The Rough Guide To Brazilian Jazz

Compilation of contemporary Brazilian jazz from the ever reliable Rough Guides.

Brazil’s millennial musicians use a different palette from that which has gone before. Disillusioned with the vapidity of manufactured national pop – pagode, axé, lambada, brega and the rest – they started digging for rare soul, funk, reggae and hip hop records for inspiration, an entry-point to the Blue Note and soul-jazz classics of America’s east coast, as well as richer meat – Sun Ra, Roland Kirk, Pharaoh Sanders and afrobeat. They also started listening more to European jazz: a fascinating ‘full-circle’ effect, because earl twentieth century choro jazz was strongly influenced by European music in template if not in tempo. The large majority of players on this compilation are under 30 years old, most from São Paulo and Rio De Janeiro. Many have played with each other and are familiar with each other’s work – as were Rio’s 1960s bossa nova community. But the sheer range, energy and boisterousness of the approach is thrilling. Innovative music is alive and kicking in millennial Brazil: although it never really left the building.