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Canto do Rio

In 2003 I was awarded a grant from Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works program, which enabled me to write and rehearse a new batch of music for my Quinteto. Canto do Rio was the result of that award, and it was released by Liquid City Records. It was also nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2004, the first of three nominations I have received.

The core band was my Quinteto, with Chuck Deardorf on bass, Mark Ivester on drums and Jeff Busch on percussion. I had the luxury of having 2 horn players, Hans Teuber and Harvey Wainapel on flute, clarinet and saxophones, plus special guests Flora McGill on vocals and my brother Mike Marshall on mandolin. A special addition was the voice of Pernambuco, who played percussion on Hermeto Pascoal’s Grupo for many years. I had recorded him in Rio years before, reciting some words that Hermeto had written for him. I found the perfect spot to insert his vocals on Batuki di Bangu, right after a killer alto sax duet by Hans and Harvey.

The music has a bit of everything, but the themes are all inspired by the city of Rio. Not the famous spots like Ipanema and Copacabana, but the vast areas in the West of Rio, where I was born and raised. Titles like Pedra Branca (the tallest mountain in Rio), Guaratiba (my favorite beach) and Batuki di Bangu all refer to my childhood haunts.

To produce this album was a real journey, connecting my hometown of Rio de Janeiro with my love of Nature and my favorite musicians in Seattle. Canto do Rio can mean both “a spot in the river” and “a song of Rio”. The title track was a solo piano improvisation, to which I wrote a melody sung beautifully by Flora McGill.

Another secret, which most people never got, is a ghost track that plays on the CD one minute after the last song ends. It’s Imperador, a maxixe I composed named after the street where I grew up in Rio.

Would you like to get this CD signed and mailed to you? Here’s how: Click here to be taken to PayPal. I’ll add one extra perk: Anyone who purchases this disc can get the complete PDF scores for the whole album sent via email. All you have to do is let me know when you complete the transaction that you would like the scores as well.

Even though Cds are considered a thing of the past and you can listen to this music on Internet sites, the support for the music creators you generate with a purchase will ensure that we continue to make music for you and the next generations.

Thanks for your generous support!

Obrigado,

Jovino