Recorded this year in Rio and Sao Paulo, and produced under Santos’ direct supervision by Mario Adnet and Ze Nogueira, who last collaborated with Santos on 2004’s critically acclaimed Ouro Negro, Choros & Alegria pays tribute to Santos’ prolific five decade long career.
Wynton Marsalis, a long time admirer of Santos’ work, can be heard on the track, “Route ¥.” In addition to Marsalis and Santos himself, who sings on five tunes, producers Adnet and Nogueira also contribute musically to the CD. Among the other acclaimed instrumentalists who perform on Choros & Alegria are Ricardo Silveira, Christovao Bastos, Armando Marcal, Teco Cardoso, Proveta and Trio Maderia Brasil.
Choros & Alegria is just one of several Moacir Santos projects coming from Adventure, in conjunction with Santos’ 80th birthday in 2006. A DVD capturing the recording of Ouro Negro is slated for release early in the year, and the label’s newly created publishing division, Adventure Publishing, plans to release songbooks for both Ouro Negro and Choros & Alegria.
Moacir Santos, born to a poor family in Pernambuco (northeastern Brazil, ) is regarded as a walking encyclopedia in the realm of Brazilian instrumental music. Without hesitation, artists like João Donato, Dori Caymmi, Paulo Moura and Sérgio Mendes will testify to his brilliance. The late Brazilian guitar ace Baden Powell was Moacir’s pupil, and revered his master on the song “Samba da Benção.” And the President of Brazil has awarded Santos the medal of Rio Branco's order.
Santos gained status as an arranger while working on the radio in Brazil in the 1950s. According to Santos, one of his most important works in Brazil was the soundtrack he wrote for the movie Amor no Pacifico (Love in the Pacific), which opened the doors for him to both the Brazilian and international markets, and eventually prompted him to move to the United States in 1967. In America, he recorded four solo albums, three of them for the renowned jazz label Blue Note, and one of them nominated for a Grammy Award. He also wrote soundtracks in Hollywood and taught numerous students, including Sérgio Mendes. His first release for Adventure Music was Ouro Negro, which was originally released in Brazil in 2001, and which The New York Times then named as one of the best recordings of the year not available in the US. The CD’s 2004 US. release also earned considerable critical acclaim, finally drawing long over-due attention to Santos’ incredible musical legacy.
You don’t have to apologize if you don’t know who Moacir Santos is. Many people are oblivious to the works of the arranger and songwriter, regarded by the critics and researchers as one of the most innovative talents in the history of MPB. But from now on, there are no more excuses: the album Ouro Negro, produced by musicians Zé Nogueira and Mario Adnet, is coming out. The CD (released on the label MP,B) features the two instrumentalists performing the sophisticated music of Santos – who is 75 years old and has lived in Los Angeles for the past 3 decades.
In fact, the "secret" around Moacir Santos is not that secret. The arranger, born in Pernambuco (northeastern Brazil), is regarded as a walking encyclopedia in the realms of Brazilian instrumental music. Without hesitation, artists like João Donato, Dori Caymmi, Paulo Moura and Sérgio Mendes will testify to that statement. The late Brazilian guitar ace Baden Powell was Moacir’s pupil, once, and revered his master on the song Samba da Benção.
On Ouro Negro, saxophonist Zé Nogueira and guitarist Mário Adnet lined-up an all-star team, so as to reproduce the original arrangements written for the 28 instrumental pieces picked for the album. Besides the attention to the music, lyrics (written by Ney Lopes) were added to some of the originally instrumental numbers. That’s where big MPB singers come in: Milton Nascimento, Ed Motta, Djavan, Gilberto Gil and João Bosco, among others, appear on the new versions.
The best moments of the record are the covers of tracks from the album Coisas (1965), Moacir’s most famous release – considered a classic, which featured his most well-known song, Nanã (Coisa No 4), also present in Ouro Negro. The influence of Africa (noticed on Kamba, originally written in 1975) and its Brazilian northeastern portion (clear on Jequié and Maracatu) complete the sound spectrum of the double-disc.
Moacir himself supervised the recording sessions produced by Adnet and Nogueira. The work on Ouro Negro is the latest addition to a remarkable résumé. Coming from a poor family in the countryside, Moacir gained status as an arranger while working on the radio in the 1950s, at the same time when he was studying music with maestro Guerra-Peixe. In the ‘60s, he wrote various soundtracks for the movies. After settling in the USA in 1967, he made records for the renowned jazz label Blue Note, wrote soundtracks in Hollywood and worked with Sérgio Mendes.
