The Sounds of Brazil!: Saturdays, 10 pm - midnight
The Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch: 9 am - 2 pm (beginning June 15th, 2008)
Personality Contacts
Want to learn more about Brazilian jazz? I publish a free newsletter. Visit my website - connectbrazil dot com!
Personality Bio
Many of you also know me as the host of The Sounds of Brazil. My first trip to Brazil was in 1987 - to Rio de Janeiro, and as vacations go, it was a life-changing experience. I returned home with lots of memories and suitcases filled Brazilian albums. A few years (and several return trips) later, the 'Brazilian bug' had really bitten and I started my radio show, The Sounds of Brazil. If you haven’t heard it yet – please check it out sometime – I think you’ll love it!
Here’s a little bit more about me:
Born in: Saint Paul, MN
What’s in my mp3 player: Diana Krall, Grover Washington, Jr., Boney James, Bebel Gilberto, Rick Braun, Marcos Ariel, Luciana Souza, Charles Earland, Zizi Possi, Singers Unlimited with Oscar Peterson, Nick Colionne, Maynard Ferguson.
Currently reading: ‘The Looming Tower' by Lawrence Wright.
Favorite New Smooth Jazz song: I like Al Green's 'Stay With Me (By The Sea)'.
Favorite Smooth Jazz memory: Sitting in with Torcuato Mariano at his studio in Rio de Janeiro during a late-night recording session for ‘Ocean Way’.
Hobbies: Cooking (Italian), learning Portuguese (forever…) and following open-wheel racing – Champ Car and Formula One.
Desert Island Disc: What? Just one? It would have to be the ‘Getz/Gilberto’ album by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto. Hands down.
You might be surprised to know that: I very nearly became a jazz saxophonist after finishing my college days.
Favorite Place in Rio: On a side street, just a few blocks off the beach in the middle of Copacabana, you’ll find a little café restaurant called Caravel. They make the best pizzas. Be careful with the molho de pimenta – its really spicy, but good. And don’t freak out when you see Brazilians putting catsup on their slices!
Smooth Jazz is: Unique. And very cool!
Personality Links
I publish an e-letter on Brazilian jazz called 'The Weekender' and its free! You might even win a Brazilian CD. Sign up at Connectbrazil.com..
'Now Playing' on this weekend's Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch!
Wednesday 08-27-2008 7:40am CT
Another holiday weekend, and with September just a ‘half-turn’ of a calendar page away, you might be tempted to think that this summer’s Smooth Jazz concert season has come to an end. Not so!
In fact, there’s more live Smooth Jazz to be found within the next 14 days than all summer long – and with no less than 12 top name performers slated for our part of the world, I’ll preview them all for you this Sunday morning at nine for the Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch. Are you a Chris Botti fan? How about Warren Hill, Richard Elliot, Rick Braun or Alicia Keys? Maybe Nick Colionne, Greg Adams or Eric Marienthal? They're all coming our way!
So plan to listen – and don’t forget your calendar!
This Saturday at 10 pm on The Sounds of Brazil!
Wednesday 08-27-2008 8:01am CT
Ready for some holiday weekend fun? We’ll wrap up our ‘Boys From Brazil’ theme this month with one of our favorite Brazilian pop stars, and perhaps no Brazilian singer has been more accommodating to American jazz fans than Djavan.
His natural Brazilian warmth and a jazzy, swinging spirit have proved to be irresistible to American audiences over the years. And once you hear him sing, you’ll never forget it: Djavan’s voice is supple and sharp, his range matches his abilities, and his standout songwriting is fresh and uniquely Brazilian – in English or Portuguese!
We'll draw deep from his musical career to explore some of the most memorable songs from this Brazilian pop giant, along with tunes by Marcos Valle, Deodato and Brenda Russell singing an Ivan Lins tune, too. Plus a song from saxman Leo Gandelman’s ‘lost’ CD, piano master Marcos Ariel, Lee Ritenour and lots of new music to explore: Kenia, Ed Johnson & Novo Tempo, Brasil, Inc., the incredible ‘Sushi Samba’ CD, a sexy song from ‘Bossa Now #6: After Dark - Brazilian Grooves’, and the national debut of saxophonist Michael Lington’s new song with Brazilian guitar star Torcuato Mariano!
Whew!
And don't forget to vote for your choice of Bossa Nova's first song as we celebrate Bossa's 50th Birthday all year long. Make your voice heard (and learn a little, too!) by voting at Connectbrazil.com – keyword ‘VOTE’!
Don’t miss this show! Where else can you heat up and cool down at the same time?
A cool breeze in Summer, and a warm wind when the weather turns cold - that's The Sounds of Brazil! On WNUA 95.5 Saturday nights at 10:00!
Vote Today for Bossa Nova's Very First Song!
Friday 07-25-2008 2:17pm CT
Update: Our voting is going really strong- if you have not yet cast yourr vote, I'll invite you to do so right now! Read on...
Rio de Janeiro in 1958! It was Brazil's 'Summer of Love' - where anything and everything was possible. And in the beach districts of Copacabana and Ipanema, it also marked the birth of the Bossa Beat.
Bossa Nova began with a single song - 'Chegade Saudade' - but which version marks the real Bossa Nova sound? Now, you'll have a chance to make your voice heard by voting below.
1). ElezethCardoso: This 'down on her luck' singer was the first to record 'ChegadeSaudade’ with Antonio CarlosJobim in April, 1958. Her version is more typical of the Bolero music style of the day but you can hear the Bossa sound in the guitar on this song, played by Joao Gilberto.
2). Joao Gilberto: The man who invented the Bossa Nova rhythm on his guitar liked 'ChegadeSaudade’ so much that he recorded his own version in July, 1958, again with Jobim but with a different sound to reflect his singing and playing style.
You can listen to both of these songs at Connectbrazil.com - keyword BOSSA, and then return to this page to place your vote. Let you voice be heard as we celebrate 50 years of Bossa Nova!
Vote Here!
Thursday 07-10-2008 2:31pm CT
*****start poll*****
Poll: Vote for Bossa Nova's First Song!
*****end poll*****
A Great Honor
Thursday 05-29-2008 10:57am CT
Although Rick O'Dell and I have been talking about the possibility of this announcement for a few weeks now, Robert Feder's column in today's (May 29th, 2008) column in the Chicago Sun-Times has 'let the cat out of bag', and both the cat and I couldn't be happier - or more excited!
Beginning Father's Day, Sunday June 15th, I'll be taking over as host of The Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch here at WNUA FM. As I write these words, it seems to me that the phrase 'taking over' isn't the right way to describe it - Rick O'Dell has hosted this show for 21 years, beginning in 1987 at WCLR. It brought him to WNUA two years later and along the way The Sunday Brunch has helped to shape the essence of Smooth Jazz for all of us here in Chicago. It’s his baby, and when Rick asked me to continue this tradition - well, let me just say that I feel very blessed and privileged.
Here's Rick, from the Sun Times story: "For 21 years, it was an enormously fun and fulfilling project -- a seed which sprouted into a career in smooth jazz that I could never have imagined," he said. "How often does one get a chance to be in on the absolute ground floor of a new concept in radio and see it through to its fruition years down the road?"
My Brazilian guitar buddy Torcuato Mariano is already working on a new theme song for the show from his Rio de Janeiro studio, so I hope that you'll plan to join me for my Sunday Brunch debut on June 15th. 9:00 am. And if you have a favorite quote, words of wisdom or advice that your dad has passed along, why not share them with us as part of our special Father's Day contest? Just type keyword DAD for details.
And finally, thanks to Robert Feder for recounting the history of The Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch. It reminds me yet again of how special and wonderful WNUA is as a radio station - how it fulfills our musical lives in so many ways. This is the station that has nurtured my dream, The Sounds of Brazil for 16 years and counting. And now this, too.
© 2008