Sept 28

(Mike)
Met Sidmar Veira, a very talented trumpet player and his friend/sax player Jefferson- how we met: sat in with them at Almenaque with Bob Wyatt, a drummer who apparently played with Clark Terry on tours and stuff. I can believe it because the level of swing and ability throughout the drums the guy has is amazing. I was honored to have been able to share the stage with those guys that night. The day before that, I actually went to Sao Paulo with some of my friends to see and sit in with Daniel D’Alcantara, whom I think is one of the best trumpet players in all of Brazil. We had our first concert that week with Nelson Ayres as well. School has been smooth sailing so far... big test in Portugues coming up!

(Moe)
So, I watched a Clockwork Orange this week, a very thought provoking film, raising many ethical and socio-political questions, none of which I am going to discuss here. This past weekw as FEIA, the Festival for the Institute of Arts. Thus, classes were more or less “optional,” and we were free to attend master classes on a number of subjects. I participated in a few Choro masterclasses. Choro is definitely a entertaining medium of music, but I couldn’t halpe but feel bored when playing it. The trombone mainly voice leads and fills in the sound with contrapuntal lines. I learned a lot, and still have a lot more to learn. In order to REALLY know what I’m doing I need to listen to a lot more of it, and transcribe some of the common lines; just like in jazz there’s a language that I need to learn. Specifically I need to listen to Ze Da Velha. He’s the guy everyone always mentions when I state my interest in choro. I also jammed with a funk/fusion band, Hakavuna. They play all the great stuff, Return To Forever, Weather Report and the like. Due to earlier experiences in this country, I was starting to feel that Brazilian couldn’t really play funk, but thankfully, I was proven wrong. I’m noticing that Brazilian music when it’s not completely straight, has a swing all it’s own.