CLIFF KORMAN
Jelly Roll Morton is said to be the first
to have coined the term “Spanish Tinge", and he
considered it one fundamental component of the ingredients
which created the necessary swing of the jazz born in New
Orleans. He was probably speaking of the habanera rhythm, and
perhaps more subtle influences of phrasing and concept that
came from Caribbean sounds of the day. Since then, the Latin
influence on jazz has been undeniable, permeating repertoire,
grooves, and formation of groups.
Since at least the end of the 1950's,
with the popularity of bossa nova, I think it could be said
that jazz has become "tinged" with Brazilian music in
a similar way. The music of Jobim, João Gilberto (and
numerous other bossa period composers and performers), Paulo
Moura, Hermeto Pascoal, Egberto Gismonti, Toninho Horta, Airto
Moreira, Milton Nascimento, Djavan, Ivan Lins, Eumir
Deodato...there are so many...has been soaked up by jazz
musicians and reflected in projects,compositions, groove,
formations...in a very similar way that Latin music influences
the music. The beauty of it is that it is a two-way street, if
not super-highway, and the combinations of "American", Latin, and Brazilian jazz
continue to flow into one another and create an ever-developing
stream of swing.
The Brazilian Tinge is a multi-faceted project that spans from
performance and recording to developing an academic curriculum
on Brazilian Jazz, that features a unique mix of musicians,
compositions, arrangements, and "concept".
The performance
project features original
jazz compositions written in the spirit of Brazilian genre of
bossa, samba, baião, ballad, and choro. Its intent is to
create an atmosphere which uses Brazilian rhythmic, melodic,
and harmonic vocabulary as the prime material for the freedom
of improvised performance.
In my attempt to represent the coming
together of jazz and Brazilian popular music, I envision both
the performance and the recording as a layered musical
structure with minimal horizontal segmentation.
I invite guests to improvise through this
woven musical texture
so that the listener’s attention is
drawn toward the interplay of layers rather than the sequence
of “tunes”.
In selecting jazz standards for the
Brazilian Tinge CD, I have sought to trace a line of North
American composers who have explored the possible affinitys of
Brazilian music with jazz. For this reason I include a number
of compositions by Wayne Shorter for which I have written
arrangements highlighting Brazilian components.