Wednesday's Radio Show – "Under The Influence of the Brazilian Beat"

Here's the playlist for the "Play It And Be Darned" show "aired" on Orchard Radio earlier today. As always, the underlined songs are clickable downloads.

Brazil – Kate Bush (1985)
Bird of Beauty – Stevie Wonder (1974)
One Note Samba – Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim (1969)
Desafinado – Astrud Gilberto + George Michael (1996)
Waters of March – Basia (1998)
Tropicalia – Beck (1998)
Marco De Canaveses – Caetano Veloso (with David Byrne) (1999)
Sexy – Black Eyed Peas (2003)
Please Baby Don't – John Legend (2006)
Daquilo Que Eu Sei – Ivan Lins & Patti Austin (1984)
She Walks This Earth (Soberana Rosa) – Sting (2000)
Capim – The Manhattan Transfer (1987)
The Obvious Child – Paul Simon (1990)
Agua De Beber – Al Jarreau (1994)

Basically, the theme of this show was to turn around a basic conception that people have about American music. We look around the world and see other cultures being heavily influenced by what are some of our biggest inventions: Blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll and even musical theater.

In the case of Brazil, you could make the argument that the influence goes in the opposite direction. Or at the very least, Brazilian music has had as much of an impact on the American music scene as what we produce in the states has had on Brazil.

That concept became crystal clear as I started assembling the hour-long show – and several heart-breaking decisions were made. James Taylor's duet with Milton Nascimento on "Only a Dream in Rio?" Queen Latifah (of all people) crooning "Corcovado"? Arcade Fire performing "Brazil" live on its B-side to "Rebellion (Lies)"? Dionne Warwick singing almost any song off her 1994 Arista swansong Aquarela do Brasil? Sorry. No time for you.

Jobim, Sergio Mendes, Djavan, Caetano Veloso and Ivan Lins certainly got their share of exposure, but Nascimento, Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben were unfairly neglected. I probably needed at least two hours to give the subject its proper due.

That said, here are a few notes about what was played:

• Bush's rendition of "Brazil" was never heard during the Terry Gilliam movie of the same name, but can be found on its soundtrack. The version heard in the film is by Geoff Muldaur, ex-husband of Maria. The song is an English rewrite of the 1939 song "Aquarela do Brasil" ("Watercolors of Brazil") composed by Ary Barroso and first heard by most American audiences in Walt Disney's Saludos Amigos (1942).
• "One Note Samba" is the second prominent Jobim song that I know of in which Jobim also supplied the English lyrics. The arrangements on this song were done by fellow Brazilian Eumir Deodato, who would hit it big in the states a few years later with his funked-up rendition of the "Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey."
• The Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am has stated that the first record he ever purchased was by Sergio Mendes, who plays piano on "Sexy," a song that uses the riff from Jobim's "How Insensitive." I eschewed the will.i.am's version of "Mas Que Nada" (ugh) off of the Mendes' all-star CD he produced two years ago, going with the infinitely superior song from Legend, who also wrote it himself. I'm constantly impressed by Legend, I've got to say.
• Mendes also provided Wonder with the Portuguese lyrics to "Bird of Beauty," a song Wonder dedicated to Brazil and "my people" of Mozambique, who would gain independence from Portugal the next year.
• Beck's surprising foray into the Brazilian sound has its roots in the singer's long-held admiration of Os Mutantes, an influential psychedelic band that helped lead the post Bossa Nova Tropicalia movement in the late 60s and 70s. He is thought to have even titled the album Mutations as a tribute to them. He wasn't the only admirer. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain tried unsuccessfully to get the band back together in 1993. And Devendra Banhart jammed with the band when the members (most of them, anyway) finally reunited in 2006.
• Congratulate me. For the fourth straight week, I've managed a Stan Getz reference. The man responsible for popularizing Bossa Nova in America plays saxophone on the Djavan composition "Capim."
  
• The inclusion of "Agua de Beber" is not only in recognition of an excellent Jarreau album called Tenderness (1994) that sees him return to his jazz roots. But it also in celebration of "Al Jarreau Week" at the most excellent web blog, Popdose.com. If you haven't already bookmarked it, you really should.

Two-Fer-Tuesday: Stan Getz, Boss of Bossa Nova

I feel bad about last week's Two-Fer-Tuesday: All those folks googling "Stan Getz" and instead of getting a few of his classic songs, they heard his renderings (admittedly noteworthy) of Billy Joel and Huey Lewis tunes.

So I'm trying to make amends by returning to "The Sound" and spotlighting his Bossa Nova output. The twist is that I'm not going to be focusing on all his 60's Verve albums that brought him widespread acclaim and popularity.

Instead, I want to concentrate on one of his sadly overlooked contributions to his Brazilian music catalogue.

There are several reasons why The Best of Two Worlds (1975) never took off or was accepted as part of an amazing body of work that included Getz/Gilberto (1964), Jazz Samba (1962) and Stan Getz With Guest Artist Laurindo Almeida (1963). One was that though extraordinarily productive in terms of churning out albums during that era, Getz was involved in a nasty divorce. And he and João Gilberto weren't exactly the greatest of friends. Producer Joe Boyd, in his recent autobiography White Bicycles (2006) talks about Getz having an affair with Astrud Gilberto during the success of "The Girl from Ipanema," something that apparently was a factor in the pair's eventual divorce.

By the way, that's not Astrud leaning on Getz' shoulder on the album cover. That's Heloísa Maria Buarque de Hollanda, Gilberto's second wife. A Brazilian pop star in her own right known as Miucha, she is also the sister of the legendary Chico Buarque – and the mother of the bliss pop singer who would become Bebel Gilberto.

Back to the album, however. Though some feel that with all the turmoil in his life, Getz' playing is just not up to par compared to the Verve Bossa Nova albums, I beg to disagree. To my ears, "The Sound" has not deteriorated at all. His sax playing, sensuous and full-bodied, is just right for the material.

And what material it is. Which is the second and most important to love this album. Because it is the only place to hear Getz and Gilberto combine on two of my favorite Antonio Carlos Jobim songs: "Aguas de Março (Waters of March)" and "Double Rainbow."

In a 2001 poll of 200 Brazilian music journalists, "Aguas de Março" was voted the most beautiful Brazilian song of all time – perhaps not just for the 1972 composition's melodic twists and turns, but for the exquisite poetry of its lyrics. In a change for him, Jobim wrote both the English and Portuguese lyrics which focus on presenting images rather than telling a story.

Play "Aguas de Março" by Stan Getz and João Gilberto

"Double Rainbow" (Known in Portuguese as "Chovendo Na Roseira," which translates to "Raining in the Garden") was originally titled "Children's Games" when Jobim recorded it himself as an instrumental in 1971. Jobim renamed it when Jobim added lyrics (Gene Lees was the English lyricist this time). This is another gorgeous song that shows why Jobim rightfully can be called the Gershwin of Brazil.

Play "Double Rainbow" by Stan Getz and João Gilberto

There are a few other reasons to love this collection: A jaunty version of "Just One of These Things;" Gilberto's solo take on the heartbreaking "É Preciso Perdoar;" and the point-counterpoint of "Izaura," which showcases Miucha and Gilberto harmonizing.

To be sure, Miucha is not as sensual singer as Astrud. And she has gotten criticized for sounding too American on this album. But really, her performances suit the top-notch material contained on this CD. Do yourself a favor and add it to your CD collection or iPod. You won't be sorry.

As a bonus (and because I just adore this song), I've placed a YouTube video of Jobim's 1974 performance with Brazil's equivalent of Billie Holiday, the tragic Elis Regina. Despite Regina's laughing at the end, it is considered by many to be the definitive version of the song.

Seven things to know about Caetano Veloso

Despite his ongoing popularity in his native Brazil, Caetano Veloso remains relatively unknown in many musical circles – particularly in The united States. Here's a broad sampling of the output from this musical pioneer, who has been putting out records since 1967.

1 – "(Nothing But) Flowers"
Returning the favor of David Byrne, who wrote the liner notes for his "Best of" compilation , Veloso recorded this Talking Heads standby as part of 2004's " A Foreign Sound." The diverse collection of favorite American songs includes Tin Pan Alley favorites ("The Man I Love") as well as more recent additions to the nation's musical pantheon (Nirvana's "Come As You Are").

2 – "Irene"
This song – about a machine gun "laughing," not a girl – is a reflection of Veloso's mindset and his own political situation when this song was released on his so-called White Album in 1969. Punished for his outspoken opposition to the military dictatorship that took over Brazil in 1964, Veloso was restricted to the city of Salvador (He would eventually be exiled along with Gilberto Gil and live in London until 1972). He recorded the basic tracks to his second solo LP in a small studio. The results were shipped to producer Rogério Duprat, who added extra layers in his more complete São Paulo studio.

3 – "Burn It Blue"
Though Veloso has enjoyed more crossover appeal in the United States than most other Brazilian artists, this 2002 collaboration with Lila Downs on the Frida soundtrack placed him in front of his largest American audience ever when he and Downs performed the Oscar-nominated song at the 75th Academy Awards.

4 – "Tropicalia" ("Tropicalism")
The song that gave the musical movement its name, this opening cut from Veloso's 1968 self-titled release was untitled until Veloso adapted the name of a piece of Brazilian performance art by Hélio Oiticica. Proudly trumpeting its eclecticism under the rubrick of "Antropofagia" (artistic cannibalism), tropicalia (also known as "Tropicalismo") was exciting, irreverent – and unlike anything that had preceded it in Brazilian music.

5 – "É Preciso Perdoar (You Must Forgive)"
This haunting song, most closely associated with guitarist João Gilberto, appears on the 1996 benefit CD, Red Hot + Rio. It features Veloso trading verses with Cesária Évora behind a simple yet effective synth-laden instrumental background from Ryuichi Sakamoto.

6 – "Samba de Verão" ("Summer Samba")
Though his Tropicalia movement shifted Brazilian music away from its previous traditions, Veloso has returned to pure Bossa Nova from time to time– often to great results, such as this recording of what may rank behind "The Girl from Ipanema" as the most popular Bossa Nova of all time. His high and delicate tenor is just right for this piece, which is also known as "So Nice" to American audiences.

7 –"Nåo me Arrependo" ("I Don't Regret")
Described by Veloso as the "most emotional" song on his 2006 album Cê, the song is about a great romance that has ended and is tinged with a sense of melancholy about what could have been. Veloso isn't the only member of his family on this record – his son Moreno co-produced it with Brazilian guitar whiz Pedro Sa.