The Meeting of Two (Music) Worlds
Sometimes you’re at a concert and then you think: “I hope they’re recording this,” especially when the line-up is an occasional one. This is what happened to me when Ceumar and the Mike del Ferro Trio did a concert in Antwerp, Belgium (2006). The recording was made a few years later during a concert in Amsterdam (2010). The band sounded even better than on that beautiful evening in 2006.
In 2005 Ceumar met the Mike del Ferro Trio from Holland at a festival in Brazil. It resulted in a tour through Holland and Belgium. Some things happened since then. Pianist Mike del Ferro recorded an album in Brazil (the impressive Made in Brazil) with drummer Márcio Bahia and bassist André Vasconcelos, while Ceumar started a new life in the city of Amsterdam, Holland. So it’s not a big surprise that the two met again.
Mike del Ferro loves to participate in the musical scenes from different cultures and to absorb them into his playing. The music of Brazil clearly is among his favourites. He and his extraordinary trio do an outstanding job in accompanying a woman of character like Ceumar. Ceumar has her own style and a unique voice. She has the quality to find the perfect balance between her Brazilian roots and the freedom of jazz. The remarkable result is a singer who makes grateful use of the jazz qualities of her accompanying trio and a jazz trio that benefit from the Brazilian influences from its vocalist. Drummer Olaf Keus, who studied rhythms in countries like Cuba and Brazil, and bassist Frans van der Hoeven, with his enormous experience in jazz complete the trio.
Although living in Amsterdam, now, Ceumar still spends a lot of time in Brazil, touring around doing her music. The album Meu Nome, taped live during a solo concert in São Paulo, is one of the lovely results of that. It’s a completely different approach from what we hear on Live in Amsterdam, but still, both albums are so unmistakably “Ceumar”!
The repertoire on the Amsterdam album echoes the music from the tour in 2006. Ceumar didn’t forget a few songs from her first album Dindinha that features her collaboration with Zeca Baleiro. In the text in the cd box, Ceumar gives a short introduction for each song. Especially for her less Portuguese speaking European audience, this is a very attentive gesture. Each track tells its own story in the diverse repertoire of Ceumar.
The soloing from pianist Mike del Ferro is beautiful. His lyrical approach gives a graceful dimension to Ceumar’s music. The best example on the cd might be “Gírias do Norte,” where drummer Olaf Keus and bassist Frans van der Hoeven set the pace for a playful singing Ceumar who leads the way to a really beautiful piano solo. The instrumentalists are a creative part of the music, making this album a true Brazilian jazz cd, full of highlights.
It’s all about “enjoying”; there’s a nice musical party going on. When the audience picks that up (and they do), then the evening is just perfect. Glad someone recorded it!
ALBUM INFORMATION
Ceumar & Trio
Live in Amsterdam
Mendes – Coelho 79357359648 (2010)
Total Time: 48’44”
Tracks:
- Oração do Anjo (Ceumar – Mathilda Kóvak)
- Banzo (Itamar Assumpção)
- Dindinha (Zeca Baleiro)
- Iá Iá (Zeca Baleiro)
- Jabuticaba Madura (Ceumar)
- Pecadinhos (Zeca Baleiro – Tata Fernandes)
- Dança (Yaniel Matos – Ceumar)
- Gírias do Norte (Onildo Jacinto Silva)
- Gira de Meninos (Ceumar – Sérgio Pererê)
