Hello, new subscribers!

Catching up

photo by Glenn Nelson

I am touched by the recent wave of new subscribers to my Substack, both free and paid. Perhaps you are familiar with my music, maybe it’s all new to you. Well, let me introduce one of my projects to you, the Quinteto. Here are a couple of videos we did some years ago. The ensemble features Ben Thomas on vibraphone and bandoneon, Tim Carey on bass (our dear late Chuck Deardorf played with us until 2022), Mark Ivester on drums and Jeff Busch on percussion. I write and arrange the music, play piano, melodica, flute and some percussion.

This is a forró in 7/4 called Festa na Macuca. I composed it after a visit to the Macuca Farm in Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil when researching material for my album Alma do Nordeste. It was recorded in Brazil on that album, but I wrote a new arrangement for my Seattle-based Quinteto. Here’s the video:

During the same session, we also recorded Vai e Vem, a samba:

Well, here’s over 15 minutes of music for you. Let me know your thoughts…

Thanks for following my work here. I appreciate the support!

Cheers,

Jovino