Thursday was the birthday of Rio-born composer and keyboardist Marcos Valle. I first heard his music on DJ Cube's bossa nova station on sky.fm as a fan relatively new to Brazilian music. Out of every set of DJ Cube's music, most of the prettiest tunes were either composed by Valle or Tom Jobim, the co-creator of the genre. Valle's well-known tune "Summer Samba" is one of those songs that haunted my childhood, with covers by Astrud Gilberto, Johnny Mathis, Oscar Peterson, and many others; a version by Walter Wanderley hit the charts in the U.S. in 1966, where it stayed just on the edge of my 5-year-old mind -- not even associated with Brazil but with weddings, family get-togethers, and anyplace where life and love were being celebrated.
For the past two years, Valle has also headlined Birdland's Bossa Brasil Fest, where he's brought such luminaries as Paula Morelenbaum and Wanda Sá. (This year marked Wanda Sa's first U.S. appearance in over ten years.) What I love about these shows is that they bring stars from Brazil like this together with local New York City-based talent such as Jorge Continentino, Itaiguara Brandão, and Paul Meyers. They are a great opportunity for local musicians, they let the international stars shine, and they offer fans an intimate setting to experience their favorite musicians.
Marcos Valle spent many of his early years writing and recording music for television, which may explain why his songs are so catchy. But it would be a mistake to describe his music as "commercial". Many of his songs use baiao rhythms -- one side of his family is from Northeast Brazil -- and his mastery of the keyboard makes use of the best traditions of Brazilian keyboard players. As a successful artist, he seems to remember what so many musicians have forgotten: that listeners want to feel good when they hear music. His performances are opportunities for himself and other musicians to shine and display technical virtuosity, but he never forgets his listeners.
Here he is in a performance of his song "Os Grilos", known in English as "Crickets Sing for Annamaria". Happy 69th birthday, Marcos Valle!
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| Marcos Valle at Birdland in April 2012 with David Schwartz (left) and the blogger (right). Photo: Ellen Cooper |
Marcos Valle spent many of his early years writing and recording music for television, which may explain why his songs are so catchy. But it would be a mistake to describe his music as "commercial". Many of his songs use baiao rhythms -- one side of his family is from Northeast Brazil -- and his mastery of the keyboard makes use of the best traditions of Brazilian keyboard players. As a successful artist, he seems to remember what so many musicians have forgotten: that listeners want to feel good when they hear music. His performances are opportunities for himself and other musicians to shine and display technical virtuosity, but he never forgets his listeners.
Here he is in a performance of his song "Os Grilos", known in English as "Crickets Sing for Annamaria". Happy 69th birthday, Marcos Valle!
