How to Survive a Baile Funk

Travel to Brazil and other warmer climates tends to pick up around this time every year, as it gradually gets colder in the American Northeast, so this might be a good time to talk about one of the more unique, off-the-beaten-path  Brazilian music destinations for tourists.  Friends have asked me about the funk party I attended during my week in Rio last December, asking questions like "Is it safe?" and "What should I bring?"

The favela funk scene in Rio, like the favelas themselves, are undergoing rapid transformation and commercialization right now -- so much so that much has probably changed even in the year since I was there.  Pacification and new prosperity exist side-by-side with persistent violence and grinding poverty. As many of the slums move onto the grid, the "favela tour" cottage industry has boomed, and interest in how people in the favelas live has increased.  News reports of successful pacification programs might lead some to believe that the favelas are safe, but the reality is a lot more complicated.  At the end of last year I was still a little uncertain about going into a favela at night, and neither I nor any of my American friends knew just what to expect.

It turns out that going to a favela party is actually one of the safer things you can do in Rio -- if you do it right.  But there are rules, mostly unwritten.  Surprisingly, none of the leaders in my tour group went over these rules, possibly because they involve a lot of common sense and it was assumed they'd be followed.  But we all know common sense is not always that common, and there were people in my group who did some monumentally stupid things.  So, in the public interest, I'm offering up these few short, simple guidelines:

Rule #1.  Don't go alone.  An excursion to the slums of Rio is one activity that's best left to the professionals, at least for now.  At a minimum, go with a Brazilian friend fluent in Portuguese who is known in that favela; at best, go with a tour group.  It's almost impossible to exaggerate how important this is.  Americans who think they can venture up there alone are way out of their league, particularly at night.  I don't care what rough neighborhoods you've come from back home, or what you've read about pacification.  Unknown people found wandering around a slum in Rio de Janeiro at night can still have weapons drawn on them and made to explain what they're doing there.  Are you ready to tell armed men, in Portuguese, that you're looking for the funk party?

Rule #2.  Leave with the people you came with.  It may be tempting to go even further off the beaten path with Brazilians you meet at the party, but it's a foolish, selfish thing to do.  It's fine to go off on your own within the club, but at the end of the night, meet the rest of your group at an agreed-upon place.

Rule #3.  Don't hit on women.  If you're a guy, save your pickup lines for the clubs back home.  Flirting with the wrong girl at a favela party could get you killed, or at least get you into a nasty fight.  Don't assume that club security will be able to help you if some guy starts swinging -- many of the venues get overcrowded and, in a place where people are packed so tightly they can hardly move, by the time security reaches you to break it up, the fight could be over.

Rule #4.  Bring earplugs, and use them.  There are no noise ordinances in these neighborhoods and no regulations governing the decibel levels inside; the music volume is limited only by the capabilities of the sound system.  What this means, if you're an American who has spent your whole life living on the grid, is that this is probably going to be the loudest music you've ever heard in your entire life.  Plan accordingly.  Even with earplugs, the volume level last year was otherworldly, almost intolerable for me.

Rule #5.  If you're with a tour, bring your camera.  If you've a small digital camera, you can usually use it without worrying about it being stolen, but again, utilize common sense.  Ask your tour guides what makes sense for the venue and neighborhood you're visiting.  Never make a camera obviously visible outside your group's section or outside the door of the venue.  Put it away when entering or leaving.

In general, it helps just to be aware that you are far, far away from any official police presence or infrastructure.  Smoking, overcrowding, and insanely loud noise are the norm, and fistfights are not uncommon either.  Having said that, most people are there to have fun.  Keep alert, show respect to all, and be where you need to be at the end of the night, and you'll have a great time.

Here'a video posted by Be A Local, the outfit that organized the tour I went on last year:

And here's the web site for the same favela tour guide:

Be A Local

National Samba Day in Brazil

Yesterday (December 2) marked the anniversary of Ary Barroso's historic visit to Salvador, Bahia.  The great Brazilian composer from Minas Gerais had written songs about the Northeast Brazilian state but had never visited before.  The city of Salvador commemorated his visit -- which occurred long after he'd created some of his most famous compositions -- with a local holiday in honor of samba that eventually spread to the rest of the country.  In Salvador it's an excuse for a huge street party in the Upper City -- notably Pelorinho -- and in Rio, there's the "trêm do samba", where for a couple of days hundreds of percussionists, pagode musicians, and enthusiasts ride the trains in a journey that takes about three hours, playing and singing along the way.  The train makes stops in places important to samba history, and there are performances by many of Rio's greatest samba legends, and by representatives of many samba schools' "old guard" players, both onboard and off.  This year, according to O Globo news, four trains were set aside for music and festivities, and thirty-two train cars.

Thirty-two train cars can hold an awful lot of people.  Check out this video -- shot last week -- of the "Bloco dos Cachaças".  My fellow New Yorkers will likely be tickled by the combination of a familiar sight -- a suburban commuter train -- and a flood of partying the likes of which would never be seen here, even on Halloween.  Monolingual English speakers:  Don't be put off by the Portuguese; the reporter's introduction is brief, and the rest of the video stands on its own.

Marcos Valle

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.



Marcos Valle at Birdland in April 2012 with David Schwartz (left) and the blogger (right). Photo: Ellen Cooper

 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!

Manhattan Samba

We're approaching Brazilian Independence Day, which in New York City is always celebrated on Labor Day weekend.   It was on that Sunday, seven years ago, that I first saw and heard Manhattan Samba, my samba school, who were performing in front of the Brazilian consulate, as they have every year during the event's 27-year history.  I'd been an amateur musician for most of my life, but had long since become bored with the music I'd been playing, and never considered picking up an instrument again until that day.  Seven years later, I'm still pleased to belong to the informal organization that introduced me to Brazilian rhythms. 

Manhattan Samba on Brazil Day, 2006

In the grand manner of Rio samba schools -- though on a much smaller scale -- Manhattan Samba is a band, a learning environment, and a social club all in one.  Founder and director Ivo Araújo is known for bringing in people with virtually no musical experience and having them learning how to play traditional samba to be able to perform with the band within a short time.  On the other hand, Ivo and Manhattan Samba (the two cannot be separated) have also collaborated with many established, professional musicians such as Paul Winter, Wyclef Jean, Gogol Bordello, Jimmy Cliff, and Carlinhos Brown, and the band has been the inspiration for many other Brazilian music projects and baterias in New York City.  Ivo has a knack for integrating samba rhythms seamlessly into the music of his collaborators; at the same time, the band's own shows throb with energy and passion in a way that no other samba show in New York City does.

Ivo started Manhattan Samba in 1990 with pianist, composer, and big American band leader Amy Duncan at a time when there was very little live Brazilian carnaval music in New York.  "Manhattan Samba was the first big group, together with Empire Loisaida, long gone," he says.  He'd already been in the U.S. for ten years, playing as a percussionist for American jazz bands and directing his own Brazilian music projects; Ivo's first Casa Grande e Senzala band after Kilombo dos Palmares once opened for Tito Puente.    At first, he didn't think many New Yorkers would be interested in learning batucada.  But after seeing him perform live, Amy urged him to gather students.  "She encouraged me to play and teach."  Their first batucada show at S.O.B.'s was an instant success.  Ivo showed up to play with 35 people -- most bands playing there at the time had no more than six -- and "for the first time I blasted S.O.B.'s."  The group was so loud that a subway train conductor came up from the nearby #1 train station to investigate.  "What kind of band was that?" he said.  For fifteen years after that, until around 2005, the band closed the weekly Saturday night samba show at the club, with a late-night act that the Village Voice called "the best way to wind up a Saturday night club crawl". 

Now in 2012, Manhattan Samba (known in Portuguese as the "União da Ilha de Manhattan") remains the longest running Rio traditional-style carnaval band in New York, with a long list of successful live projects and an even longer list of current and former band members who were inspired to begin their own Brazilian music projects.  Members have gone on to teach samba in high schools, start their own bands, create documentary films, and get advanced degrees in music.  Every year, the band's signature red and white can be seen in some of the great parades of New York City, including the Halloween Parade and the Gay Pride Parade, and the band still sometimes makes appearances at S.O.B.'s, thrilling audiences with late-night batucada that always brings the house down.

Brazilian music fans sometimes wonder why the school wears red and white, when the colors of the Brazilian flag are green, yellow, blue and white.  It's because of Ivo's connection with União da Ilha do Governador, the samba school in Rio with which Ivo has the closest connection.  Their colors are red, white and blue.  "It shows respect for Uniao, which is my original samba school, together with Portela."  Portela's influence is seen in the image of the eagle holding a drum; the eagle was once part of that group's symbolism.

Manhattan Samba are scheduled to play at the Lavagem da Rua (Cleansing of 46th Street) on Saturday Sept 1st, the New York Brazil Day festival Sunday Sept 2nd, and the Brazil Day Fest in Newark NJ.  Here they are in Manhattan on Brazilian Day 2010:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGsBR4SGlpQ

Manhattan Samba is available for samba shows with women dancers in full costume. Ivo is also accepting new students to teach, and considers an ability to follow directions much more important than any prior musical experience.  Weekly practice is $20 and, weather permitting, is held on the street, just like in Brazil.  You can contact him via the website, manhattansamba.org or manhattansamba.com, by writing to him at manhattansamba@gmail.com 

 or by calling 917 723 3814.

Rogerio Souza Brazilian Guitar Intensive in New York City

Hey Guitarists!  This year's location of the Rogerio Souza Brazilian Guitar Intensive will be "Space on White" Space no. 4 at 3:15pm Saturday SEPTEMBER 15 2012.  We have the room until 6pm and it is a fairly large space.  Space on White is located at 81 White Street between Bdway and Lafayette Streets NYC.  I've set up a place on the first page of my website where you can pay via paypal for the Guitar Intensive online http://www.billynewman.com/home.shtml.  The price is 75.00 for the 2 1/2 hour class.

Rogerio is an expert in Choro and Samba and all the shadings of what is Musica Carioca. He plays both 6 and 7 string guitar and is a composer and arranger(Ivan Lins, Ney Mattogrosso etc..). Recently he has been teaching throughout South America and has been performing frequently with his brother Ronaldo do Bandolim, "No em Pinga d'Agua", plus has done various solo concerts. From my own experience I can tell you that Rogerio is an amazing arranger for the guitar of Choro and Samba. He has numerous arrangements of Pixinguinha and Jacob do Bandolim and Ernesto Nazareth amongst others. His recent CDs include " Homenagem aCarlinhos Leite", "tributo a Baden Powell" and "Rogerio Souza". I strongly urge you not to miss the opportunity to see his demonstration of arranging for the guitar, guitar comping for Samba and Choro, contrapuntal bass lines for guitar (baixaria) and a general discussion of the Aesthetics of Brazilian guitar.

Reserve your spot! - there will be no more than twenty participants with guitars.  Because of the extra room size, I will have room for auditors if you do not wish to participate as a player.  Write me if you have questions or concerns.

 

Subjects to be covered:

• Baden Powell's Approaches to Guitar: A look at his special techniques
• Samba - Right Hand Techniques- Partido Alto 
• Baixaria - how to form accompanying bass lines that are used in Samba and Choro
• The subgenres of Choro: Maxixe, Tango Brasileiro, Polka, Lundu, Valsa - How to play
• Repertoire of the Brazilian Guitarist 
• Guitar Arrangement

 Rogerio comes off a year of intensive teaching, traveling and playing internationally. Let's not miss the opportunity to spend some time with him while he is here so briefly in NYC.

 

Inquiries to:  billy@billynewman.com

 

2nd Annual Brasilfest: The Billy Newman Sextet

Even if I didn't know Billy Newman -- either as his student, his friend, or a fan -- I'd want to know just how he does it.  The sheer audacity of taking on the logistical problems posed by a live combination of a nylon-string guitar -- a C instrument, and inherently one of the quietest instruments around -- with a loud section of horns tuned in E-flat and B-flat, would be enough, just by itself, to warrant my curiosity.  It's an ambitious venture, and not a combination I often see live.  As for recordings of Brazilian music, my only frame of reference is Charlie Byrd's "Brazilian Byrd" records from the 1960s. 

But the Billy Newman Sextet pulls it off, and beautifully too.  The new CD, released last year, features all original compositions arranged for guitar, bass, and horns.  There's a lot of riffing on the contrast between the warm nylon-string guitar sound and the bright, crisp saxophone-trumpet combination.  And the range of moods is striking:  "Ana Requiem" -- a tune he wrote for his late friend Ana Fonteles -- is meditative and sad, while "The 'I' Woman Love" is rhythmically complex and playful.  "Intervallic Choro" and "Groove Choro" are cool compositions in the choro form.

Billy Newman is conversant with many Brazilian genres (Choro, Samba, Valsa, Baiao), and has been playing Brazilian music for over 10 years.  His music looks at the relationship between Brazilian instrumental music and American jazz.  He's written a book on Brazilian music, and he actively teaches and performs in the New York area. His sextet will be at the Cornelia Street Cafe on Thursday, August 16 at 8:30 at 10:00.  Reservations are recommended by calling 212-989-9319.

Benji Kaplan at Cornelia Street Cafe

When I first met Benji Kaplan, about five years ago, he was busking on the Q train platform in the New York City subway system.  He struck me as someone very gifted, a young guitarist who started playing professionally at an early age, with a deep appreciation for the Brazilian sound, and a clear sense of the gifts he contributes to it as an American.  I subsequently met him again at California Brazil Camp, where such incredible teachers as Guinga, Moyseis Marques, and Jorge Alabé teach master classes.  There, listening to his music away from the roar of train tracks, I finally understood -- not just intellectually but with my heart -- that you really don't have to be Brazilian to play like one.  Guinga dubbed Benji a genius, the best American player of Brazilian music.


Benji Kaplan with the great Brazilian composer and guitarist Guinga, at California Brazil Camp 2009

It's three years later. Benji has disappeared from subway platforms, and the only way to hear him live now is either to be lucky enough to blunder into a restaurant like Caliu on the odd Monday night, or to pay to hear him play at a venue for serious music lovers such as the Cornelia Street Cafe.  The Second Annual Brasilfest, a three-day festival of Brazilian music, starts there on Wednesday, and Benji is concluding the first night with a set of original pieces, many from his new album, Meditações No Violão (Meditations on Guitar).  It's his first of what will hopefully be many appearances at the West Village venue.

I thought about reviewing the album, but there's very little I could say that hasn't already been said here.  It's a perfect combination of technique and heart.  Benji also shows a real familiarity with styles such as choro, baiao, and even Portuguese fado.  These styles deserve to enter the American mainstream just the way bossa nova and samba did decades ago, and Benji, as well as Rob Curto and festival curator Billy Newman (Thursday), are doing their small part to make it happen.  It's exciting to witness.


Benji Kaplan will be playing with Leco Reis (bass), Luiz Ebert (drums), and Seth Trachy (sax) at the Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street in the West Village, at 10pm on Wednesday the 15th.  As with any intimate venue, reservations are recommended, and can be made by calling 212-989-9319.