[Dixielandjazz] Spok Frevo Orquestra-Brazil

[Ken Mathieson]

Hi Bob et al.

Bob Romans wrote:
Frickin' awesome! NOT OKOM, but what a bunch of incredible musicians...unbelievable!
Turn up your sound and go full screen!

Very eloquently put, Bob! This band (from the north-eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco) are very special: great charts, incredibly disciplined performance, colossal energy, stunning section and ensemble playing made to look easy at outrageous tempos and everything is as tight as a fish's a** (and I'm sure we all know that's watertight). I particularly like the kit player who is clearly no youngster, but plays with fantastic precision and energy, yet makes it all look like a walk in the park - Go Seniors!  The Frevo tradition stems from marches, generally played at double tempo to the speed of the marchers' feet, but often with very tricky syncopation (viz Jobim's piece "Frevo" from the sound track of the film Black Orpheus - there's also a fine version of it on record by Astrud Gilberto - where the melody wanders across beats and barlines with an eccentric logic of its own.

Enough already, it's time to check out Spok's other stuff on YouTube. Thanks for the link Bob!

Ken Mathieson