Ataualba Meirelles: Projeto 1.000 Zic Buk 2

A Creative Avenue

In the late 1990’s in Brazil, the ongoing marketing strategy focused on simple melodies, catchy lyrics and sparsely dressed performers. Selling CDs is what counts to those producers and marketing moguls. The other side of this coin is what you will find in Ataualba Meirelles’s most recent production, Projeto 1.000 Zic Buk 2. This is a multi-performer collection of twenty songs covering everything from baião, blues, jazz, to Brazilian rock. The title of the album is a play on Portuguese and English words. Think of it as really Project Music Book 2. Music appears in the title as the combination of 1.000 (a thousand in Portuguese, or “mil,” where the “L” is pronounced as “U”).

In Meirelles’s own words, this project is the avenue for those musicians interested in making music for the love of music. They compose without regard to commercialism. Meirelles gives these talented musicians the means to present their work and not waste their talents. It would be unrealistic to expect perfection in such an eclectic mixture of rhythms and styles, vocal and instrumental melodies. Nevertheless, the vitality these musicians display is admirable. It will be interesting to revisit them years down the road and check the names that went on to produce a successful career.

The first track, “Uma Vida Assim com Você,” is a soulful composition by Nil Freitas interpreted by Hulda Lago. Her jazz and gospel influences are clearly more pronounced in her vocalise towards the end of the tune. With a stronger instrumental jazz approach, Marlon Eça’s “Archijazz” has an interesting story associated with it. Originally created in the digital domain, this recording was done with musicians instead of the digital format. The warmth brought forth in Geová Nascimento’s tenor sax solos seems to be more than any justification one would ever need for the real human touch in music. As for Amadeu Alves’s “Baião Unido,” the trip back to authentic Brazilian northeastern music is evidenced beyond the obvious title of the song. João Liberato’s flute solos are reminiscent of folkloric fife bands still present in the northeast hinterland.

Overall, what impressed me the most about Projeto 1.000 Zic Buk 2 was the consistent quality of the instrumental numbers over the vocal pieces. As you listen to each track, you cannot help but wonder what it would be like to hear more music by these dedicated musicians. Brazilian instrumental music is well represented by Cesar Camargo Mariano, Carlos Malta, Azymuth, Hermeto Pascoal and many others. Projeto 1.000 Zic Buk 2 now adds more names to that tradition.