Aloysio Neves—exploring the boundaries
between composition and free music

Aloysio Neves is a multi-instrumentalist who plays acoustic and electric guitars, saxophone, piano, and drums. He's also a composer, arranger, conductor, teacher, and bandleader. His hybrid classical/popular education included guitar studies with Iron Lima (Conservatório Villa Lobos in Manaus), Léo Soares (Seminários de Música Pró-Arte), and Turíbio Santos (Uni-Rio), as well as theory with Bohumil Med (Curso Internacional de Férias da Pró-Arte) and electric guitar with the American Joe Diorio. As guitarist, he's been a member of Orquestra de Violões do Rio de Janeiro, Quarteto Carioca de Violões, Aloysio Neves Trio, and Duo Flavio Goulart/Aloysio Neves.

Neves is the conductor and music director of the Orquestra Brasileira de Guitarras, founded in 1986 and a pioneer in the use of electric guitars in a polyphonic orchestral setting. Pursuing the ideal of Free Music, the orchestra has sought to rethink, recreate, and synthesize major 20th-century movements as diverse as atonalism, neoclassicism, modalism, 12-tone and serial music, various manifestations of jazz (including the ECM sound), MPB, Hermeto Pascoal's and Egberto Gismonti's music. The orchestra's second CD, Amálgama (independent), featuring the band's original compositions, was awarded five stars by Brazil's foremost jazz critic, José Domingos Raffaelli, and is spotlighted on the MP3.com website.

A thinker as much as he is a musician, Aloysio Neves explores the antagonism between pre-determined composition and spontaneous music in a CD titled dxy (Audiomaker FW 77002), recorded by a trio comprising Neves on electric & acoustic guitars and alto sax, André Santos on acoustic bass, and Don Camilo on percussion. The first track gets right to the point: "Quibe Cru com Macarronada" (Raw Kibe & Macaroni), whose humorous title implies an Arab-Italian mix, is a serious composition spotlighting a Gismontian guitar executing variations with a strong flamenco tinge. In "Afinação" (Tuning), the electric guitar is employed in free composition, liberated from the constraints of marking time and conventional melody. "Entrevista" (Interview) is a spoken dialogue about the making of music, alternating between earnestness and humor. A long dialogue between sax and strings and sax and percussion follows in "Olhos do Coração" (The Heart's Eyes), which the composer characterizes as having a Jarrett groove and mixing Arab forms with a touch of Stravinsky. Another piece incorporating speech is "A Fala de Thelonius Monk," which samples the great jazz master introducing his composition "Panonica." On the following track, instead of Monk's tune, we get Aloysio Neves' "Variantes do Sol"—a melodious excursion into Glauco Velasquez and Villa-Lobos territory, complete with cello-like sonorities. From there it's back to post-Eric Dolphy free music, juxtaposing atonal elements, clusters, and jazz phrases with virtuosic formal and cadenzal reiterations. The disc concludes with the jazz ballad "Adeus," composed on the occasion of Dexter Gordon's death and transmuting his style to that of ECM in the 1970s, where, according to the composer, the romantic lyricism of jazz is still compatible with the contemporary.

Cecelo Frony—Eclectic jazz
with bluesy electric guitar

Cecelo Froni, son of a classical pianist turned physician, began to play acoustic guitar at a young age. At fifteen he began classical studies with Jodacil Damasceno. Disturbed by audience members talking during his performances, he discovered that an electric guitar was louder than the crowd's chat. He was deeply affected by Alvin Lee of Ten Years After and spent interminable days playing along with the discs of his idols Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash, and Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple. His formal studies—theory, harmony, and guitar—continued at the Pró-Arte in his hometown, Teresópolis. He also studied communications. While still a student, he began his professional career as nightclub pianist, although he'd never taken piano lessons.

Inspired by Jack Kerouac, Cecelo went on the road—first in southern Brazil, then in Europe, where he lost the fear of being exclusively a musician. Upon his return to Brazil, he began playing with Tavito, who at the time had a successful song called "Rua Ramalhete" (Trio Esperança's recording is probably the best known). They recorded jingles and commercial soundtracks, an activity which Cecelo considers to have been his real school and which he continues until today. "Making jingles, I learned how to make boleros, sambas, chorinhos, toadas, forrós—genres that had nothing to do with my original education, based as it was on rock and blues guitar," he says. He also accompanied Fagner, Baby Consuelo, and Sá & Guarabira. More recently, he opened for Carlos Santana in São Paulo. These days, his favorite jazz musicians are John Scofield, Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny, Pat Martino, Robin Ford, Joshua Redman, Donal Harrison, Nicolas Payton, and the trio Medeski Martin and Wood. Among Brazilian musicians, he's listened closely to Wilson Simonal, João Donato, Banda Black Rio, and Pixinguinha. Cecelo is currently recording his second CD, Carioca Samblues, which will synthesize his various fonts of inspiration.

His first disc, Cecelo Frony Trio (Pardal Records PAR 99), was constructed around the concept of a metro ride in a large cosmopolitan city comprising different ethnic communities. Each track on the CD is named after an imaginary station representing a different musical style, although all are informed by Cecelo's bluesy electric guitar, which often pays homage to his idols. At 140th St. Station—a tribute to Harlem—there's the funky "Black Cabeleira," with vocal references to seminal black musicians from the U.S. and Brazil. The Port au Prince Station features the hypnotic vocal refrain "Me don't like Papa Doc," inspired by Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon." In the Louisiana Station, Cecelo presents "Baton Rouge," a suitably southern tune that was born out of a crab fishing expedition. From the Southern Station, we're taken on "Picayune Drive," a trip from New Orleans to Memphis. At the "Go Go" Station we encounter "Thank'sco"—a tribute to John Scofield—while "Devadip" honors Carlos Santana. In the Baja Station we find "El Matador," with salsa rhythm and Spanish vocals punctuating the guitar improvisation. Cecelo composed all the tunes but two. The exceptions are the Mumbai Station's "Norwegian Wood" (Lennon/McCartney), replete with sitar-like 12-string guitar, and the Carioca Station's "Samba do Avião" (Tom Jobim), an interesting vocal/instrumental treatment with a tip of the hat to Menescal & Bôscoli's "Rio" and Zé Keti's "A Voz do Morro."

"The disc was recorded without thought of perfection, although I find the instrumental execution very good," says Cecelo. "The atmosphere for me was much more important. Almost all the tunes were recorded with the band playing together, including the guitar solos. Later I added some guitar playbacks and called some guests, like Mú Carvalho, who plays piano in "Picayune Drive," which we wrote together, and Firmino, who added some percussion."

The other two members of the Cecelo Frony Trio are bassist Augusto Mattoso (of Tríade), who represents the academic side, and drummer Marcelinho da Costa, who comes from the pop world (he's played with Lulu Santos, Celso Blues Boy, and Paulinho Moska). Cecelo recalls, "The first time I called Marcelinho to rehearse this material, he said: `Cecelo's gone crazy; everybody's going to fall asleep during this show.' Nothing of the sort. Already in the first show we had to give two encores."

Toca de Lamare Trio—melodic
piano jazz with trumpet

The Toca de Lamare Trio was founded fifteen years ago at the instigation of bassist Luizão Maia, who sensed a special affinity among Toca de Lamare (piano), Wagner Dias (bass), and Clauton Sales (drums and trumpet). The group's brand of music is a fusion of classic jazz with Brazilian elements such as samba, bossa nova, and nordestino idioms, reflecting the members' diverse backgrounds.

Toca de Lamare studied music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has played in clubs in Tokyo, San Francisco, Mexico City, and Rio de Janeiro. He's accompanied vocalists such as Tim Maia, Luiz Melodia, and Marina Lima. Wagner Dias is self-taught and comes from the samba world. He's a member of Luiz Melodia's band and has played and recorded with João Bosco, Beth Carvalho, Ivan Lins, and Jorge Benjor. His compositions were recorded by Leny Andrade and Emílio Santiago. Like Wagner, drummer/trumpeter Clauton Sales is an autodidact and a Luiz Melodia sideman. Born in Recife, he used to play in Gonzaguinha's and Geraldo Azevedo's bands.

The trio's CD, Camaleão (independent), is devoted to original compositions by Toca de Lamare and Wagner Dias—all instrumental with the exception of "Bêbado" (Wagner Dias/Márcio Resende), a song that perfectly describes the Brazilian condition. Originally recorded by Leny Andrade, it is masterfully executed here by Luiz Melodia, with beautiful saxophone improvisations by Vidor Santiago. "Bêbado" is easily the most memorable tune on the album, but there's more to keep the listener interested. Toca de Lamare's five tunes all possess strong melodic lines and easy rhythms, including the serene "Mira," a dialogue between piano and trumpet; "Contente," featuring Nando Chagas on acoustic guitar; "Olha Aí," with Nando's electric guitar; "Dimmer," with Paulinho Trompete's flugelhorn in the lead; and "Badlion," in which Clauton's trumpet states the theme while Raul Mascarenhas' saxophone improvises around it. Wagner Dias' instrumental compositions are equally catchy. "Equinócio," "Pagode Moderno," and "Chega Amor" all feature fine electric guitar—the first and third by Ricardo Silveira, the second by Nando Chagas. Throughout, and in addition to stepping in with solid trumpet interventions, Clauton Sales provides a tight rhythmic backbone that makes the listener wonder how he manages to juggle trumpet and drums during the trio's live shows.

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