Brazil’s Mauricio de Souza
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By Ken Bader
Mauricio de Souza was maybe 11 years old when he had his a-ha moment. He was watching television.
“And they were broadcasting a live show on T.V., and they had some shots of the drummer,” de Souza said. “And I was like, man, that looks like something I’d like to do.”
He just liked the way the drummer looked. And yet, de Souza himself is not an especially visual drummer.
“I don’t really spend much time practicing throwing sticks around and things like that,” de Souza said.
“I try to focus more on what I’m actually playing and what I’m listening to when I’m playing and responding and everything. I’m focusing more on the communication that’s going on between the members of the group more than trying to call extra attention to myself.”
De Souza’s style isn’t very showy either.
“It’s subtle and supportive,” he said. “I try not to play something that has nothing to do with what’s going on. I’m not a basher or somebody who really, like, slams down the instrument. So, I’m looking for more of a good tone and a good sound quality on the instrument.”
The title track from Mauricio de Souza’s new album is an original composition. It’s called “Here, There…”
“I came up with the title, thinking about my career,” said de Souza. “It’s ‘Here,’ meaning where my career is right now, and then ‘There.’ That’s why I put the three dots after it, because I don’t know where it’s going to go. Nobody knows. You can never be sure where things are going to go. So I tried to portray that same idea. It starts off in 7/4. It’s a straight eighth-note feel. And then, for the bridge, it speeds up slightly. And then it goes into a jazz feel.”
De Souza leads two bands on his new record. One, the Mauricio de Souza Group, plays straight-ahead American jazz. His other group, Bossa Brasil, concentrates on Brazilian jazz.
Either way, Mauricio de Souza sounds right at home.
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