Next week, the legendary bossa nova pianist, singer and composer Marcos Valle will make his only New York appearance this year at Birdland. Joining him will be singer Paula Morelenbaum and cellist Jaques Morelenbaum. They toured with Antonio Carlos Jobim between 1984 and 1994.
The BossaBrasil spectacular at Birdland—from May 29 to June 2—is being produced by the exceptional Pat Philips-Stratta, who each year brings Marcos and other bossa legacy artists to the club with the support of Delta Air Lines for a taste of toasty Rio de Janeiro. It's pure passion for Pat, who recently produced Forever Django at Carnegie Hall. If you love bossa nova, seeing Marcos live next week should not be missed. I'm always swept away and can't wait. [Photo above of Marcos Valle, courtesy of Birdland]
For those who might be unfamiliar with Marcos, he came up in the early '60s and is the composer and singer of many superb bossa nova standards, among them Summer Samba (So Nice), The Face I Love, Crickets Sing for Anamaria and many others. [Photo above, from left, of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sylvia Telles and Marcos Valle, c. 1963]
For example, here's The Face I Love (Seu Encanto) from his 1965 album O compositor E O Cantor...
Last week I had a chance to catch up with Marcos in advance of his visit to New York's Birdland next week...
JazzWax: You’re always so busy. What’s new since I saw you last year in New York?
Marcos Valle: Well, I have been touring in Brazil and Europe. I’ll be touring soon with the Brazilian group Azymuth. I’ve also been composing many new songs and will have two new CDs coming out. One features new songs for which I’ve written the words and music. It’s my fifth for Far Out Records and will be out toward the end of the year. It’s a Brazilian pop album. I will be doing a tour to support it.
The other album is Dori, Edu and Marcos—an album I recorded last year with Edu Lobo and Dori Caymmi. I started my career with them 55 years ago. We were classmates when we formed a trio and recorded Samba Demais in 1963. After that, each of us went our separate ways to develop our own careers. [Photo above, from left, Edu Lobo, Marcos Valle and Dori Caymmi]
The idea to get back together came during a Brazilian performance I did with Stacy Kent. One night I invited Edu and Dori to be my guests on stage, and it was a lovely show. They suggested we do an album. We decided that each of us would sing the songs of the other two. So I sang four songs on the album, two of them are by Edu and two by Dori. They did the same. This CD will be out soon.
Besides that, Roberto Menescal (left, above) and I arranged and produced O Tom da Takai, a new album by singer Fernanda Takai (center). The album features lesser-known songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Here's a taste...
Since this year is the 60th anniversary of the bossa nova, I have many, many shows coming up in Brazil.
Finally, an album that I recorded in 2008 with Menescal—Os Bossa Nova—is being reissued with two bonus tracks that we have written. I wrote mine with João Donato, and Menescal wrote his with Carlos Lyra. It will be out in September, and we’ll be touring for it.
JW: Next week at Birdland you’re bringing Paula and Jaques Morelenbaum with you. A new sound?
MV: I love playing with them. We have performed together many times in different places in Brazil and around the world. Paula, of course, is a lovely singer and songwriter, and Jaques plays a cello that brings a different kind of depth to the music. I want to take advantage of this sound, so I have written interesting arrangements for the group using a lot of cello and Paula’s vocal style. We’re going to be playing Jobim’s music, my songs and songs by Paula. We’re also going to celebrate the bossa nova.
JW: Are young musicians and composers in Rio playing bossa nova or reinventing it?
MV: As you know, Brazil is very large and rich with many different styles of music from the north and the south. There are so many young musicians and songwriters in Brazil. They aren’t writing bossa nova but their music is still influenced by it. They know about the music’s history and the bossa nova’s rich harmony, rhythm and simple melodies, which attract younger artists.
With the Internet today, songwriters no longer have to be under the control of record companies when it comes to the music they want to create. They are free to experiment and attract an audience this way. So yes, a lot of artists are doing beautiful things and the bossa nova is an influence.
JW: Who are some of the new artists we should know about?
MV: There are some lovely new groups influenced by the bossa nova. These include Bem, the son of Gilberto Gil, and Moreno, (the son of Caetano Veloso). Alberto Continentino, my bass player, has recorded a lovely album with bossa influences—Ao Som dos Planetas. For a taste, go here...
JW: What inspires you most as a composer today?
MV: Basically the same things that have always inspired me. Nature is very important to me. Many times I write songs walking by the ocean. The sun also inspires me. And the rain. As you can see, I love nature. Romance, too. Love is a big influence. In other cases, I’m inspired by my thoughts about life. I believe you must live each day and you have to be positive. And we need to believe in what we are doing and must be open to others. These sayings are inspiring, too. With age, these get stronger, and the feeling winds up in my lyrics. If I’m writing about romance in a song, these thoughts come to me. So basically, the same things that inspired me in the past inspire me today. The only difference is that with new discoveries and worries come new things that shape my writing.
JW: Your wife, Patricia Alves, who is coming to New York as well, has a beautiful voice. Are there albums by her?
MV: Yes, she is coming up. And I agree with you, Patricia has a beautiful voice. She hasn’t recorded albums by herself. She has recorded on many of my albums. She also has recorded on albums that feature different artists. She'll be joining us at Birdland along with Jesse Sadoc on trumpet, Roni Ben-Hur on guitar, Itaiguara Brandao on bass and Renata Massa on drums.
JW: What five favorite Brazilian albums are you listening to now?
MV: I still listen to Jobim’s Wave (1967); Joao Gilberto’s Chega de Saudade (1959), his first album; and I'm listening a lot to the album we produced for Takai. I've also been listening to the album I recorded with Edu and Dori called Edu, Dori and Marcos. So, I will see you in New York!
JazzWax note: For more information about Marcos Valle's Birdland run in New York next week and reservations, go here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Marcos singing three recorded versions of Samba de Verão...
And here's Eumir Deodato playing Marcos's Out of Time...
