The Brazilian Acoustic Ensemble

nter the exciting world of Brazilian Instrumental music with the Brazilian Acoustic Ensemble. This group is so versatile in its approach that it is a great fit for Folk, world music, Brazilian and Jazz festivals. This quartet is composed entirely of acoustic instruments and is dedicated to performing a diverse repertoire of composers and styles from Brazil with a definite emphasis on music from the Northeast region and modern choro.

In August 2000 guitarist Billy Newman and accordionist Rob Curto visited Recife, the largest city in the Pernambuco region of Northeast Brazil. There they encountered Marco Cesar, a mandolin virtuoso, and the renowned guitarist Henrique Annes. Both were in direction of a music program at the Conservatorio Pernambucano and actively performing often inside the style of choro but bringing to this music all the rich forms that are indigenous to their culturally rich state - frevo, baião and maracatu.

The established Brazilian musicians invited this American duo to perform at the Conservatory, and they put on a show of Brazilian music with a completely new flavor. They played a repertoire rarely frequented by American musicians but at the same time infused the music with a different energy and improvisation that brought an enthusiastic roar from the all Brazilian audience. Later they were invited to present their music in a private soiree of the leading musicians of Recife. Both Billy and Rob conducted research and collected recordings and charts during this time besides engaging in active exchanges and jams with the local musicians of Recife. It is from this trip that the idea for the Brazilian Acoustic Ensemble commenced and after a lot of shows, travel to Brazil and study, the time was right at the end of 2004 to put together a band to perform and share a lot of great Brazilian music that hasn't had much exposure in the US.

As great a music bossa nova is, as the most commercially successful it has dominated the small amount of Brazilian music that reaches American ears. This ensemble has made it a commitment to explore the richness of other forms of Brazilian music and bring a different palette of emotion and color to it's audience. Through the various genres of music, different images of Brazil are conveyed. There is the pulse of the smaller cities, the Moorish influence (a la Portugal and Muslim West Coast Africa), the highly modern urbanity emitted by the wide intervals in modern choro. There is the impossibly bright racing frevo, carnival music that in a small ensemble rivals jazz in its twisting sense of musical line and rhythmic forward motion. There are the archaic European dance forms that have been perked up and re- africanized by Brazilian Northeast laborers such as xote (somewhat related to the European "Schottish"). All these contrasts both serve to educate audiences and serve as a springboard for improvisation and artistic expression for each individual member of the ensemble. About the musicians

The Brazilian Acoustic Ensemble is a group that is dedicating itself to the performance of varied instrumental music from many parts of Brazil. It is a quartet close to the style of the "regional," a typical arrangement of instruments one can find in Brazil for the performance of choro or for the purpose of backing up a singer.

One pronounced feature of the "regional" is the absence of the bass (acoustic or electric). The low register is worked by the guitarist Billy Newman. "Bottom" duties are also shared by the surdo or zabumba drum utilized by percussionist Scott Kettner. He also often will simultaneously play the pandeiro, a versatile skinned tambourine, characteristic of much Brazilian music.

The cavaquinho, a small guitar-like instrument, is always featured in the "regional." It specializes in fervent syncopated accompaniments which because of it's unique pitch don't get in the way of the guitar or accordion. The accompaniments spun by cavaquinho player Dionisio Santos often become more of a counterpoint than background.

A lead instrument, a flute, mandolin or in this case an accordion, does a good deal of the melodic work. The melodies and solos often go in a round-robin with guitar and cavaquinho sharing the duties with accordion. The sound of the accordion has been an integral voice in the music of the Northeast of Brazil and this ensemble has dedicated itself in large part to the styles of frevo, baião, xote and maracatu. Rob Curto is perhaps the foremost exponent of Brazilian accordion in the United States. He has spent a lot of time studying and performing in Brazil and in NY leads the excellent group "Forro for All."

In fact this type of ensemble is in the Southeast of Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) known to play choro, the most prevalent instrumental music with a long history that is found in every corner of this huge country, but in Northeast cities such as Recife and Fortaleza the genres of Northeast music have been brought within the choro ensemble. The Brazilian Acoustic Ensemble is taking up this musical direction in combining the Northeast genres with choro within a small ensemble.
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