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Wednesday, June 30, 2004
jazzy bossa

John Pizzarelli blew my pants off, ladies and gentlemen. he gave one helluva performance!! but before i go any further with that, i'll share about other artists i've been seeing.

sunday. there were also four free performances in the Market Square just like one day earlier, except that i skipped the first two shows by Jon Miller Quartet and Gnu Standards. (actually i catched a glimpse of Gnu's performance for a bit but i found them boring, so i hang around elsewhere until Sara showed up.) these last days have been unbelievably hot for canada; and since the venue is outdoor, through all the concerts i'm exposing myself for hours directly to the sun. the result? alerting sunburn. as in, very dark. reddish kinda dark. keling. but no matter, because these last days also have been the greatest moment i've spent in this city. so around 2.30 pm, Sara Marreiros Quartet was showing. accompanying Sara were one rhythm guitar, one bass and drums. being half-portuguese, Sara sings tunes from her country with a remarkable passion. she takes the lyrics seriously (which are in portuguese), while the mixed rhythm of brazilian tunes, portuguese melodic-pop, and jazz gives the chill out mood to the audience. very powerful vocal. her authentic way of performing is also a plus. no wonder she was also the opening act for Pizzarelli's concert last night, where she gave even a stronger and more passionate performance.

that chill out mood, however, was extended until the rest of the afternoon, thanks to what Perros Libre had performed (the band's name, which is in spanish, literally means 'free the dog'). four guitars—three acoustic, one rhythm—with two traditional drums and lotsa percussions guarantee their latin music as sophisticated as the mood they had created for the lazy afternoon. some of the songs are like the kind of instrumental music that you might have heard as a soundtrack for a movie—the soothing ones. it makes you just want to relax and stretch your leg a bit farther hoping someone might give you a free massage.

so there goes brazilian/portuguese tunes, latin, and here's another one: BossaYou, as the name says loud and clear, is a bossanova band. and undoubtedly, took my mind away. i catched them on stage yesterday; the singer's vocal is unique and his brother in the guitar is hypnotic. the other two members are in drums and bass. they opened their show with the sweet classic Aqua de Beber, which of course stole my attention right away. they seem to be heavily influenced by Bebel Gilberto's work, for they even performed the modified versions of two of her songs, August Day Song and Tanto Tempo without making them less appealing. the mix was luscious but still has a modern edge. catchy.

The loss for the last three days is a lot: Stacey Kent with her dazzling vocal, Montreal's sensational Bullfrog, Mexican Lhasa with her cabaret influence, Orchestra Natinale de Jazz big band from Paris, and Calexico's mix of jazz swagger, mexicali blues and electro-funk. and i'm gonna skip much more the next few days. but, again, no matter. because last night, i watched the concert of the greatest, baddest, illuminating jazz guitarist/vocalist on earth:

John Pizzarelli Trio The Baddest Jass Guitarist on Earth... John Pizzarelli


the mind-blowing John Pizzarelli!! (for you who don't know, he's the son of the legendary jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli.) well, of course, with his band, so let's make that John Pizzarelli Trio. but that's not entirely true. sure, ever since the last ten years John has been accompanied by the remarkable pianist Ray Kennedy and his brother Martin Pizzarelli playing the bass (and the trio is the foundation of most of his records), but apparently the drumless trio has no longer been drumless this year, for they've recruited one more member as the drummer—my bad, i forgot his name (but i do remember John mentioned something about the drummer dating his sister). so it's now supposed to be a quartet. the concert is a part of Victoria's JazzFest, but it is also a program for the tourforf his latest album, Bossa Nova, which features Daniel JobimAntonio Carlos Jobim's grandson—as vocal, and he's the special guest for last night, which makes five of them and therefore should be named John Pizzarelli Quintet.

as such, the album is inspired a lot by Antonio Carlos and features classic bossa songs by him such as The Girl From Ipanema, Waters of March and One Note Samba. needless to say, i almost fell from the chair when those songs were played. but no, really. never before had i seen such an exceptionally talented musician live. John's guitar isn't supposed to be questioned at all, you just can't help but feeling awestruck. he could do this obscure thing, but amazing nonetheless, of wording his guitar rhythm in the same time as he plays it for an extended period—simply breathtaking. how on earth did he do that? this is the only concert in part of JazzFest that i'm willing to spend for the quite-expensive ticket, but i should say i've made the right choice. John isn't just a talented guitarist (and vocalist), but he's a true performer. the jokes that he threw between the songs weren't dry, and the way he explained the background of each song was plain hilarious. he also has this facial—and body—expression while playing his guitar that's inevitably amusing. don't even ask about the music. Ray Kennedy was totally on fire last night, i wonder how he managed not to burn his fingers off after playing the piano that exciting. they played total in that two hours time (one hour before them was Sara Marreiros Trio) without giving the audience a chance to feel disssapointed at all. charming. simply put, they kick ass!!!

it's all well worth the ticket, the time, and the hassle. as you might have noticed, all of these artists are somewhat related to the brazilian bossa nova. the music of the year? maybe it's just me, but i think the euphoria isn't exagerated. you simply wouldn't get bored with the tunes. sophisticated, chill out, jazzy, groovy.


# | posted by emil @ 6/30/2004 04:48:00 a.m. |