Scott Feiner & Pandeiro Jazz at Zinc Bar, Nov. 4 2010

Scott Feiner and Pandeiro Jazz
Zinc Bar
New York, NY
November 3, 2010

For the CD release event for his third CD Accents (Zoho, 2010), pandeiro jazz innovator Scott Feiner took the stage with the same musicians that played on the recording sessions: Freddie Bryant (acoustic and 12-string guitar), Joel Frahm(tenor and soprano saxophone) and Joe Martin (bass). Feiner seemed determined to take the music into a different direction: instead of the more Brazilian-inspired material from previous live appearances, the band went into a more straight-ahead direction, opening with Bryant's "Alone." They followed that with the disc's title track, a Feiner-Bryant collaboration that played with a toned-down funk beat and featured a flawless, spine-tingling soprano solo from Frahm.

Among the few covers featured during the set was a bluesy take on Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man." It was interesting to hear Feiner's instrument in this format, since most associate the pandeiro with Brazilian music. Feiner took a subtle approach, while Martin filled the few empty spaces with a solid bass line. Feiner also presented a "Raro Momento," a yet-unreleased tune whose initial notes seemed to have been inspired by Jobim's "So Tinha Que Ser Com Voce." Another memorable moment came with Frahm's "Jobimiola," a homage to the Brazilian composer clearly written from an American point of view.

The set closed with a rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Big Brother," a tune that appeared on the first Pandeiro Jazz CD (Delira Music, 2006). Here Feiner went back to the more samba-inspired sound from that time—a testament of how his music project has evolved since its conception half a decade ago. Feiner's idea of bringing the pandeiro to a jazz format is clearly a work in progress, and now that he has signed with a U.S. label, he might be discovered by a wider audience.

Comments