Regional de NY

I'm making this evening's post a little plug for the Regional de New York.  I saw them at the Cornelia Street Cafe a month or two ago.  Their show was the most beautiful thing I've seen lately, and I spend a lot of my time looking for beautiful things.  These guys deserve way more attention than they get, and I believe they will be on the radar very soon.  If you don't know what choro music is, I can't think of a better introduction in New York City than these guys.  In a nutshell, it's the original Brazilian jazz, a mixture of African traditions and ragtime.  Scholars believe it is probably the oldest form of what we call jazz in the world, originating around the late 19th century in Rio.  Compositions follow very a strict form, and improvisation is highly structured.

Regional de New York is a Big Apple take on this old and challenging classical form.  They try a lot of very difficult things, and succeed almost all the time.  They are really tight, and they do it all, in true choro tradition, without a single sheet of written music.

I had a hard time choosing a video, but settled on "Santa Morena".

Regional de New York hosts a monthly roda de choro (jam session) at Beco Bar in Williamsburg.  The next one's on Sunday.  I'm going out of town, or I'd be there.  Check them out!