Review: João Bosco – 40 Year CareerWorld Tour 2013
25 Aug, 2013
READ IN ENGLISH BELOW / READ IN PORTUGUESE HERE
By Alba Cabral
Translation by Harriet Batey
With a forty year career and always accompanied by excellent musicians, João Bosco put on a memorable show. From the first song, a percussion and drum solo filled up the house, and with an incredible rhythmic harmony of great Brazilian musicians, you understood that the show would be an amazing musical performance.
One of the greatest things about this performance, held at Ronnie Scotts in London, was how each musician had a space to improvise, expressing different sounds, creative phrases, syncopated and complex rhythms.
A true melting pot of different sounds, with alternating solo moments, revealing the surprising dynamic to Brazilian music made by João Bosco and his team. It’s a team which plays completely together, and creates counterpoints of melodic, rhythmic and harmonious counterpoints. It could be a big challenge balancing a quintet of such talented musicians, as well as allowing themselves the space to show their very best. However, what you see is a constant dialogue, maturity and respect.
Of particular note, the partnership between energetic drummer Kiko Freitas and calming percussionist Armando Marçal, who know how to perfectly fit together timbres and rhythms within their percussion set, amongst which cuíca, xequerê, gonguê and timbales are the “seasoning” which add a particular flavor to Kiko’s eloquent rhythm, whose distinct influences – afro, samba, jazz, salsa – are all present in a unique style.
Featuring classics such as “O ronco da cuíca”, “Mestre Sala dos Mares”, “Odilê Odilá”, “Nação”, “Incompatibilidade de Gênios” and “De frente pro crime”, and with the ability to play around with each one of them, one of the highlights was the arrangement of “Coisa Feita”, which began with a beautiful bass solo by João Baptista.
The surprising “Tanajura” highlighted the hypnotic strumming of guitarist Ricardo Silveira. The second half brought boleros, calmer bossa novas and tributes to Tom Jobim with “Águas de Março” and “Fotografia”; João Gilberto, with “Estate”; and Chico Buarque, with the epic “Sinhá”. The frantic sambas “Linha de Passe” and “Escadas da Penha” were left until the end and raised the roof, with ecstatic dancing!
João Bosco was few in his words. He introduced one song to another, introduced the band, said thank you and returned for the encore then left. No delays, no stories between songs. Succinct and focused. In a brief chat with bassist João Baptista at the exit, he said that the routine of touring was not letting him get a good night’s sleep, but despite all being affected by a lack of rest they were happy with the result. And we were more than satisfied, we were completely ecstatic!
