From the Editor … - Editorial

Latin Beat Magazine, August, 2002 by Rudy Mangual

In 1939, Brazilian bombshell Carmen Miranda arrived at New York's World Fair giving North America its first taste of Brazilian music and culture. Through her films and performances, she introduced Brazil to the entire world. But it was a gentleman by the name of Antonio Carlos Jobim that truly familiarized us with the beautiful melodies, rhythms and lyrics of Brazilian music. In 1962, jazz master Stan Getz recorded the Jobim composition Desafinado, which became a huge hit and initiated the travels of many American jazz musicians to Rio de Janeiro in search of this new music called bossa nova. That same year, the first Carnegie Hall bossa nova concert took place featuring the music of Jobim, João Gilberto, Oscar Castro-Neves, Sergio Mendes and Luis Bonfá, among many others. Soon thereafter, Stan Getz recorded The Girl From Ipanema together with Jobim, Astrud and João Gilberto, launching the bossa nova and Brazilian music all over the world. Jobim's talents were recognized that same year with a Grammy award for his recording of The Composer Plays for the Verve label. A second wave of talented Brazilian composers and musicians (the post bossa nova generation) emerged years later led by Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Dori Caymmi, and Ivan Lins. They introduced the world to the vast range of rhythms native to their country, including the bossa nova, frevo, marcha-rancho, samba, afoxé, choro, baião, and partido-alto. Nascimento, Gil, and Veloso became the new ambassadors of Brazilian music, traveling at home and abroad, filling concert halls and festivals with aficionados of this exceptional music. Today Brazilian music continues its international popularity through the talents of some of the aforementioned veterans as well as by a new breed of rising young talent. Ivan Lins, Joyce, Tania Maria, Trio Da Paz, Max De Castro, Otto, and Luciana Mello continue to produce songs that are harmonically rich and have incredibly colorful melody lines. Brazilian rhythms have also found their way in to the international club scene, fusing their tropically lush flavors with the new urban and contemporary musical dance trends of today.

We dedicate this issue of Latin Beat Magazine to our Brazilian brothers and sisters, their wonderful music and culture, and to everyone in the world music scene. In the past 12 years of publishing Latin Beat Magazine we have always included Brazilian and world music in our format despite our main commitment to Latin music. With this issue we reemphasize that dedication to inclusion of notable world music.

In the following pages you can enjoy a visit to Rio de Janeiro's music spots through the guidance of the internationally renowned writer/musician/investigator Mark Holston in his article The Music of Brazil; from Louie Laffitte, the conclusion of The Sun of Latin Music: Eddie Palmieri Part II; Luis Tamargo speaks with Juan-Carlos Formell in the article The Post-Modern Perspective of Juan-Carlos Formell; from the pen of Frank M. Figueroa is the article Humberto Ramírez: Young Man With a Horn, and Rudy Mangual focuses on the new groups Sakésho from the French Caribbean Islands and Richport from Puerto Rico. Plus plenty of great musical information, CD and concert reviews.