Summer in the Global Village: Brasil Summerfest – Part Two

After a stellar kick-off that introduced Sao Paulo’s Criolo to a new set of stateside fans, Brasil Summerfest continued to bring in acts from all corners of Brazil’s lush musical landscape.

The next show I tried to see was Quarteto Olinda at Joe’s Pub, but I arrived just as they were hitting their last notes. I got to watch avant MPB guitarist and singer Pedro Moraes do his thing… and the next night rushed over to Brooklyn’s Barbes to catch Quarteto Olinda’s last NYC set.

It was raining cats and dogs, but as I went into Barbes’ back performance room and I was greeted by a room full of sweaty couples spinning to the quartet’s “forro de rabeca.” Forro, the endearing, hokey, country music of Northeast Brazil, has become an obsession in New York City over the past few years.

The craze can be traced back to an informal, birthday party jam session during which the band Forro in the Dark was formed. The group mounted a Wednesday night residency at East Village staple Nublu and in doing so popularized the style thousands of miles north of its home in Brazil’s Pernambuco state. Other forro nights have since popped up and recently the New York Times did a wrap-up piece on the scene.

Hailing from Recife, Quarteto Olinda sets their music apart from the rest of the forro-sphere by centralizing the fiddle-like rabeca instrument rather than the more conventional accordion. Their manager Paulo Andre Pires explained the uniqueness of the instrument as well as offering perspectives on the latest musical happenings on Pernambuco.

He’s played an integral role in Recife’s music scene dating back to the groundbreaking mangue beat movement in the early 1990s and now organizes two festivals aimed at showcasing the richness of his hometown’s soundscape: Porto Musical and Abril Pro Rock.

A few weeks prior to Quarteto Olinda’s appearance at Brasil Summerfest they backed some of the mestres (or old guard) of forro at Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing. The night was a tribute to the much beloved King of Forro, Luiz Gonzaga, and NYC’s forro faithful came out in spades to show off their moves on the huge, open-air dance floor.

Mestres of Forro and Quarteto Olinda at Lincoln Center (Photo: Mirissa Neff)

Speaking of Gonzaga I just came across this great video featuring him, in full Nordestino regalia, playing the forro anthem “Asa Branca” along with a veritable who’s who of 1970s Brazilian hitmakers.

After dancing in what felt like a sweatlodge at Barbes, I spent the next few days checking out a few more shows to close out Brasil Summerfest. The first was a lovely set by Sao Paulo chantuese Luisa Maita at the City Winery. Later in the week Mallu played a highly anticipated show at MOMA. It was the 19-year-old ingenue’s first NYC performance and a long line of people hoping to catch the show were turned away from the sold-out theater. Keep an eye out for more on her soon.

I also caught a last-minute set by Sergio Dias, of Brazilian psychedelic supergroup Os Mutantes, at Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors festival. Unforeseen circumstances prevented the full band from playing their scheduled show, but Dias made sure to play all the band’s favorites, while donning an extra large sombrero… perhaps to compensate for having to fly solo?

Finally Recife’s DJ Dolores played one of the final shows of the festival at Drom in the East Village. He’s been an integral figure in modernizing the Nordestino sound, by mixing its rhythms with electronica and making them accessible to a new generation.

Up next for Summer in the Global Village: A rooftop hangout with Brazilian music impresario Beco Dranoff.