Ana Gazzola &
Sonia Santos
Brasil Brazil Show
September 2000

By Jim Santella

Sonia Santos and Ana Gazzola lead a band, manage a traveling show, and operate their own record label. Photos and sound bites from the Yellow Green Productions web site offer a good look at how much is going on when this show comes to town. Using their voices as instruments, the two singers work as an integral part of the ensemble. The artists, both natives of Brazil, sing in Portuguese with phrasing and articulation characteristic of their cultural messages. Since improvisation is natural to the music, everyone in Brasil Brazil stretches out on occasion to express particular moods. It’s a small world. Folks everywhere wonder at the enthusiasm of these two leaders and appreciate their universal language.

All About Jazz: Describe your music to someone who’s never heard it before.

Ana Gazzola: Someone who’s never heard Brazilian music before would recognize an emphasis on rhythm, pleasant harmonies, a very warm singing voice, a groove. It’s a mix of African rhythms with European harmonies: very sophisticated, and very popular, too. We sing a mix between jazz and bossa nova. It’s African music, jazz, and our country’s roots. There’s a lot of percussion. It’s happy music.

AAJ: Is it music that people want to dance to?

Sonia Santos: Sure, they can dance to it. There are softer shades in the singing, too. It’s deep. People think of the samba, but we have much more than that going on.

AG: Our music is for listening. You can dance to almost anything, but ours is not dance music.

SS: You’ll find many different styles of Brazilian music on our albums: ballads, hot sambas, improvised sessions, and a lot of rhythm.

AAJ: I hear the African rhythms from the drums, the bass, and other percussion players. The classical harmony shows up in the keyboard and the guitar. Where’s the singing melody come from?

SS: Everywhere! [Laughter] The way that we define our singing melody is to spread it out over the group. The bass and the drums participate with melody too. What distinguishes Brazilian music is the rhythms. The harmony is rich and sophisticated, but the rhythm moves people and they recognize that. People from all over the world. People from Saudi Arabia, Southern Africa, Australia and England are moved by our music. We perform all over, and we observe the audience. They move with the groove: their hands, their feet, and their bodies.

AAJ: When you see the audience react, of course, it makes things more fun for you?

SS: Of course. Recently we had a concert here in Beverly Hills. The audience was older, more mature. At least 400 older people, and younger people too. I saw them all reacting to the music. Even when they don’t understand the words, they’re happy with our music.

AAJ: Most of your audience DOES understand the words.

SS: No, no! Ninety-five percent do not understand the language.

AG: When you don’t understand the lyrics, it’s more fun. I’m a big fan of music, aside from being a singer. I grew up listening to American music and I didn’t understand what they were saying. But I loved it. Music is a human, an international language. It doesn’t matter exactly what they’re saying, but you like the voice and the way the music sounds. The voice becomes an instrument.

SS: Exactly.

AG: Either you like it or you don’t like it. Many of the songs we use are songs I heard as a little girl, and only now am I learning what the lyrics mean. But it’s not that important to me. So, when you don’t understand the lyrics, you instead listen to the voice as an instrument. It makes you enjoy the music from a different view.

SS: The jazz music takes that concept much deeper when you don’t understand the words. The music is more important than the words.

AG: I agree with what Sonia was saying before about rhythm, but not a hundred percent. We have a mix of African rhythms and European harmony. African music is very repetitive, and you get into a groove. The European harmonies are sophisticated.

SS: In jazz, we use it all. We use the rhythms, and we use the other elements as well.

AG: American jazz musicians love the changes, the rich harmonies. But if you had just the rhythms, it wouldn’t be so strong.

SS: Absolutely. If the music were to lean all in one direction, it would be too simple.

AAJ: How does this CD compare to the first one?

SS: The first CD was pretty much our theory. We get along very well with our musicians. The excitement of working together created a strong wave. We had a vibe. This mix between our maturity and their youth worked very well. Then, on the second CD, they became more mature. The music came together differently. The excitement is still there, but the album is richer.

AG: Also, we invested more in the production of our second CD. It took much longer to create.

AAJ: How did you originally get interested in music?

AG: I studied a lot of other things in my life. I went to two universities and didn’t finish either of those. I studied architecture. But, I used to sing at home with my mother. We are a very musical family. It’s natural. Music and love.

AAJ: What made you want to make a career in music?

AG: Just a passion for it. I used to sing with my sisters, and I always dreamed of being a singer. I bought records. It was a dream that I made come true.

AAJ: Was it hard to break in to the field?

AG: Yes, it was very hard. When you want to be a doctor, let’s say, you know exactly what to do. You attend the university, you work in a hospital, you practice, and you set up your business. But as a singer, there’s not really a guaranteed way. You don’t just go to school and all of a sudden you’re a professional singer. Sure, it was hard.

SS: Usually, traditional families don’t support the idea of being a singer. There’s friction. My experience was similar to Ana’s. I studied law, I studied social service, and my father said, "You’re not going to be a singer. This is not the profession for you. You’ve got to be a lawyer."

But it’s our passion. We can’t afford to let it go. So, after all, we left home and now we’re doing what we always wanted to do. But now they’re SO proud of us. We talk to our families by phone all the time. Now they like the idea. We visit our families once a year without fail.

We’ve been leading this band for six years. We have to go for it. It’s our lives, our dreams. It’s a competitive business, too. So we have to put all our efforts into the band. We get letters and calls. That keeps us going.

AAJ: You came to the U.S. a different way than Ana did.

SS: I came with a show. And I came to study English. I stayed with the show for one year. Then, I started singing by myself.

When I met Ana, we saw that we had the same interests. So, in 1994 when Brazil won the world cup, the interest in Brazilian music increased. We started working together and saw the audience reaction. Wow, it was so strong! We knew it would work, and it has. We’ve taken the show to Tahiti, Singapore, New York…

AG: We’re going to Detroit this weekend. The Detroit Jazz Festival.

SS: We got a standing ovation at the Syracuse Jazz Festival. It all adds up to excitement that keeps us going. It’s special to us. This isn’t a Brazilian audience. This audience includes Japanese, Latin, Persian, American, everybody.

AAJ: What kind of plans do you have?

AG: This was our best year. Of the five big festivals in the country, we did two. This was the best year we’ve had in terms of engagements. We want to do other jazz festivals around the world. We have dreams. We are sure that people like this. We present something fresh. We can present a killer show.

AAJ: What makes the Portuguese language fit better than English?

AG: I think that, when you like a song in Portuguese, you like the song. You like its harmony, rhythm, melody and the mood. I’ve translated a few of my songs into English, and they just don’t translate well. They were created in Portuguese. They have to be sung the way they were created, because the words go with the music. People can attach various meanings to the lyrics. It’s a chance for people to use personal impressions of the music, instead of what was originally intended.

People like the music, and they want to hear the original. It’s like when a famous blues singer goes to Brazil. The audience loves it, but they’d never ask her to sing in Portuguese. Even though some people think the accent is very charming, people don’t understand it when you translate.

SS: If we don’t know exactly what the word means, then we don’t sing it in the appropriate way. Words mean particular feelings. So the translation doesn’t work. Some Brazilian singers try to sing in English, and it’s not the same.

AG: I have no idea what they are saying. The American people can’t understand either. I remember when I first got here. I was selling percussion instruments from Brazil. Once, I was inside this store that sells only percussion instruments. I told the proprietor, "I’m here because I’m selling percussion instruments." But my pronunciation was pair-KOO-shun. The lady told me, "Sorry, we don’t work with that." Later, when she looked at my merchandise, she said, "Oh, percussion!"

SS: I’ve become more certain that most of the time, understanding words isn’t the most important thing. It’s the feeling. We grew up listening to American music and didn’t understand the words. But we liked the feeling. Your picture of the song is a nice picture. It’s personal. You attach your own meaning to the music, and it’s personal. In our last show, I sang "Tico-Tico" and the audience was indifferent. When I sang "God Bless the Child" the same way, the audience loved it. It’s all in the music. If the audience likes a particular song, it’s because the song is a good one; not because the words tell you this or that. There’s always a feeling, but the music itself is what captures our hearts. This arrangement is in English, but it’s a Brazilian version. They love the song and they love the music.

AG: Now we have a younger band. They’re all in their mid-twenties. The more mature players are around 30. They’re all from Brazil.

SS: We save spots for them in the program. They’re good, and they love to stretch out. We pay the band members for rehearsals. They got used to having rehearsals every week, and we all came together real quick. It’s a tight band that’s working out well.

AAJ: What would happen if some other known artist wanted to appear with you?

SS: We’d have to prepare it. Sure, it could work, but not unless we rehearsed beforehand. We worked with a club owner once who sang "No More Blues" with us. He just sat in, but it was after he’d listened to us night after night. It was a casual atmosphere. The audience loved it.

AG: If it was a song that the guest didn’t know well, then it wouldn’t happen. Even the best musician in the world would have problems. Rehearsal is vital.

AAJ: If you traveled to Brazil, would Brasil Brazil work out?

AG: We would have to change the show a little. Our show is made for Americans. We have Brazilian instruments, and we introduce them to the audience. In Brazil, the audience would already be familiar with those. And we’d use different songs. People don’t perform "Tico-Tico," "Mas Que Nada" and "Girl from Ipanema" in Brazil. Oh, we could keep them in the program, but we’d have to do it differently. It’s like a Brazilian jazz band coming here and singing "New York, New York." It doesn’t fit. Our show is made for Americans. It’s not a Brazilian show. However, we have in the show some numbers that the whole world would recognize. We love to bring people together.

SS: People know our music. Even if they’ve never heard the song before, they become attached by the time the second verse comes around. We see it in their faces and by their reactions.

AG: It’s like going to a Rolling Stones concert. The audience wants to hear what they recognize. If The Stones sing new or different songs, it may not work.

You sing a song and you watch this guy in the audience sitting with his girlfriend. He looks at her and you can tell by his reaction that he KNOWS this song. He’s proud to show her that he knows the song, and they’re both happy with that. It works. We have a lot of our own compositions. But we want to be like Brazilian ambassadors. We want to offer the familiar, but in our own way.

SS: We present a new face on the old song. Our creativity works for us, and it works for the audience. They’re familiar songs, but with a year 2000 band.

AAJ: How do you relax when you’re not working?

AG: We are roommates. Our house serves as an office of sorts. So, to relax, we have to get out. At home, the telephone doesn’t stop, and callers know no time zone. So we go out to relax. We often visit our good friend and her husband at their home in Brentwood.

AAJ: Mardi Gras is a special time for your band, isn’t it?

SS: Mardi Gras is different here than in Brazil. We usually have an engagement. In Brazil, carnaval isn’t just a brief celebration. It’s in the people. The atmosphere is all over the country. For at least a week, nothing else happens besides the celebration. Everyone is involved, and it’s a happy time for all. You need to see it.

AG: I have a lot of American friends who love Brazil. But what they love is the people there. The people in Brazil are different. They aren’t afraid. When you stop in your car at a red light, people talk to you in a friendly manner. No one is afraid. In L.A., if I look at someone, they wonder why I’m looking at them. In my hometown, people aren’t afraid.

SS: It’s the same in Rio. People aren’t afraid. There’s more of a social life. People accept you without reservation. Everybody enjoys the social life: outdoor cafés, the beach, and a relaxed lifestyle. You can live without money there. It’s not expensive for a tourist, either.

AG: One dollar is like two there. So, to stay in America, you must have a strong reason.

AAJ: Would you ever want to leave here and move back home?

SS: First things first. We have our dreams. Now, with our band’s success, we could live anywhere. With the internet, it could all be managed without a permanent location. But we’re happy with the way things are going.

We have nothing to complain about, Jim. We have the strength that God gave us. We know that if you work hard, you’ll get there. I got here in 1990. After ten years of hard work, I’m achieving my dream. We are honest people. We don’t have any problems. Hard work is the reason. We have our principles too. Our philosophy binds us. We don’t have to do anything that we don’t like. We’re honest. Don’t bring any frustrations into your work. We join hands and pray before each show. It works. Our hearts are working together.

AAJ: Are there obstacles?

SS: Of course. There are challenges. Some people aren’t polite. Some behaviors annoy.

AG: We are responsible for the guys. They’re our band. So we have to deal with the problems. When we get to another city, sometimes we find that our accommodations aren’t right. So we’ve learned to plan for it. Always be prepared.

SS: We stand together. Everybody in the show is as important as the next person.

AG: Piano players are the hardest musicians to get. We had a piano player who rehearsed with us for a month. And then, a week before the show he just told us, "I’m not gonna go because I have another commitment." We had already bought the air travel tickets and had made extensive plans.

We had to find a replacement piano player in a hurry, and we had to rehearse with him. He had to cancel another gig in order to come with us, so we had to pay him more. It was an obstacle, but we worked it out. We gotta keep our level up. All the time. A positive attitude is the only way. Attitudes flow straight into the music. It’s a lot of work.

SS: When we get old, we’ll be happy to look back at our accomplishments.

AG: Some people live their whole life looking far ahead. We aren’t this kind of people. We’re not rich. Everything goes into the business. We’re building. And we’re living our lives day by day. We’re happy with that.

AAJ: Do you have to do the driving yourselves?

AG: Yes. We have a lot of things to carry. We have costumes, drums, and special percussion instruments. So we drive a van. Usually, the big festivals supply 95% of the things we need; most of the instruments. We give them a list and they rent it all. But there are personal items, such as our Brazilian percussion instruments, that we have to carry ourselves. The cymbals, the guitar, these things we have to look out for.

AAJ: When you compose, do you work separately?

AG: Yes, we do it in pieces. We create, and let it stand for a while. The lyrics, especially, need to be worked in carefully. You can’t rush it. But there’s nothing worse than a song that you don’t finish. It eats at you. So you can’t wait too long.

AAJ: How do you like the business side of music?

SS: My oldest dream about music was to have my own label and my own business going on. No need to fight with anybody. Just work with my partner. Nobody to come along and say, "Oh, with your experience, it would be better if you sang in bolero style." Instead, we have this freedom to do what we love.

Our partnership is practically perfect. I am the dreamer, and Ana is the rational planner. Ana comes from a business family. So she’s got both the passionate, artist side and the business side. We do well together. We discuss everything and don’t always agree at first. But this business is bigger than us. There’s a larger circle that includes the others who work with us. I come from a different background. My father was a shipbuilder. We’re doing well because we have different backgrounds. Ana is a tough lady in the business.

AG: Money flies. But we’re doing ok. It’s difficult. You have to have a focus and go for it. Everything is possible.