audience when she was thirteen. A record contract with T.K. Productions launched her professional career. Later she sang backup for “El Puma” and for Chayanne. Besides appearing in many South Florida clubs, she has performed in concert at the Deering Estate, at the SunTrust Sunday Jazz Brunch and she was the opening act for Spyro Gyra at SunFest 2009. This lady is busy and she delivers.

Search your jazz calendar and chances are you’ll find an Orta performing. For example, I was present when Mike and Nicky performed at the Bass Museum's Cool Nights Hot Jazz Series. I also heard them upstairs at the Van Dyke Cafe on Lincoln Road. Earlier, I saw Debbie and Nicky at Wine 69 on Biscayne Boulevard and then the three of them together at the High Note. I especially enjoy their vibe when it’s a family affair.

For more information on the Ortas visit www.nickyorta.com, www.debbieorta.com, and www2.fiu.edu/~ortam. For more information about the Bass Museum of Art visit www.bassmuseum.org.

Check out this video of Debbie Orta:

http://crazymotion.net/miami-jazz-heritage-debbie-orta-at-van-dyke-cafe-3/wunUBqWANfk4jAy.html.....The

Maria Rivas: A Venezuelan Bombshell

by Manny Meland on June 20, 2010

Maria Rivas sings Latin Jazz and Tropical Pop. That is how she described her unique and innovative style to us when I heard her sing on Friday, April 23. She sang to a studio audience at at Ed Bell’s South Florida Arts Beat Program on Radio Station WLRN. The show was broadcast internationally. I found her exotic and sensuous voice and her attractive stage presence captivating.

Rivas began singing professionally in the 1980s in her native Venezuela. It was obvious at an early age that she had talent. She stood out when singing patriotic songs in school and hymns in choir. Also the fact that she learned to sing in the languages of the Western Hemisphere; Spanish, Portuguese, French and English, enabled her to draw from these various cultures. For example, her fourth CD, “Muare,” which featured her hit “Swing Con Son” combines American ‘swing’ and Cuban ‘son.’

In 1987, she took a program called “A Sentimental Journey through Jazz” to Aruba. It played for three years in the island’s major hotels. Back in Venezuela in 1990, Maria scored a hit song “First Born” from her first CD “Motorized.” It was played in sixty countries. An even bigger success came next with her 1992 hit “Manduco.” This song occupied a spot in Venezuela’s Hit Parade Top-Ten for three consecutive years. It spread to Panama, Columbia and Brazil. More recordings followed; “Mapale in 1994, “Café Negrito in 1998 and in 2003 --“En Cocierto.”

Europe beckoned. Rivas toured countries that were listening to her music. In Paris, she did a concert in the prestigious Le Club Jour Nouveau to celebrate Caracas Week. Besides France, she was enthusiastically received in Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Germany and Holland. Her tours of the Western Hemisphere took her to Columbia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Aruba and Puerto Rico. Then Caracas designer Octavio Vazquez presented her in a fashion show “Salon Solera Light de la Moda en Caracas.” Vazquez had her model and sing in this well received presentation.

Maria has shared the stage with many top artists. They include Arturo Sandoval, Ruben Blades, Cheo Feliciano, Joan Manuel Serrat, Pablo Milanes, Juan Lois Guerra, Paquito de Rivera, Zimbo Trio del Brazil, Leila Pinheiro, Leny Andrade, Daniela Mercury, and Albita. Rivas was also invited to sing with several principal orchestras such as Bolivar Symphonic Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestras of – Venezuela, Carabobo, Maracaibo and National, and La Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho. Rivas is currently the main vocalist for the “Big Band of the Venezuelan Symphony.”

Rivas' compositions also show another side of her. She is concerned with the state of the environment. Her songs attracted the attention of American ornithologist and chief environmentalist William H. Phelps who adopted Venezuela as his home. Maria was awarded the Phelps’ Environmental Prize. (Phelps is also an important coffee grower and he owns a local radio station).

And now, Miss Rivas has come to conquer Miami. She undoubtedly captured the audience at Radio Station WLRN. I then ran into her a few weeks later at the American Legion Hall in Miami. There, she joined a group of musicians who came to jam in celebration of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It was a good way to introduce herself to her contemporaries. Then on Tuesday, June 8, she played at the Van Dyke Cafe. Half of the audience was Venezuelan. I heard someone cry arriba -Venezuela. I thought arriba - Maria Rivas. Hopefully, her next prize will be a Grammy.

See video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhxkVaik-bk

Jazz Hall of Fame: Knights of Our Realm

by Manny Meland on June 08, 2010

British royalty bestows aristocratic titles on citizens who have excelled and enriched the nation in some way. In America, we award Oscars and Grammys to those that excel in their fields. We also honor the deserving by inducting them into a Hall of Fame.

On June 4th, the Sunshine Jazz Organization of South Florida (SFJHOF) held a special ceremony at the American Legion Hall In Miami to induct its first six deserving jazz personalities into the newly formed Jazz Hall of Fame. Here are the six honored.

Julian “Cannonball” Adderley was born in Tampa Florida in 1928. He learned to play jazz on an alto sax and his talent took him to great heights in the music world. He and his brother, coronetist Nat Adderley, played with Ray Charles in Tampa in the 40s until New York beckoned him. There, he gigged and recorded from 1955 to 1975 with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Lou Rawls, Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Ray Brown, Joe Williams, Oscar Peterson and the list goes on and on. Adderley made many songs famous including “Mercy Mercy Mercy.” Julian Adderley died of a stroke in 1975. He was inducted posthumously into the Down Beat “Jazz Hall of Fame.”

China “The Mahj” Valles, who was the road manager for saxophonist Illinois Jacquet, came to Florida in 1962 to head the upstart jazz radio station WBUS. It was a sad day when radio station WBUS terminated its jazz format after a few short years and depriving the locals of the only local jazz radio. Fans of China gathered at the Holiday inn on LeJeune Road in Coral Gables for a “Last Ride on the Bus.’’ This veteran DJ was the originator of the Sunshine Jazz Organization. His nickname, “The Mahj” (short for maharaja), was laid on him by none other than Duke Ellington.

Lenny Zeif helped jazz take root in the Miami airport area. He brought jazz to the lounge at the Travellers Hotel which he managed in the 1970s. He featured corpulent pianist Billy Marcus. Soon saxophonist Eric Allison joined the band. Billy and Eric had great chemistry and Lenny constantly refreshed their programs by adding quality guest artists. They developed a crowd of loyal jazz fans. In the 1980s, these fans followed him to the Take Five Lounge on LeJeune Road. Unfortunately, Lenny suffered a stroke that paralyzed half his body and impeded his speech. He recovered his ability to speak and went on to found the Jazz Hot Line. He presently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Saxophonist Jesse Jones, Jr. has been a cool jazz fixture in South Florida since the 1960s. Back then, it was fun to see him and his brother, trumpeter Melton Mustafa, jam on Sundays with McMillan’s Ragtime Band in Coconut Grove.

Inspired by Cannonball and Nat Adderley, Jesse and Mustafa tried to emulate the Adderley groove. Jesse is a mainstay in the Miami jazz scene. Now, one of his goals is to plant the seeds of jazz in young people. He has been working with kids in schools and community centers and in 2004 performed a Yabba Dabba Doo Concert with Simon Salz and Ira Sullivan for 700 youngsters. He has played with the best and continues to enrich our music scene.

Othello Molineaux was born and grew up in Trinidad where he developed a skill of fashioning and tuning steel drums which he cut down from 55 gallon metal drums. His genius brought amazing sounds to his pans. When he settled in South Florida, he played with jazz musicians who considered his instrument a novelty item. He won recognition when he played with Jaco Pastorius on Jaco’s Grammy nominated album. This led to recordings with other jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, Joe Zawinul, Chicago, Monty Alexander and Ahmad Jamal. Molineaux also scored big time with his CD “It’s About Time.”

Alice Day, Miami’s grand dame of music, is truly a renaissance woman. For several decades, she has graced the stage of every jazz club in South Florida. I had the pleasure of engaging her when I managed the lounge at the Miami Skyways in the 1970s. She continued to gain vocal maturity with her flexibility and outstanding range. Many budding singers have benefited from her assistance and advice. Today, she is a world class act working the European music circuit and her shows sell out. For the past few years, she has been a mainstay at the Hotel Oriental in Bangkok, Thailand.

Congratulations to this season's inductees. They have enriched their communities and our lives. Some may have earned a fortune. Most play for the love of it. The recognition bestowed on them is their just reward. And most importantly, the honor is enduring.

Federico Britos - A Violin Virtuoso

by Manny Meland on May 24, 2010

Last Friday, May 14^th, virtuoso Federico Britos played his violin for radio station WLRN’s South Florida Arts Beat program. I enjoyed his music so much, the following Saturday night I followed him to a new jazz club on Calle Ocho called the “High Note.” Violinist Federico Britos, a highly accomplished musician, has excelled in the classics and jazz with decades of experience.

When was the last time you heard a jazz group that featured a violin and guitar, backed up with the bass and percussion? Britos takes jazz standards, plays them with soft sophistication, and gradually builds up the tempo by adding his own Latin accents.

Britos’ violin melds with that of guitarist Jorge Garcia in a way that is somewhat reminiscent of the style of the late violinist Stephane Grappelli and guitarist Django Reinhardt. Grappelli and Reinhardt, called their violin/guitar act “Hot Club France.” Several years ago, Britos and guitarist Frank Vignola toured Europe. In the spirit of “Hot Club France,” they called their act “Hot Club USA.” In December 1998, Federico paid homage to these venerable musicians when he played in the Grapelli Legacy in Carnegie Hall. This was followed by playing at the Dejango Reinhardt Festival at Birdland Jazz Club in New York.

Britos was practically born to his music having taken up the violin at the age of five in his native Montevideo, Uruguay. When he was eleven, he composed a piece called “Capricho Uraguayo” which Romanian violinist George Boulanger premiered on his tour of the Southern Hemisphere. Although his early training was classical, Federico never felt any constraint to cross over to jazz and back. Through the years, Britos continued to write and record many pieces for orchestra, chamber ensembles, ballet, and for popular dance, films, television and theatre.

In the classics, Britos has served as principal chair, soloist and concertmaster with symphony orchestras in Uruguay, Venezuela, Peru, and Cuba as well as with the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra in Miami. He toured extensively throughout the Americas and Europe appearing with Latin America's greatest musicians such as Astor Piazzolla, Horacio Salgan, Bola de Nieve, Cachao, Joao Gilberto, Dorival Caimi, Vincio de Moraes, Armando Manzanero and Tania Libertad. On the jazz side, he shared the stage or recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Bucky Pizzarelli, Charlie Haden , Ken Poplowski, Eddie Higgins, and Charlie Byrd.

Britos has played in most major jazz festivals in America and Europe. James Olmas invited him to participate in a program called “Americanos” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. This showcase of the crème de la crème of South Florida’s Latin music elite included Cachao, Nestor Torres, Jose Feliciano, Juan Luis Guerra, Gloria Estefan and Paquito D’Rivera.

This old timer never seems to slow down. Lately, he has been touring with Charlie Haden and promoting his latest Grammy awarded CD “Nocturne.” (His last two recordings were made with Haden). He recently recorded his Grammy nominated CD “Cuba Linda” with Grammy winner Cachao. His CD “The First Danzon” has just been released and his “Jazz-Ta” will be released shortly.

Britos has been kicking up dust locally too. After the afternoon concert at WLRN, his group was off to do an evening show at Books & Books in Coral Gables followed by a weekend engagement at the new High Note jazz club.

If you see him, you will be enchanted by his exquisite sounds and arrangements.

The High-Note Jazz Club, located on the second level of La Floridana at 3850 S.W. 8th St. in Coral Gables, is a small intimate room with great acoustics. (No amplification is needed). Parking on site. Tapas and meals. Call 305.603.8659.

Check out this Federico Britos video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXgp5Xfi0Q0

Photos by Manny Meland.

Juan-Carlos Formell

by Manny Meland on May 11, 2010

Rebel with a Cause

Cuban guitarist Juan-Carlos Formell is a rebel with a cause. Born in Havana in 1964, he is the fourth generation of a family of musicians. Classically trained as a bassist, virtuoso guitarist and composer, he aspired to change the parameters of the music he heard being played. However in Cuba, it was a controlled music industry and he wanted to express new ideas and techniques. Change and innovation were anathema to the regime. Juan-Carlos felt that growth and innovation were his birthright. Escape seemed to be his only option. In 1993, he fled to the United States.

Upon arrival in New York, Formell began performing his guitar music in subways. He also found some work with several salsa bands playing bass. He formed his first band the following year and found a niche for his music in alternative venues. After five years of struggle, his career took a leap when in 1999 he was signed to the Wicklow Record Label. This led to a Grammy nomination in 2000 for his debut CD “Songs from a Little Blue House.” Two years later, his acclaimed release “Las Calles del Paraiso” (EMI Latin) followed.

After several years touring with veteran Eliades Ochoa of the Buena Vista Social Club and with world music stars Cesaria Evora, Milton Nascimento and Susana Baca, Juan-Carlos decided to change to a solo guitar act.

Now, a decade later, he has produced five albums and has gained an international reputation as a prophet and poet. His songs speak of Antillean mytho-history that range from what he describes as “paeans to the flora and fauna of Cuba, a defiant call to freedom of a runaway slave, a personal invocation to an Afro-Cuban deity, to a celebration of the divine light that resides in each of us.”

Today, he is being compared to other celebrated guitarists/composers such as Caetano Veloso, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Steve Earl and Nick Drake.

His fifth album, “Johnny’s Dream Club,” re-ignites a century old musical exchange between Havana and the Delta. This title refers to a legendary Havana cabaret where local musicians would show up to jam. Album #5 was recorded in 2008 in the Big Easy and features Dixieland musician Dr. Michael White on clarinet. (Read Dr. Michael White, Man on a Mission – MiamiArtZine (archive) - issue 96 – Manny About Town). “Johnny’s Dream Club” is a Cuban version of Dixieland.

Kimberly Chmura of KCC Productions called to tell me about Juan-Carlos Formell. After a five-year absence from Miami Beach, she booked him on Sunday May 2 for a one night solo acoustic guitar concert at the Van Dyke Cafe on Lincoln Rd. In this one-man show, his music took excursions into the mystical, which he defined as “musical magic realism.”

For more on Juan Carlos Formell, visit www.myspace.comformell. Van Dyke Cafe is located at 946 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach. For more information call 305.532.1233 or visit www.thevandykecafe.com.

 

Juan-Carlos Formell - Video link to Juan Carlos Formell's “Johnny's Dream Club”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_679tDnn53Y Juan Carlos Formell

 

BOMBA ESTÉREO

by Manny Meland on April 25, 2010

BOMBA ESTÉREO

Cumbia / Rap

Are you ready for an explosion? That’s what we got at the Eighth Annual Heineken TransAtlantic Festival on April 9 at the North Beach Bandshell in Miami Beach (Collins at 73rd St.). The music of Bomba Estéreo (literally Sterio Bomb) exploded on stage. Vocalist Liliana (Li) Saumet burst forth with the energy of a speeding metro-rail train. Backed by band leader and bassist Simon Mejida, drummer Kike Egurrola and guitarist Julian Salazar, the infectious beat of “Feelin,” from their successful C.D. “Blow Up.” blew us up.

Who is Bomba Estéreo? The band was founded in 2001 in Bogota, Colombia. They call their music Electro Tropical. It starts with Colombian folkloric Cumbia, a style of music originated by African slaves. The Amerindians’ millo flutes, guiros and claves and the European guitar brought over by the Spanish combined with the African drums to give Cumbia its distinctive sound. Simon waxed poetic when he described his music as “a mixture of the Caribbean Ocean and the Andes Mountains with a bit of Bogata traffic and smog.” Until recently, Cumbia was more popular than Salsa in most of Colombia.

Simon searched for a different sound, something more in step with what young people were listening and dancing to. Even though he thought Cumbia was old fashioned, its basic 4/4 rhythm structure fused well with electronica’s beat. In 2006 in South America, Bomba Estéreo released its first mostly instrumental album called “Vol.1.” Simon then began to work with vocalist, Liliana Saumet who became the charismatic force of the group. Together, they developed a lively sound geared more to the party atmosphere. They recorded “Estella” in 2008 followed by their first U.S. release “Blow Up” in 2009. “Blow Up” has become a mainstay in the iTunes Top 100 Latin American Chart.

Bomba Estéreo, led by Simon Mejia and the lively Li’ Saumet, have made a name for themselves on the tour circuit doing energetic shows in both the United States and Latin America. Bomba had their in New York stage debut at the Latin Alternative Music Conference in 2008. On their way to this evening’s appearance at the TransAtlantic Festival, the group electrified a crowd in Mexico City’s huge central plaza. The band is scheduled to play next month at South By Southwest. (SXSW is a set of interactive music festivals and conferences that take place every spring in Austin, Texas).

P.S. The Rhythm Foundation’s Annual Heineken TransAtlantic festival booked two major acts. The first and opening show on Friday April 9th was Bomba Estéreo and the second and closing performance on Saturday April 24 featured Vieux Farka Toure, the son and heir of the late Ali Farka Toure, a revered blues star in the West African country of Mali. Vieux’s music is released in the U.S. on Six Degrees Records.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZXlgNMDK3E.

Photos by Manny Meland.

Gilberto Gil: Artist / Activist

by Manny Meland on April 11, 2010

Brazilian cultural icon Gilberto Gil, a Grammy winning singer, guitarist and composer, is just as famous for his political activism as for his music. On March 31, I joined an excited throng of Brazilians who packed the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale to hear his music.

Gil began playing music when he was very young. His mother, a teacher, bought him an accordion when he was ten and sent him to music school for four years. His training was in the classical style but he gradually grew more interested in Brazilian folk and popular music. Then in 1950, at the age of fifteen, he joined his first band, Os Desafinados (The Out Of Tunes). He played accordion, vibraphone and he sang. Later on, he switched his primary instrument to the guitar and his music to bossa nova.

In 1964, Gil and a group of influential musicians collaborated in performing traditional Brazilian songs and bossa nova at the Vila Velha Theatre in Rio in a show entitled Nos, Por Exemplo (Us, for Example). The lyrics spoke for popular causes.

The Military regime that took power at that time considered Gil a social threat and held him in confinement for nine months. His first hit song “Aquele Alegro” was released just before his arrest. He was then exiled to London where he discovered reggae and the music of Bob Marley. He also took in concerts and soaked up the music of Miles Davis, Sun Rae and others.

He returned to his beloved Bahia in 1972 and continued his enriched musical career as well as pursuing his political activism. In the late 70s, Gil decided to go to Africa, visiting Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria. Upon his return, Gil released a cover which he did with Jimmy Cliff. It was the popular hit “No Woman, No Cry” which arguably introduced reggae to Brazil.

After Brazil’s current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, appointed Gil to the nation’s post of Minister of Culture, he was visited by a delegation of American online-rights activists which included John Perry Barlow of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (This is the same John Perry Barlow that wrote songs for the cult favorite American band, the Grateful Dead).

Perry and the delegation proposed to Gil to make available an on-line music archive that would one day contain every Brazilian song ever recorded with all of it downloadable for free. Gil, whose own works are out there, amazed his visitors by giving the project his backing. This shouldn’t have been so surprising as Brazil is transforming itself into an open source nation. Observe its approach to drug patents, its support of the free software movement and its resistance to the attempts by special interests to shape global information policy. Gil is in step with all this. Another of his achievements is Onda Azul (Blue Wave), an environmental protection organization he created to protect Brazilian water.

I e-mailed my friend in Rio de Janeiro several photos of Gil that I took at the concert at Broward Center. His reply to me was that Gil has not written a new song since being appointed Minister of Culture.

Back at the Broward Center, people in the audience begged Gil to sing their favorite song. Gil lamented that of the five hundred pieces he had composed, he had to choose twenty for tonight’s program.

Gilberto Gil’s rewards and recognition are numerous. They include Grammys, Medals of Honor and recognition by the United Nations. And counting his music, he certainly deserves to take his bows.