Ricardo Bacelar @ All About Jazz

Updated: May 14, 2018

Born: July 19, 1967

The third solo album of the Brazilian pianist, composer and arranger Ricardo Bacelar, entitled “Sebastiana” is being released. Produced by Cesar Lemos (BMI and ASCAP awards in the USA), it was recorded and mixed in Miami, United States, at the legendary Hit Factory (Criteria) and Rebel 11 studios. Its concept gravitates around a Latin American rereading of a Brazilian music repertoire portion. “Sebastiana” was recorded by Brazilian, American, Cuban, Argentine, Venezuelan, Colombian and Peruvian musicians. By researching traditional rhythms, an arrangement laboratory was conceived to implement the fusion of Latin American and Brazilian music elements. It shows contemporary arrangements and a strong jazzy accent, with a subtle percussion that confirms South America ́s influence. The result is unusual and presents an important contribution to the Brazilian music scenario in the international context. It is an instrumental record, having four of its tracks sung. The album is being released in Latin America, Japan, Europe and in the United States, being promoted by several partners, available on digital platforms, CD and vinyl. The musician seeks to create a catalog with artistic quality, with no concern for the commercial market. However, it breaks geographic barriers and disseminates his music to many countries. “With quality music, we can conquer space in several places in the world at the same time,” he says

. The title “Sebastiana” pays homage to Jackson do Pandeiro, a Brazilian artist, in the 35th anniversary of his death, inserting excerpts from his voice in two tracks. The cover and graphic illustration elements reproduce “Carnival”, an oil painting of the Brazilian modernist painter Emiliano di Cavalcanti. The repertoire was conceived four- handed by Ricardo Bacelar and Cesar Lemos. The album has five unpublished songs, in a set of fifteen recordings. Two of them were composed by Ricardo with Cesar Lemos (”Suco Verde” (“Green Juice”) and “Sernambetiba”, 1992). The album “Sebastiana” presents works by Brazilian composers: Luiz Gonzaga, Gilberto Gil, Lô Borges, Villa-Lobos, Milton Nascimento and Ronaldo Bastos, Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, Ivan Lins and Victor Martins, Flora Purim and Luiz Roberto Bertrami. Ricardo Bacelar wrote the arrangements, carried out the schedules with Cesar Lemos, recorded the acoustic piano, Hammond organ, synthesizers and sang the track “Oh Mana Deixa Eu Ir”(”Oh Sis Let me Go”). He searched for Latin music exponents in Miami for the recording of the album: Cesar Lemos - basses, guitars and vocals, Anderson Quintero (Venezuela) - drums and percussion, Mayer Osorio (USA) - vocal in “Nothing Will Be As It Was”, Andrea Mangiamarchi (Venezuela) singing “Somewhere in the Hills”, Rose Max and Ramatis Moraes (Brazil) in “Sambadouro” ́s, vocals, Steve Hinson (US) - steel guitar, Yoel del Sol (Cuba) - percussion, Channo Tierra (Colombia) - diatonic accordion in “A Volta da Asa Branca”(The Return of the White Wing), Jose Sibaja (Colombia) - trumpet and flugelhorn in “Vento de Maio”(May Wind) and “Partido Alto”, Jesus “el viejo” Rodriguez (Peru) - percussion and charango in “Vento de Maio”(May Wind), Gabriel Fernandez (Argentina) playing Bandoneón in “Depois dos Temporais”(After the Storms) and Ricardo ́s daughters, Maria and Sara Bacelar - percussion. Ricardo Bacelar ́s first solo album, “In natura”, is intimate and shows unpublished compositions at the piano, with participations and classical music influences. The second one, “Concerto para Moviola” (Concerto for Moviola), is a live album, recorded at a jazz festival, with an eight-member band, presenting a jazz fusion and Brazilian music repertoire. It was released in 2016 in Brazil and in the United States, on CD, digital, DVD and vinyl, obtaining a highly significant performance in the American jazz radios, with several reviews in important vehicles in the American press of the segment. Ricardo Bacelar joined a band in Brazil, called Hanoi Hanoi, in the 80s and 90s, with wide commercial success, whose repertoire was recorded by important Brazilian artists such as Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Polyvalent in arts and science, Ricardo is a lawyer and a fierce copyright defender. He organized and launched in 2017, in Brazil, the book “Contemporary Themes of Intellectual Property”, a collection of articles with the most important Brazilian authorities in copyright and other branches of the subject. Ricardo wrote this text in the CD and vinyl booklet: “Sebastiana is a Latin American synthesis of Brazil. Nowadays, some Latin American countries, including Brazil, experience turmoil and divisions originating from populist regimes. However, music has the power to join different aesthetic standards, as a universal language that establishes links, transmuting the real world with a sophisticated degree of subjectivity. There is also a symbolic character in the Latin segments reunion, without getting into the geopolitical merit: exalting Latin America ́s values, where brotherly peoples strive not to be called “developing countries”. Economic and social inequalities are still barriers to transpose. Nevertheless, Latin music ́s richness certifies the noblest elements of its history, culture and ancestral traditions. Trying to find sound signs fit to merge with the Brazilian music, research and laboratory were carried out for the free confection of the arrangements, with no academic connotation. We did not intend to record a folk disc, but to seek for a perfume, a scent, with Latin ambience, to ornament the Brazilian repertoire. Rhythmic textures and characteristic timbres were subjected to the harmonic structures ́ sway of the Brazilian music, which lacked, until then, a visit of its closer brothers. In the disc, we present a Venezuelan rhythm called “Sangueo”, interpreted with cumaco and mina drums, coming from the central portion of that country, evidencing African rhythms influences. We implemented a mixture with “Coco”, from the composition Sebastiana, by Rosil Cavalcanti (1915-1968). Famous representative of the Northeastern Brazilian music, the song Sebastiana names the disc. The work was very successful in Brazil in the voice of Jackson do Pandeiro (1919-1982) having been originally recorded, in 1953. Jackson do Pandeiro, a great Brazilian artist, left us 35 years ago. We pay homage to this artist by inserting excerpts of his voice in the recording, with quotations from a 1979 TV Cultura show. Jackson was a master of syncopation - accentuations at different rhythm tempo - having influenced, and still influencing, many musicians around the world. Another visited rhythm is the “Vallenato”, derived from the Colombian coast. Named by some as an ancestral musical genre of the ancient province of Padilla, with Spanish colonization and Afro-Colombian slaves ́ records, the “Vallenato” spread through Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico and Paraguay. Traditionally, it is performed by using the acordeon diatônico (diatonic accordion), guacharaca and caja vallenata (vallenata box). The “Vallenato”, recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, is incorporated, on the disc, to the Brazilian baião A Volta da Asa Branca, by Luiz Gonzaga (1912-1989) and Zé Dantas (1921- 1962). O Rei do Baião (The King of Baião), Luiz Gonzaga, imprinted a strong mark on the Brazilian music. Latin rhythms are subtly placed, as if they were spices, in the arrangements conception. The “Bomba” is a musical genre of Puerto Rico, brought by slaves who came from the West Indies, derived from Africa ́s west coast. It is performed with drums made from barrels that used to store goat leather, adjusted by turnstiles, screws and wedges. Another element used is the “Timba”, a rhythm from Cuba. It is a term of African origin, derived from the “Tambor”, with a historical record dating from the slaves ́ arrival in Central America. In Cuban orchestras, they have invoked “Timba” to incite musicians to “raise the temperature” of the theme and energize the audience. In the universe of the complex Cuban rhythmic sauces, including the “Salsa Cubana” atmosphere, “Timba” has been merged with jazz and is part of the popular music of that country. It uses Latin percussion instruments such as pailas, congas and güiro, as well as characteristic choreographies. On the disc, we picked some musical instruments, which retain a lot of originality and are representative of their regions. The “Charango” or quirquincho (in the language of the Quíchua Andean people, kirkinchu), placed in the song Vento de Maio, by Lô Borges and Márcio Borges, is a string instrument that belongs to the lute family. Originally from Bolivia, it is originally made with the carapace of the armadillo's back. There are records that the Spaniards, in the sixteenth century, forbade the Bolivian natives to practice their ancestral music. The “Charango” was an instrument conceived to be hidden under the robes, measuring, on average, 66 centimeters and built with ten strings. It is representative of the “Andean Music”, characterized by nostalgic and evocative melodies with flautas de caña (cane flutes) textures. In the song Depois dos Temporais (After the Storms), by Ivan Lins and Vitor Martins, we used the “Bandoneón”, main member of the “Tango” orchestra. The genre was established as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The “Bandoneón” was declared Cultural Patrimony of Argentina, by law. A close relative of the concertina, it is also used in the Rio de la Plata and Uruguay region. It produces the sound from the vibration of steel reeds, driven by the displacement of the air in the bellows. The “Bandoneón” was created in Germany, to be used as a portable organ in religious manifestations, but it spread as the “Tango” protagonist, in Argentina. The images we chose to illustrate the disc are parts of the work “Carnaval” (1969 - 1970, oil on canvas, 1.07 X 1.57) by the Brazilian artist, the modernist Emiliano di Cavalcanti. The picture inspired me very much in the alchemy of axioms for the making of Sebastiana. Evoe!”. REPERTOIRE 1. A Volta da Asa Branca - Luiz Gonzaga and Zé Dantas 2. Suco Verde - Ricardo Bacelar and Cesar Lemos 3. Nothing Will Be As it Was - Milton Nascimento, Ronaldo Bastos and Renee Vincent 4. River of Emotions - Ricardo Bacelar 5. Menina Baiana - Gilberto Gil 6. Somewhere in the Hills - Tom Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes and Ray Gilbert 7. Partido Alto - Flora Purim, Alex Malheiros and José Roberto Bertrami 8. Parts of Me - Ricardo Bacelar 9. Sambadouro - Ivan Lins and Vitor Martins 10. Oh Mana Deixa Eu Ir (Caicó Cantiga) - Heitor Villa-Lobos, Milton Nascimento and Teca Calazans 11. Sebastiana - Rosil Cacalcanti 12. Depois dos Temporais - Ivan Lins and Vitor Martins 13. Vento de Maio - Lô Borges and Márcio Borges 14. Sernambetiba, 1992 - Ricardo Bacelar and Cesar Lemos 15. The Best Years - Ricardo Bacelar Total time - 54:43 Ricardo Bacelar (Brazil) Acoustic piano, Hammond B3 organ, Moog synthesizer, keyboards and vsti orchestra Vocals on Oh Mana Deixa eu Ir (Caicó Cantiga) Cesar Lemos (Brazil) Bass guitar and electric guitar (except 4, 8 and 15) Vocals on Sernambetiba 1992 and Vento de Maio Maye Osorio (USA) Vocals on Nothing Will Be As it Was Steve Hinson (USA) Pedal Steel Guitar on Nothing Will Be As it Was Anderson Quintero (Venezuela) Drums (except 3, 4, 8 and 15) Percussion on Sebastiana, Depois dos Temporais, A Volta da Asa Branca, Somewhere in the Hills and Partido Alto Elena Rose (Venezuela) Vocals on Somewhere in the Hills Yoel del Sol (Cuba) Percussion on Menina Baiana and Sambadouro Channo Tierra (Colombia) Acordeón diatónico on Voo da Asa Branca Jose Sibaja (Colombia) Trumpet and Flugelhorn on Vento de Maio and Partido Alto Jesus “el viejo” Rodriguez (Peru) Percussion and Charango on Vento de Maio Gabriel Fernandez (Argentina) Bandoneón on Depois dos Temporais Maria and Sara Queiroz Bacelar (Brazil) Percussion on Sebastiana Rose Max (Brazil) Vocals on Sambadouro Ramatis Moraes (Brazil) Vocals on Sambadouro

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All About Jazz Articles

JazzCorner  - “Jazz pianist Ricardo Bacelar crafts a masterful celebration of Latin American music from a Brazilian perspective”  Writen in Music – “Sebastiana brengt een veelvoud in jazzstijlen samen. Van smooth tegen slick jazz aanleunend naar authentieke Latin jazz met een dikke Braziliaanse flavour”. Drimble - “Sebastiana is voor de Braziliaanse pianist Ricardo Bacelar een ode aan Zuid-Amerika.”  Jazz Weekly -  “Ricardo Bacelar brings his Brazilian keyboard concepts along with a fresh and energetic core team”. Roughly Recommended  - “This new Jazz, Brazilian fusion album is a delight for any sophisticated music listener. With a vast array of collaborations, the culturally accentuated project has brought together the best in music from all over the world”. Unsigned Interviews -  “Multi-instrumentalist Ricardo Bacelar has recently released his brand new album ‘Sebastiana’, a collection of sounds influenced by different musicians, and instruments.”. Jazz Corner  - “His newly released third album revisiting Brazilian classics and introducing his own compositions is a multicultural celebration of Latin music”. SkopeMag  - “He gathered an ensemble of Latin American musicians to honor the roots of Brazilian music while incorporating each musician’s unique culture on a jazz- centered album.” Music News Today  - “Ricardo Bacelar has truly created something outstanding that captures the music of Brazil in all its glory”. World Jazz News -  “The multi-genre album is receiving airplay from a variety of jazz radio formats and the disc has been lauded by reviewers for its artistic vision, authenticity and cultural significance. ” TheJazzWorld.com “The collective employed uniquely Latin American rhythms and instruments on the lushly-layered tracks”. Jazz Chill Music -  “The Brazilian duo’s comprehensive approach for the contemporary jazz and trippy fusion session included inviting musicians from Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and the U.S.” BWW Music World – “The record includes vocal drops of the late Jackson do Pandeiro, an influential Brazilian percussionist and singer, adding character and cultural impact to the offering.”  NewsBlog – “A collection of authentic instrumentals and vocal songs for global consumption showcasing Brazilian classics and originals.”  Jazz HQ -  “Latin-American rhythms and instrumentation illustrate Bacelar’s own tunes as well as interpret works from illustrious Brazilian composers”. First View  - “Ricardo Bacelar's Sebastiana is a piece of cultural history, contemporary art, style guide, musical ethnology, throughout an object of desire for aficionados of Brazilian Music”. The Urban Music Scene – “the ethereal “Nothing Will Be As It Was,” featuring two Americans – vocalist Maye Osorio and pedal steel guitarist Steve Hinson – on the multi-format crossover radio single portrayed in a striking animated video”. Soul and Jazz and Funk -  “There he assembled a team to create a music that honours the roots of Brazilian music yet incorporates each individual player's culture and musical heritage”.  The Smooth Jazz Ride -  “A gentle blend of melodies that warrants a careful listen if only to catch the whispery nuances and subtle musical intangibles, Sebastiana does both jazz and Brazilian music justice here”.  Russel Trunk ́s Magazine -  “...Richard Bacelar now brings us his third album, and most ambitious yet, the beautiful, and stunningly creative Sebastiana”. Midwest Record -  “The kind of set that stands toe to toe with great sets on this order extant, Bacelar should drop the writs and stick to the hits, we need more of this in the world”.  Radio Miami -  “Así se dan la mano en el álbum, con la música brasileña, el Vallenato de Colombia, la Timba de Cuba, la Bomba de Puerto Rico y otros ritmos de nuestros países”. Smooth Jazz Daily “ - With Sebastiana pianist Ricardo Bacelar pursues a completely new concept”. A La carta – Radio/TV España “...Ricardo Bacelar ha publicado uno de los álbumes más interesantes de los últimos meses dentro del apartado del sub-género latin-jazz, en una sofisticada ramificación carioca. Una explosiva amalgama de ritmos tradicionales, con arreglos muy elegantes y contemporáneos que han dado como resultado una sorprendente fusión de elementos musicales latinos y brasileños”. Lee Bailey ́s EURWEB – Electronic Urban Report “...Sebastiana because it makes me want to dance and I love to dance”! FirstPress – The mixture of Latin cultures make for a very different sound and Ricardo Bacelar had the keyboard popping all through the project. On The Spot Music -  “Though Bacelar’s exceptional keyboard skills underpin the album, the rest of the band are allowed space to breathe musically, a pleasingly democratic arrangement which gives a real feeling of energy to the tracks”. HillRag “Jazz pianist Ricardo Bacelar ́s new release focuses on the roots of Brazilian music with its sprawling list of reinterpretations and originals such as the ethereal Nothing Will Be As It Was”... TOP 40 Charts  - “Sebastiana is Ricardo Bacelar’s third album and one which transcends musical styles and extends way beyond trends and fashions”.

Silky Denims – “It shows contemporary arrangements and a strong jazzy accent, with a subtle percussion that confirms South America's influence”.  Donloe ́s Lowdown -  “...he gathered a collective of musicians from all over the Latin-American diaspora and granted them the freedom to inject their unique cultural identities”  HillRag – “Along with the two new Bacelar-Lemos tunes and three stirring solo piano pieces from Mr. Bacelar such as “River of Emotions,” “Parts of Me”and “The Best Years,” Sebastiana revisits songs from Brazilian composers”. Sonic News  - “Ricardo Bacelar – Brazil’s Modern Jazz Genius.Through a combination of improvisation, meticulous composition and intense studio work, Ricardo has created a timeless release which is evocative, inspiring and often deeply moving”. The Washington Informer  - “Ricardo Bacelar broadens World view”. Music For All  - “...o destaque vai para o álbum “Sebastiana”, registro onde Ricardo Bacelar trouxe uma nova dimensão à música de origem brasileira”. PressParty – “Bringing the old world and the new from Latin America and taking in influences from around the world”. AllEvents.In  - “Pianista, compositor e arranjador, Ricardo Bacelar traz com “Sebastiana” uma nova dimensão à música de origem brasileira, conferindo-lhe um toque latino-americano e uma sonoridade mais internacional”. The Pulse of Entertainment – “They mix the cultures Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, and Cuba”.  GreatScott P.R.oductions – “Ricardo Bacelar jetted from his home in Brazil to Miami, the place he calls “the center of Latin music in the world,” RHODES Magazine -  “Ricardo Bacelar dispensa apresentações. O pianista, compositor e produtor brasileiro tem uma carreira recheada de sucessos”. RTBF Auvio – “Une pertinente réussite à nos yeux Focus Sebastiana de Ricardo Bacelar – Le pianiste jazz et arrangeur Ricardo Bacelar propose une relecture latino-américaine d’un pan de la musique brésilienne”. Keys and Chords  - “Dit is pas zijn derde album, en er staan authentieke instrumentale stukken op en 4 gezongen songs, ofwel Braziliaanse klassiekers en originele composities”.  IsraBox  - “By researching traditional rhythms, an arrangement laboratory was conceived to implement the fusion of Latin American and Brazilian music elements”. Blogue de Lisboa -  “O resultado é inusitado e apresenta uma importante contribuição para o cenário da música brasileira no contexto internacional”. Blogue de Lisboa -  “O álbum foi muito bem recebido pela imprensa e rádios americanas da área do Jazz”.  Evensi  - “Esta é uma das poucas faixas cantadas do álbum, e conta com a participação de Maye Osorio (EUA), convidada a abrilhantar a canção com a sua voz cativante”.  SimplyVideos -  “The video just makes you want to live in this world”. Peraweb – “O álbum Sebastiana ganha distribuição planetária, chegando ao mercado do Brasil via Tratore”.  Diário do Nordeste -  “Sua “Sebastiana” é jazzística, mas sem conservadorismo, e carregado de latinidade”.  Já aqui -  “Foi alvo de arranjos capazes de efetivar a fusão de elementos da música latino-americana com a música brasileira”. O Povo  - “... o álbum faz uma releitura de ritmos latinos através de um encontro variado de sotaques”.  O Povo  - “... o disco Sebastiana traz uma proposta ambiciosa de rever a música brasileira a partir de olhares múltiplos e estrangeiros”.  Tapis Rouge  - “... realiza uma releitura latino americana de uma porção do repertório da música brasileira”. Roberto Moreira – Diário do Nordeste – “Sebastiana é uma síntese Latino Americana do Brasil”.  Catanduvas FM “Ricardo Bacelar– integrante do grupo carioca Hanoi Hanoi nas décadas de 1980 e 1990 – reapresenta outro grande sucesso de Jackson do Pandeiro, o coco Sebastiana (Rosil Cavalcanti, 1953), com o toque de um ritmo venezuelano denominado sangueo e evocado na gravação pela percussão”. Balada In  - “ Disco de Ricardo Bacelar está entre os 50 discos mais executados nas rádios de Jazz dos Estados Unidos”.  Folha de Londrina -  “Piano bem brasileiro”.  Galeria - “Ricardo Bacelar lança “Sebastiana” e surpreende mais uma vez”.  Revista Keyboard – “O resultado é inusitado” Revista Música Brasileira -  “A música brasileira e a latino-americano se cruzam e se entendem em perfeita harmonia, nesse novo e bonito trabalho do pianista, compositor e arranjador Ricardo Bacelar”  Tárik de Souza -  “Sebastiana, a circunavegação latina de Ricardo Bacelar...”  O Imparcial -  “...fez pesquisa histórica de signos latinos, cujos textos estão nos encartes do CD e vinil.”.  Blog do Mauro Ferreira – G1 -  “A intenção de Bacelar no disco gravado em julho de 2017 em Miami (Flórida, EUA), com produção de Cesar Lemos, foi tocar músicas do Brasil com sons de (outros) países da América do Sul e com a influência do jazz”.  O Globo – Parada Obrigatória – “... Ricardo Bacelar inicia por Portugal a turnê do seu novo CD...” A Tribuna.com.br -  “Prepare os ouvidos. Sebastiana, terceiro álbum do compositor e arranjador Ricardo Bacelar, foi feito para ouvir inteiro e com calma. ... O disco físico é imponente e completo”.  Márcia Peltier – “O título do álbum é uma homenagem a Jackson do Pandeiro, no ano em que se completa 35 anos de sua partida, com a inclusão de sua voz em duas faixas”. (Sebastiana e The Best Years).  Correio Popular –  “... um resultado melódico e harmonioso de rara beleza. (...) O álbum é lindo, com alguns momentos particularmente comoventes,”.  Diário do Nordeste -  “...Ricardo Bacelar entra para a lista de álbuns de jazz mais tocados nos EUA”. A União -  “Ricardo Bacelar homenageia Jackson do Pandeiro em CD”. Correio Brasiliense -  “... faz releituras de músicas brasileira com pitadas de estilos de outros países latino americanos”. Correio da Paraíba - “Apesar da apropriação cultural de alguns instrumentos, Bacelar atenta pelo caráter universal da música”. Zero Hora - “Raríssimos artistas independentes têm a ousadia do pianista, compositor e arranjador cearense Ricardo Bacelar para conceber e produzir um projeto luxuoso como o do álbum Sebastiana. (...) Ricardo Bacelar faz disco para o mundo.”. A Tribuna -  “No fim de tudo, escutar “Sebastiana” - que tem esse nome em homenagem ao músico Jackson do Pandeiro (1919-1982) - é perceber o talento de Ricardo Bacelar em prestar homenagem a canções tão importantes e, ao mesmo tempo, não descaracterizá-las”.

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