CHORO UPDATED:
MIKE MARSHALL
Brazil Duets
MODERN TRADITIONS ENSEMBLE
New Old Music

Choro is a Brazilian musical form that is typically presented as a theme and variations in rondo form, performed in 2/4 time. It's a sophisticated musical form that gave birth, in modified and more relaxed structure, to the samba and, consequently, also to bossa nova. In the wake of these two newer genres, choro came to be seen by many as an outdated, old-fashioned musical style. But it keeps coming back into style among virtuoso musicians because it is not only beautiful music, but also because it provides a challenge and allows musicians to demonstrate their technical virtuosity as well as their overall musicality.

Choro has been referred to as akin to American musical genres such as traditional New Orleans jazz, ragtime, and blues. In the way the music uses certain structural formulas and its frequent jauntiness as well as its showcase quality for musicians it is a bit reminiscent of ragtime. African musical styles were combined with Portuguese folk music and European classical elements in the same way that occurred throughout the Caribbean, South America, Cuba, and the southern United States, particularly in New Orleans. Choro developed as a purely instrumental style, for the most part, reflecting its status as musicians’ music. The joy, passion, and ebullience of the musicians comes through loud and clear—it is music made for the sheer joy of making it and the emotions it can convey to the listener, free of commercial or other extra-musical considerations.

In the late 19th century, around 1870 or so, this musical style began with groups of musicians playing in homes or bistro-style clubs called botequins for food and drink. Brazilian composer Hector Villa-Lobos used to sneak out as a young man to hear these musicians performing. Eluding his strict family, he heard the music as it was played in the streets of Rio and later composed his own series of choros. It is significant that choros’ legendary composers and performers include both the classically trained, such as pianist Chiquinha Gonzaga (Brazil’s greatest female composer) and the self-taught, such as Hermeto Pascoal. Like jazz, choro is a type of music that is deeply felt and cannot be learned on a purely theoretical basis.

Mike Marshall came to attention playing in David Grisman’s band in the early ‘80s. He and Darol Anger left Grisman to form their own band, Montreux. Members of that band included Andy Narrell and Michael Manning, both of whom also appear on Brazil Duets. Marshall became hooked on choro when he heard tape of master choro mandolin player Jacob do Bandolim while traveling with Grisman. Discovering that the melodic component of choro music was born of its roots as a mandolin-based folk music, Marshall began to study and play this Brazilian style avidly. He is now considered one of the finest practitioners of choro mandolin in the world, the only non-Brazilian to be so honored. Brazil Duets is, by the way, a reissue of Marshall’s 1996 album Brazil, issued on Adventure Music, an independent label co-owned by Marshall, Richard Zirinsky, Jr., and Robert Corroon. Adventure is licensing or producing music by or connected with Brazilian or other Latin artists.

The duets here span the history of choro music, with particular emphasis on the master composers such as Pixinguinha, Egberto Gismonti, and Hermeto Pascoal. There are many stylistic influences on display in the performers as well. Andy Narrell, best known for his steel drum Carribean-jazz work is presented here on several tracks as a rhythmically interesting pianist. Marshall’s wife, renowned violinist Kaila Flexer, known for her interpretations of klezmer music, joins in on the haunting “De Coracao A Coracao,” one of the more elegiac pieces on the disc. Other collaborators include saxophonist Andy Connell, pianist Jovino Santos Neto, who spent 15 years playing with Hermeto Pascoal, banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, and bassist Edgar Meyer.

The opening track, the classic Pixinguinha composition “Um a Zero” introduces Andy Narrell at the piano, providing both jazz and Caribbean tastes in his interpretation of the tune, while Marshall picks his way through the number with both classically clean technique and energy that is somehow reminiscent of the best bluegrass performers. No music fan who loves to hear musicians playing together and clearly having a lot of fun could resist this introduction to Marshall’s world. Edgar Meyer joins Marshall on acoustic bass for “Fla-Flu,” a composition that offers baroque-style counterpoint between the two musicians. “El Diablo Suelto” is actually a Venezualan musical style, and features Jackie Rago, who plays the cuatro, a small, four-string guitar. It’s a lively piece of music that makes great use of the mandolin, and Marshall’s virtuosic playing is well-anchored by Rago’s percussive chords.

“One of the standing jokes that occurs at the moment one is bitten by the choro bug is that you think that every new tune you learn is the best one you’ve ever heard” writes Marshall in his liner notes. That might go for the listener as well, as each track on this CD is a whole new listening experience. First there is the music itself, which is fantastic. While there are recognizable Latin harmonic cadences and rhythms to the music, it sounds very universal, at times recalling ragtime, at others European classical music, at still others modern Western popular music. Then there is the level of musicianship, which is always very high, as both Marshall and his collaborators create beautiful listening experiences. These are all accomplished musicians, but the issue is never one of technique vs. feeling—it’s all there, and one can concentrate attention on one or the other, or neither, depending on one’s mood.

Some of Brazilian music’s modern heroes are represented on Duets as well. For example, Egberto Gistmonti is represented by his composition “Karate.” The first version is played by Marshall and saxophonist Andy Connell as a duet. It’s well-suited to Connell’s bright tone and rapid-fire technique. Near the end of the disc, the piece is reprised, this time as a trio, with banjo player Bela Fleck added. Both versions are great. Hermeto Pascoal is also well-represented on the CD--his former sideman Jovino Santos Neto plays with Marshall on :Naquele Tempo” as well as melodica on Pascoal’s composition “Spock Na Escada” and M-1 synthesizer on the eerily beautiful “Paz E Alegria No Lar.” The melodica work on “Spock Na Escada” functions much as a harmonica would, making it sound like a true instrument rather than some toy. “Paz E Alegria No Lar” is breathtaking, as Neto’s electric piano-like background washes provide delicate support for Marshall’s sensitive mandolin work.

While Marshall works in the duet genre, another Adventure release, New Old Music, is by the Modern Traditions Ensemble, a group of Brazilian musicians who play their own versions of choro classics. The ensemble is made up of mandolin, soprano sax/clarinet, piano, 7-string guitar, and percussion. It is a fairly classic choro ensemble configuration, as the group’s name implies, but, as that name also implies, there are new twists on the performances of these classic choro songs.

Four of the CD’s nine tracks are compositions by Pixinguinha, the Rio-born composer, arranger, and saxophonist who helped define the genre and give it its unique musical personality. The opener, “Proezas de Solon,” is jaunty and colorful, suggesting a ride on rural Brazilian roads in a rickety automobile. “Coxixando” receives a lengthy solo piano introduction played by Benjamin Taubkin, the de facto leader of this group. Taubkin is the founder of the Sao Paulo based Nucleo Contemoraneo record label, one of Brazil’s leading instrumental music labels. He paints a broad impressionistic picture, mixing a Bill Evans-like touch with classical structure. The entire band is made up of top-notch Brazilian musicians, and the fact that they are unheard of here in no way diminishes the clear mastery they display on this recording. Of course, the piece eventually erupts into a good-natured mid-tempo choro, allowing saxophonist Naylor “Proveta” Azevedo and mandolinist Isaias Bueno de Almeida to shine. “Lamentos” is a reflective piece throughout, and is limited to the duet of Taubkin and Bueno. The disc ends with Pixinguinha’s triumphant “Cheguei,” which translates to “I arrived.” Indeed it has the celebratory sound of someone who has arrived somewhere, and it is not difficult to imagine hearing a more boisterous version of this tune at carnivale time.

In addition to Pixinguinha, New Old Music contains music by Jacob de Bandolim, another classic choro composer. “Vibracoes” goes from an almost Hasidic opening to an easy, sensual samba with gently swaying rhythms that insinuate themselves into the body’s natural rhythms rather than asserting themselves in any strong way. “Perolas” has a similar feel in many ways, and is a welcome second does of Bandolim’s music. Other’s represented are Kchimbinho (“Sonoroso”) and Garoto (“Lamentos do Morro”).

New Old Music is a charming, wistful, and a little nostalgic. It has elements in common with traditional New Orleans jazz, with some ethnic musics (klezmer, Arabic), and with American folk music. These two releases from Adventure Music featuring choro provide a nice introduction to the musical genre, to the label, or to the talents of Mike Marshall. Take your pick, just as long as you find a reason to pick these CDs up.