The music of Brazil

Latin Beat Magazine, August, 2002 by Mark Holston

São Paulo also attracts the kind of jazz acts that often don't play in Rio, including such favorites of Paulista audiences as big bands (clarinetist Buddy De Franco fronting the Artie Shaw Orchestra was a recent feature) and nostalgic groups like the vocal and instrumental quartet The Four Freshmen. A new world class concert space, Sala São Paulo, is also attracting attention and a visit should be part of any experience in this metropolis. Retrofit into the courtyard of a turn of the century, neo-classical train station, the 1500-seat concert space recently featured bossa nova pianist João Donato with the city's Symphonic Jazz Orchestra. And, sometimes, finding the best music is purely serendipitous. The dining room of the Inter-Continental Hotel regularly features for its Sunday brunch a trio of SP's best jazz musicians in an elegant setting. And they dig doing requests like A Night In Tunisia.

Back in Rio, Mistura Fina (Av. Borges de Medeiros, 3207-2537-2844) in the Lagoa district, should top the list of must-visit venues. The setting is a colonial era mansion, with a piano bar (cigar smoking permitted and an assortment of excellent puros is at hand), Brazilian specialties on the menu, and in the upstairs jazz room, presentation of top flight local and visiting jazz and Brazilian music artists.

In a class all its own is Modern Sound Mega Music Store (Rua Barata Ribeiro, 502--telephone 2548-5005), an institution in Copacabana for the past 36 years. What was started by jazz lover Pedro Passos as a small specialty record shop dealing in imported U.S. jazz sides has grown into a unique setting for Brazilian culture, cuisine, and music, both recorded and live. The store today occupies a cavernous space that was once a movie theater. It is filled with thousands of Brazilian music CDs of every style and a vast assortment of classical, jazz, and popular music titles from abroad. A small book nook features both Brazilian and U.S. titles, and a large selection of videocassettes and DVDs are available, including many that feature music themes.

The store's biggest draw in recent years has been its cozy café, the Allegro Bistro Musical. Live music is on the menu daily, featuring many of the city's top--and legendary--instrumentalists from years past. Saxophonist J.T. Meirelles and his group are featured every Saturday afternoon. The alto player is a much recorded star of the bossa era, as is pianist Osmar Milito, who is also a staple of evening performances that begin at 7 p.m. nightly. The sets are always packed--part of the fun is people watching as waiters in tunics that look like tropical versions of Star Trek uniforms scurry about with platters of food, draught beer (choppe), and the bar's special caipirinha, Brazil's national cocktail. From avocado-colored walls, larger than life photos of Jobim, Bonfá, Elis Regina and other music legends grace the setting.

Owner Passos, a genial, bearded man with a scholarly air, mixes with patrons as though they were guests in his home, always ready to suggest menu items. The bill of fare includes such dishes as a grilled chicken specialty called "Delirio," named in honor of bolero composer César Portillo de la Luz. And the clientele is equally storied; on one visit, composer Billy Blanco, resplendent in a white linen suit, was just a table away. Rio's music elite have made Modern Sound a kind of unofficial headquarters.