Alda Rezende is, in my opinion, a national treasure, both ours and Brazil’s. Last night’s concert in Wellington, with a trio of musicians from her home town of Belo Horizonte, was a delight.

Brazilian music isn’t just batucada drumming, samba shouting or bossa nova crooning. It’s all of that and a whole lot more. Each region has its own styles and traditions, and they borrow from each other and from everyone else. Not least The Beatles.

The four Minheiros who played last night offered songs from Pernambuco to Rio, including classics by some of the great names in the popular music of Brazil - Baden Powell, Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque, Chico Science - alongside originals. It’s all about melody, rhythm, tone and timbre, with lyrical fervour and performances that delight in their total accomplishment. I love this stuff, it’s irresistable, couldn’t stop my white-bread feet tapping.

The guitarists Weber Lopes and Kristoff Silva brought totally distinctive styles, and drummer and percussionist Limao (Andre Queiroz) was both subtle and driving. They are all consummate musicians - virtuosos in fact, and personify the amazing mix of races and cultures that makes Brazilian music so rich. They’ve been giving master classes as well as playing at the Taupo Festival and New Zealand Music Month gigs in Wellington and Auckland. Lopes began his feature set with a charge through ‘Tico-tico no fuba‘. Singer-songwriter Silva offered his own virtuoso tribute (and challenge) to the Bahian (and Brazil’s Minister of Culture) Gilberto Gil as an introduction to his.

And then there’s the outrageously talented Jonathan Crayford. He’s played with Alda a lot, and features on her CDs. He’s a totally remarkable musician, with astounding technique, who has the confidence to reach the extremes as well as being well grounded within all the styles he touches. He played subtle fills and modest but coruscating solos, as well as varying the chords to gently twist the songs into new, exotic harmonic territory. Patrick Bleakley was the ideal bassist, who gently provided the complex rhythms with a warm and focused foundation. These guys are seriously good.

And none of it would happen without Alda. What a voice and what a presence - her depth and power in her amazing low register is the warmest of introductions to a remarkable singer. She’s totally involved in her performance, and beams with delight at the audience. ‘Amor do muito’ and ‘Mar deserto’ sent me straight back to Traveller, her latest album. Like Bebel Gilberto, Rosa Passos? She’s that good. With a soul like Elis Regina. And she’s here.

Alda’s been living in New Zealand for some years with her Kiwi partner and she’s the real thing, a great singer and song stylist, who delivers new and old songs of Brazil with total commitment and such joy it’s hugely infectious. Without Alda and Jonathan none of this would have happened. Muito obrigado, too, to the Brazilian Embassy, who hope that this is the beginning of more cultural exchanges.

And they’re doing it again tonight at Te Papa.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 8:25 pm and is filed under Culture online, Events, Guest blogger - Ross Somerville. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.