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 | Jane BunnettRendez-Vous Brazil-CubaLabel: Justin Time | Jazz | August 12, 1995Format UPC Order # Unit Price |
Credits Sabine Boyer alto flute (on track 06) Jane Bunnett flute, piccolo (on track 07) and soprano saxophone Larry Cramer flugelhorn and trumpet Carlitos Del Puerto double bass Hilario Durán percussion (on tracks 08 and 09) and piano Filó Machado acoustic guitar and electric guitar Celso Machado percussion Filó Machado percussion (on track 07) and voice (on tracks 01 and 02) Celso Machado voice (on track 03) Filó Machado voice (on track 07) Production Credits | TracksNo Title Duration Excerpts 04 Choro De Pére (Choro Of My Father) 00:05:36 05 Barreto 00:07:10 06 For You 00:03:31 07 Forró Na Vovó 00:08:17 08 Um A Zero 00:04:31 09 Rendez-Vous 00:04:53 10 Sweet Melody 00:06:38 Liner Notes"Cuba and Puerto Rico are from one bird, they are it's two wings°, once wrote the Puerto Rican poet Dolores Rodriguez de Tio, in celebration of their common cultural heritage and the spontaneous affinity between them.Doha Lola lived in Cuba for many years, as did her compatriot Rafael Hernandez, who wrote unforgettable melodies that have passed into the history of Cuban music, along with those of Lecuona and Cesar Portillo. As time went by, following the communist takeover of 1959, many Cuban artists settled into San Juan, quickly adapting themselves to the musical life of the small island where they found a new home. It is a very different story with respect to Cuba and Brazil; two communities which share common roots but act like distant cultures. This phenomenon is obvious in the Latin-American immigrant groups of countries like Germany, France and North America, where reference is made to "Latin America and Brazil" (which for me sounds as absurd as saying "Europe and Portugal"!) In New York City for example, the division between "Latinos salseros" or Latin-jazz players and the Brazilian musicians is so accentuated that artists who work both styles like Dave Valentin, Michael Camilo, Ignacio Berroa and Jorge Dalto are looked upon as exotic birds. Among the thousands of followers of Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Ruben Blades, I don't believe that many remember the names of Ellis Regina, Pixinguinha or Cesar Camargo-Mariano. And in the gigantic "salsa" shows that Dominican-American impresario Ralph Mercado organizes in Madison Square Garden, it would be hard to find a single compatriot of "el Rey Pelé". As my friend singer-percussionist "Boniato" said to me in Spain: `Neither do the Cubans play samba, nor the Cariocas understand the clave" By the same token, the jazzmen of the north are too busy looking for their brothers in the black continent, and they seem not to understand that the nearest sons of Mother Africa are not as far as Botswana or Cameroon, but in Cuba and Brazil, whose culture they have either ignored or at best caricatured during years and years, even with the existence of large Cuban and Brazilian communities in Miami, New York, Montreal and other North American cities. Jane Bunnett is without a doubt the exception to this rule. Her love and dedication for our music are worthy of respect and admiration. If only all those who have used our rich musical tradition so superficially would have followed her example... The first time that I knew of Janes work was through her recording, "Spirits Of Havana", a production that had a well-deserved success amongst critics and audiences alike, miraculously recorded in that rundown studio "EGREM" in (what is left of) the city of La Habana. On that CD, along with such young talents as Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Jane's husband trumpeter Larry Cramer, the reed-lady graciously invited the leading voice of Afro-Cuban song Merceditas Valdés, el grupo Yoruba Andabo, pianist Frank Emilio, jazz drummer Guillermo Barreto and other brave veterans of Cuban music who, although well-known outside of Cuba, have never received in their own country the recognition they deserve. Now Miss Burnett embarks on another exciting project, this time with a Cuban-Brazilian flavour. For this the Canadians have gathered together a distinguished group of musicians including two Cubans: the pianist Hilario Duran (who also participated in "Spirits"), and contrabassist Carlitos del Puerto Jr., son of my dear old buddy from the Irakere days (Buen trabajo, mi socio!). The Brazilian component is very well represented by the extremely musical brothers Filo and Celso Machado who sing, play and compose like a delicious Cariocan feijoada. The repertoire chosen for this occasion is an exquisite collection of pieces by the Machado brothers, Hermeto Pascoal, Pixinguinha and Jane herself, who wrote a lovely allegory to our friend, the great drummer "Barreto", who died shortly after recording "Spirits". Throughout this entire CD, the music leaves Brazil and enters Cuba flowing back and forth seamlessly as if to remind us that the slaves who arrived in Louisiana and the South American coast planted with their sweat and their blood, the seed of the giant tree that is today's American jazz and Brazilian music. These were perhaps the brothers of those who left on the next caravel, from the African island of Gorée, headed for Cuba. Paquito D'Rivera New York, June 19, 1995 |
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