巴西音樂俱樂部

Few can deny the cultural influence that Brazilians have made on the world. From music to sports, references that are inspired by Afro-Brazilian culture are ubiquitously made throughout the world. Among the aesthetics that have emerged from Brazil are Afro-Brazilian Jazz and ‘Bossa Nova’ music, which refers to a New form of music to arrive on the scene. Bossa Nova was referred to as a new genre that infuses samba and jazz, albeit developed within the 1950s and 60‘s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Afro Brazilian Jazz is an art form that has undoubtedly influenced musicians around the world, and one that has made an indelible impact on numerous genres of music within the United States, Japan and Europe.

Bossa Nova, which means ‘new trend’ in Portuguese, infuses samba and jazz together and remains to be a vital form of music for much of Brazil.From this art form, a new project called Bossa Negra, which is taken from Brazilian  vocalist Elza Soares’ second LP album entitled: A Bossa Negra (circa 1960‘s), emerges a new project, albeit redesigned, which recently peaked at no. 2 on the music charts in Hong Kong.  We caught up with one of the producers of the project, Howard Lee, who took time out to talk to us about the success of the Bossa Negra project and the ultimate purpose behind the enterprise.

TaschimaAllen: Tell us about Bossa Negra. For those who may not understand the term Bossa Negra, can you explain the origin of the term and the meaning behind it?

HowardLee:The term‘Bossa Negra’ was taken from the title of an album by Elza Soares, one of Brazil’s iconic singers. She was one of the few female Black artists that had a long career (and continues to do so) with her very unique gutsy voice. Also the term is a play on the words of the term “Bossa Nova.” The term “bossa nova” means “new trend” in Portuguese and bossa nova was seen as the “new beat” of Brazilian music in the 1950’s.

Elza Soares and the Original Bossa Negra Album

The aim of the band is to promote Black Brazilian Music sung in Chinese and English, therefore a literal translation of the band’s name would read “black trend” or “black rhythm.”

I have been performing and promoting Brazilian music since 2002 and have discovered that whilst many non-Brazilians enjoy coming to the shows, most people have a hard time relating to it because it is sung in a language that they cannot understand or sing along to.

This is not such a problem with western audiences, however with Chinese people the emphasis is all on the lyrics and the singer. Unless they can understand what they are singing about and can sing along to it themselves, they are not going to be interested.

This is the main reason for creating Bossa Negra or in Chinese 巴西音樂俱樂部(Brazilian music club). My aim is to get Chinese people into Brazilian music and the only solution in getting my fellow Chinese compatriots into this music is by recording an album of Brazilian music with an actual Brazilian band sung in the spoken language of the Chinese people.

I think with my research on the Chinese charts has also encouraged me to take this path. The biggest selling artists by numbers alone in China and Taiwan are actually Chinese artists. Therefore for any kind of foreign music to be accepted in the cultural mainstream, someone would have to come up with a Chinese version first.

There are plenty of examples of how “western” styles such rock, rap and RnB have now been accepted into the Chinese mainstream. It always starts with a Chinese artist imitating their western counterparts first before it is accepted into the Chinese mainstream.

The only artist that have proven an exception to the rule is Michael Jackson but then again an artist like him only comes once in a lifetime.

TaschimaAllen: Besides the success of reaching No. 2 on the charts in Hong

Kong, what impact do you hope Bossa Negra will have on both music and pop culture in Hong Kong and throughout the world in the future?

HowardLee: The biggest impact Bossa Negra had in China was in Shanghai, when we were invited to perform at the World Expo in 2010. We had a series of performances both inside and outside the expo. As we were sponsored by the Brazilian government, we got a lot of exposure from the performances and managed to sell over 10,000 copies of our single in Shanghai over the next year. Although we reached no.2 on the jazz charts in Hong Kong, it is relatively quite a niche in the HK music scene.

Howard Lee poses for a photograph

Hong Kong is probably our most difficult market, although it is one of the most influential and westernised cities in China, the majority of Hong Kong people are quite uncultured and very uninterested in new forms of music.

Really what you have in Hong Kong is an entertainment industry, everything is geared towards the “idol” where what you look like is more than important than what you actually produce.

However I am from Hong Kong and although I know that it’s going to be an uphill

battle, our upcoming EP release this summer contains a very well known Cantonese track rearranged in a Brazilian “Axé” style, which should appeal to the masses whilst keeping our musical identity and integrity intact.

TaschimaAllen: Have you noticed a direct impact on the way people have been responding to the music?

HowardLee: The most frequent responses that I have been receiving was that both Chinese and Brazilians alike were completely surprised at how Brazilian music can be sung in Chinese. I think this curiosity alone made people buy the single. It’s never been done before and I can say that with confidence that this is the first time that an authentic Brazilian record was sung in Chinese. For most Chinese people who hear the single it has proved to be their first time in hearing what Brazilian music sounds like and for most of them they were surprised by how relaxing Brazilian music is. Which is great because I have already proved that one of my aims have been fulfilled, which is to open the door for Chinese people into discovering Brazilian music.

As for the Brazilians when I first tell them about my record of Brazilian music sung in Chinese, it ranges from a surprised curiosity to a mean dirty look as if I am crazy and bringing their music into disrepute. However, every Brazilian who listens to the single afterwards has given quite a positive and surprised feed back. The most common comment expressed are “The Chinese language sounds so harsh to me generally, until now I did not know that Chinese could sound so nice!”.

Whilst the most proud and nationalistic Chinese person could find this comment offensive, one would have to understand that most Brazilians have quite a 19th century view of China and the stereotype of Asians in Brazil is something so outdated that some people think that all Asians are Japanese.

My response has always been “of course it sounds nice! Our singer Joanna Dong is a great singer!”

Well I guess I have achieved another of my aims and that is to shine a positive light on the Chinese language, break stereotypes and create a few baby steps into a wider cultural exchange between Brazil and China.

Speaking of our experiences when we performed at the World expo in Shanghai, we noticed that the mainlanders were fascinated with Brazilian music without really knowing what is was. They were very eager to absorb this “new” music and to participate. We were expecting a very reserved crowd but by the end of every performance the entire audience was up on their feet dancing even the grand parents!

One thing I did notice through was that the mainland crowd seemed to enjoy a Mandarin version of the Brazilian ballad called “Encontros E Despedidas” by Milton Nascimento the most. The second the chorus people were singing along, it got one of the biggest applauses of all the shows. I think that although Chinese people like to get up and dance to all the up-tempo material that we performed, they [ Chinese people ] relate to Milton’s compositions because of the introvert qualities of his music rather than the extravert nature of Samba or “Axé.”

TaschimaAllen: What were some of the obstacles you faced while creating this project and essentially bringing it into fruition?

HowardLee: The biggest obstacle was getting the right Chinese lyricist to interpret the Portuguese lyrics into Chinese. Most have difficulty in writing lyrics that are rhythmic, as they have been so used to writing slow sentimental ballads. Also, most Mandarin lyricists do not have a clue about Brazilian culture or it’s cultural references. Therefore writing the Chinese adaptation of the Portuguese lyrics has been the biggest hurdle.

Another obstacle is getting Chinese vocalists to sing on the album. In Brazil we had the biggest stars featured on the album, however this has proved to be quite an uphill battle in this region, as they want to talk business first and music second.

For example when we had these major Brazilian legends with (Grammys to match) to sing on our record, the most important concern that they had was who they were going to be working with and what the material would sound like.

Whereas here in China and HK, their first thing that comes out of the mouths was how much they were getting paid for the job before they even asked who were the musicians involved or what the music sounded like.

TaschimaAllen: What was the energy like during the process of recording and can you share what your favorite moments were while recording this album?

HowardLee: The energy during the recording of the basic track (rhythm section) of the album was quite easy and very smooth. As we were dealing with the best, most of the tracks were done within 2 takes. One of my favourite moments were watching the percussionist Armando Marçal and Marco Lobo laying down their tracks. As I gave them complete freedom in how they interpreted the music, they were extremely creative and came up with some very surprising concepts that either my co-producer or me even thought of.

TaschimaAllen: How did you prepare ahead of time in order for this project to manifest?

Grammy Award WinnerSérgio Luiz Brandão (far right). Left,Leo Gandelmanand guitaristGuilherme Monteiroare featured with former President of the United States Bill Clinton.

HowardLee: I knew exactly what I wanted as I had been planning this a year or 2 before the sessions. For most of the tracks we had the entire song arranged and sequenced on the computer down to the second. The musicians played with a click track. Therefore, it made things very quick and easy when it came to laying down the track and editing it later. These guys were the crème de crème of their craft, not only could they play with a click but they really made the whole thing groove. Although we had everything arranged and sequenced beforehand, we spent a lot of time experimenting with the different sounds and solos during the overdub process. Our instruction was to do whatever the musicians thought sounded good and then during the mixing process we would choose their best takes.

TaschimaAllen: Did you know that it would be as successful as it has been? Were you surprised that it peaked at No.2 on the charts in Hong Kong？

HowardLee: Well I was hoping that the single would reach number 1. However, Lisa Ono and Norah Jones were holding that number 1 slot.

I think that we managed to sell the numbers that we did because of the support of the Brazilian community in Shanghai as well as the exposure we got from the World Expo, whereas in HK I think it was due to the fact that it was featured on the front page of the newsletter of KK box.

TaschimaAllen: What is your favorite song on the album？

JacquelineGawler – 2xARIA Nominee

HowardLee: We have only released a single to date but the favourite song on our upcoming album has to be “a ra” (the frog) a song that combines the Maracatu rhythms from the Brazilian northeast, Australian Aboriginal music plus Chinese and English vocals. My second Favorite is the Brazilian RnB track with Multiple Grammy winner Jorge Vercilo.

TaschimaAllen: The project includes an incredible lineup of legendary composers like Jorge Ben Jor, Sergio Mendes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento, Joao Gilberto, Elis Regina, Luiz Gonzaga and Pixinguinha. It also includes Djavan and singer and actor Joanna Dong. What was it like working with such a powerful lineup?

HowardLee: Well I had the dream band from Brazil and putting these legends in one session was an achievement in itself.

One thing with working with these musicians is that they did not treat the recording as just another session. It was not a case of just getting paid and onto the next job but as they were working with their peers that they highly respected, they went to extra lengths to make it sound as good as they can possibly make it.

It was a rare occasion to have all these legends on the same session, the fact that they have known each other and worked together on different occasions over the many decades, everything just fell into place from the word “go.”

Acclaimed vocalist Joanna Dong

In concern to Joanna Dong, she is a singer first and foremost. The acting thing is just something that complements her music career. Her background is in jazz and she is a major star in music theatre in Singapore. I only found out about her after we recorded everything in Brazil, therefore she recorded the track in Singapore afterwards.

Let me clarify the lineup of composers you mentioned about the artists that we actually covered:

•Jorge Ben Jor

•Marcos Valle

•Jorge Vercilo

•Joao Donato

•Sam Hui

•Ze Keti

•Colin Hay

Here’s the exact line up of musicians:

(Names in Brackets next to the musicians are the artists that they are associated, recorded, performed or recorded with)

Producers

Howard Lee

Sérgio Luiz Brandão (Sergio Mendes, Airto Moreira, Flora Perim, Paquito D'Rivera)

Grammy Winner

•Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album 2006

Arrangers

Marco Brito (Currently with Ivan Lins & has won 2 Latin Grammys for ALBUM OF THE YEAR with Ivan Lins & Best MPB album”). Luiz Brasil (Regularly works with Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa)

•Won Latin Grammy for “Best Brazilian Rock Album” 2002

Renato Fonseca (keyboardist/guitarist with Djavan)

•Won Latin Grammy for “Best Brazilian Song” 2000

Sérgio Luiz Brandão

•Won Latin Grammy with Sergio Mendes for “Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album” 2006

Howard Lee

Vocalists

Jacqueline Gawler – 2 timeARIA nomineewith the acclaimed Australian acapella group “Coco’s Lunch”. Joanna Dong – “Singapore Idol finalist”, winner of the “Star Hunter” award and acclaimed vocalist in both jazz in music theatre

Jorge Vercilo –Latin Grammy Winner2005 for ALBUM OF THE YEAR with Ivan Lins & Grammy nominee 2009 for “Best Brazilian pop album”. info:http://www.jorgevercillo.com.br/

Evandro Mesquita – Brazilian Rock pioneer

Tia Surica – Muse of Portela Samba school -http://www.answers.com/topic/tia-surica

Eliane Faria – daughter of legendary composer Paulinho da Viola.

Musicians

Percussion - Armando Marcal (Pat Metheny, Joao Bosco, Paul Simon)Grammy winner

•Best Contemporary Jazz Performance 1994

•Best Jazz Fusion Performance 1990

•Best Jazz Fusion Performance 1989

•Best Jazz Fusion Performance 1988

Percussion - Marco Lobo (Milton Nascimento, Sérgio Mendes, Djavan, Billy Cobham)

Grammy winner & nominee

•Best Musica Popular Brasileira Album 2011 – winner

•Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album 2000 - winner

•Best Engineered Album 2001– nominee

•Best World Music Album 2002 – nominee

Piano/Keyboards - Marco Brito (Ivan Lins)Latin Grammy winner

•Album of the year 2005

•Best MPB album 2005

Guitar - João Castilho (Djavan, Simone)Grammy Winner

•Best Brazilian Song 2000

Bass - Sergio BrandaoGrammy Winner

•Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album 2006

Trumpet - Jesse Sadoc (Joao Bosco) Latin Grammy Winner Best Musica Popular Brasileira Album 2001 – winner Album Of The Year 2003 - nominee Sax - Marcelo Martins (Joao Bosco) Grammy Winner Best Brazilian Song 2000 - winner Album Of The Year 2003 – nominee Trombone - Aldivas Ayres (Joao Bosco)

Didgeridoo – William Barton Saxophone - Paulo Levi (Bebel Gilberto, Joao Bosco) Piano/Keyboards - Renato Fonseca (Djavan)Grammy Winner

•Best Brazilian Song 2000

Percussion - Cassio Cunha (Alceu Valena, Nana Caymmi) Guitar - Luiz BrasilGrammy Winner

•Best Brazilian Rock Album 2002

Drums – Pantico Rocha (Lenine)Grammy Winner

Drums - Cesinha (Caetano Veloso) Drums - João Viana (Djavan’s Son) Drums - Cassio Cunha (Alceu Valença, Ivan Lins, Joao Donato) Drums – Howard Lee

TaschimaAllen: What do you hope people will take away from this project?

HowardLee: The Bossa Negra project will hopefully be an introduction for the non-Brazilians (especially the Chinese) to further understand and appreciate Brazilian music in depth over the years to come. As for Brazilians it would showcase their greatest contribution to the world, their influence on world music and create a cultural exchange between Brazil and China.

For more information on Bossa Negra, please visit the website:http://bossanegra.comfor more information.

For I-phone or Android apps visit

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Bossa Negra is also available on I-tunesiOS -http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ba-xi-yin-le-ju-le-bu-bossa/id454793370?mt=8