YourWorld Listening Post
Our listening posts are there to give you the opportunity to hear Brazilian music you might not otherwise have the pleasure of hearing. Perhaps we can introduce you to an artist or style of music unfamiliar to audiences in the United States, it's all there for your listening pleasure.
- On the JAZZ BRASILEIRO STATION, it is the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de Sao Paulo with Banda Mantiqueira interpreting Nanã.
- On the BOSSA NOVA STATION, Wanda Sá sings the lyrics to Nanã.
- On the BRAZILIAN POPULAR MUSIC STATION (MPB), Wilson Simoninha delivers Nanã in a very contemporary fashion during his Live Session at Trama Studios.
Special Tribute to Moacir Santos
We are taking the occasion of the inaugural posting of our listening post to pay special tribute to Moacir Santos, one of Brazil's most important musical talents. Moacir, who will be celebrating his 80th birthday during 2006, is a prolific composer, arranger, instrumentalist and teacher. His most well-known composition, "Nanã (written with Mário Telles), has been recorded more than 150 times. We have chosen to introduce each station with a version of "Nanã".
Moacir Santos' biography
Born in 1926, in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Moacir José dos Santos (better known as Moacir Santos) had already mastered various brass, string and percussion instruments by the age of 14. In 1948, he moved to Rio and initially worked as a saxophonist at Radio Nacional (Brazil's largest radio network), where he rose to the ranks of arranger and conductor in the following two decades, while expanding his knowledge by studying with the maestro Guerra-Peixe and other prominent music professors.
In 1967, Santos left a solid career in his native country and moved to Southern California, where he recorded various phenomenal albums as a leader for the Blue Note label in the 1970s. . 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 continued teaching. Over the years his students have included Oscar Castro-Neves, Baden Powell, Maurcio Einhorn, Geraldo Vespar, Bola Sete, Sergio Mendes, Dom Um Romao, Joao Donato Dori Caymmi, Airto Moreira, and Flora Purim, among others. Although having a very close friendship with Antonio Carlos Jobim, he says Jobim was never one of his students.
Although he is regarded as one of the most innovative Brazilian jazz artists of all time, Moacir did not receive the recognition that he truly deserves until the year 2001, when the remarkable double CD Ouro Negro (Black Gold) was recorded in Rio, under the leadership of saxophonist Zé Nogueira and guitarist Mario Adnet, whose all-star team reproduced Santos' original arrangements, as written for the 28 instrumental pieces picked for the album. Compatible lyrics (penned by Ney Lopes) were added to some of the instrumental numbers, using some of the top Brazilian singers of our times (Milton Nascimento, Djavan, Joao Bosco, Gilberto Gil). In order to ensure the authenticity of the proceedings, Santos supervised the recording sessions, while contributing a few vocals, here and there. The New York Times then named as one of the best recordings of the year not available in the US. The CD's release in the US in 2004 also earned considerable critical acclaim, finally drawing long over-due attention to Santos' incredible musical talent.
On Santos' most recent CD, Choros & Alegria, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is featured on the track "Rota". Wynton compared Moacir to Thelonius Monk and Beethoven for his ingenuity, and to Duke Ellington because of his orchestral neatness. He added that, like very few others, this Brazilian composer and maestro, knows how to combine European music with its African roots and with the liberty of jazz.