Dizzy Gillespie com Trio Mocotó - No Brasil (1974)

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Dizzy Gillespie com Trio Mocotó - No Brasil (1974)

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Dizzy Gillespie was one of the most influent jazz trumpeters because he was the header, along with Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, of the bebop's verve, which large changed the genre around the forties. Therefore, some critics asks themselves what's the impact in universal music if the Dizzy Gillespie and Trio Mocotó's album had had released in that faraway year of 1974.Only a few months ago the Biscoito Fino Records released this phonographic pearl. In fact, Dizzy recorded this work through joining between the Verve Records and the Brazilian Philips, and took the master tape as soon as it was recorded, in eight hours of rehearsals, to go to stores in 1975.
Even until now, nobody knows why Dizzy didn't release that material. He rehearsed other songs with Brazilian musicians, but decided to lock them. Lucky for us, the big friend of the trumpeter, the Swiss Jacques Muyal, had found that master in 2009 and made contact with the Trio Mocotó's percussionist João Parayba, who catches more information about the album credits.
After a long research in the Brazilian's radio station Eldorado and months mixing that material in Los Angeles, Muyal signs the production and made sure to release it as soon as possible.
What about the results? Fascinating, if compared to fusions between samba and jazz. Could be smoother – and even easier - if had taken ride in a Bossa Nova vehicle. But the bebop's freedom-pungency is more explored, as we can see perfectly in "Dizzy's Shot (Brazilian Improvisation)". This track suffers instrumental variations up to fall to the cool jazz.
But the insane aura of the album is present in "Rocking With Mocotó", marked with a fast bebop's measure reached by the high-notes played by Dizzy. Mickey Roker was really inspired on drums, creating a Carnival set raised by the splendid speed from the Fritz Escovão's cuíca. This track is remarkable if we can imagine the perfect union between two rhythms punctuated by the urgency and virtuosity (also, we can dance with this song).
Here, it's evident the divergent influences from Dizzy. Despite his musical path, he was a big fan of Brazilian music, from Samba's School battery until Bossa Nova's smooth. Of this syncretism, Dizzy approach that bridges, remembering the Bossa Jazz Trio in "The Truth" and the jazz-singing in "Evil Gal Blues", which made great success on Dinah Washington's voice and was write by Lionel Hampton and Leonard Feather. In Dizzy Gillespie no Brasil, the song was interpreted by Mary Stallings's deep voice – also with Dizzy taking risk on vocals.
Dizzy Gillespie no Brasil brings two paradigms: to know much more one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time and cognize how the trumpet sounds fuzzy when intersperse on samba's roots. The wedding of jazz and samba didn't occur only on bossa nova. Maybe the whole Brazilian music had followed other paths if the album was released in the seventies.

Written by Tiago Ferreira.

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Dizzy Gillespie com Trio Mocotó - No Brasil (1974)

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