Marcel Camargo has made his
living as a professional musician in different locations all over the world,
working as a sideman to legendary Brazilian, jazz, and pop musicians such as
Michael Bublé, Sérgio Mendes, Bebel Gilberto, and Gretchen Parlato. Stepping
into the spotlight as a leader with The Brazil You Never Heard, Camargo has
created a project to showcase his many musical facets - guitarist, vocalist,
composer, arranger and producer.
The São Paulo musician set out to
produce an ongoing series of live concerts with companion studio records that
feature his arrangements and compositions in the context of a chamber
orchestra. While the focus is on Brazilian music, the repertoire embraces music
from all over the world, illustrating how Brazil is both influenced by and
influential to the international music scene.
Behind Jobim, the first in the
series of EPs, aims to take an abridged look into the mind of Antônio Carlos
Jobim, arguably Brazil's most internationally renowned composer/songwriter.
"When I put together the repertoire, I designed it to mostly feature music
that I knew was influential to Jobim," says Camargo. "When I did
include his compositions in the set, the idea was to tie those to other pieces
by composers that were his heroes." The result is a historical narrative,
pointing back to Jobim's favorite classical composers - Debussy, Chopin and
Villa Lobos - as well as his predecessors in the legacy of great Brazilian
composers - Pixinguinha, Garoto and Radamés Gnattali.
When it came to recording the
album, producing duties were split between drummer Leo Costa and Camargo.
"For this EP, we chose to record pieces from the Behind Jobim concert that
we felt made the biggest statements about what we wanted to accomplish
musically and in terms of creating narratives," reflects Camargo. Those
narratives are reinforced by the presence of vocalist Gretchen Parlato, who is
no stranger to collaborations with Camargo. "Marcel Camargo is one of my
favorite musicians, I love singing with him. He beautifully honors the classic
sound we all adore in Brazilian music, but also allows his own voice to shine
through...he's doing something very special and necessary with this project,"
says Parlato.
The first historical connection
is presented on "Lamentos do Morro," which Camargo imagined had a
strong connection to Jobim's "Samba do Avião." The composition was
re-orchestrated from a solo guitar arrangement by Brazilian guitarist Garoto to
bring it closer to the hearts of non-guitar players. "I know Jobim loved
Garoto as well and thought perhaps the song might have been of special
importance to Jobim," reflects Camargo.
"A big part of the success
of the series lies in the caliber and uniqueness of the groups that I've been
lucky to assemble to present the material," says Camargo. Often including
string and horn sections with a core rhythm section as well as the harp and mandolin,
these large chamber groups have the capability of bringing all the details of a
given piece to life while opening the listener to musical moments that might
have otherwise passed by unnoticed.
Since the music of Jobim draws
from many sources - mainly classical music, Brazilian popular and folk music,
and jazz - Camargo creates a set that is very eclectic, yet conceptually
cohesive.
Born and raised in São Paulo,
Brazil to a "musical extended family," Camargo learned to play
guitar, percussion and sing with his uncle. At 16, he moved to the United
States where he later earned his degree in Ethnomusicology from UCLA while
studying under some of jazz' most significant musicians - Kenny Burrell, Billy
Higgins, Harold Land, Gerald and Anthony Wilson as well as studying traditional
Ghanaian music under master drummer Kobla Ladzekpo. His interests in school
were varied but he was particularly attracted to folk music from different
parts of the world. Taking full advantage of being in the United States,
Camargo focused his studies on America's great folk idiom, jazz.
Currently residing in Los
Angeles, working both as a sideman and leading his own group, his main gig has
been playing guitar and singing back-up vocals for international pop star
Michael Bublé. His other side work has been diverse, ranging from working with
Sérgio Mendes, Bebel Gilberto, Tom Harrell and Gretchen Parlato - to performing
with R&B/Hip-Hop icons such as Seu Jorge, Flying Lotus, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe
Monch as well as touring and recording with artists like Macy Gray, Quadron,
and Missy Higgins.
As an educator, Camargo has
lectured on a variety of musical subjects while teaching at institutions such
as the California State University Northridge, Shepherd University, the
Larchmont Music Academy in New York, the French-American Lyceum Kennedy, and
the South Pasadena Music Conservatory in California.
Marcel Camargo Album Release
Performance:
** August 30 / The Sayers Club /
Los Angeles, CA
** featuring Gretchen Parlato
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