Talk with guitarist Ricardo Peixoto, leader of the San Francisco- based group Terra Sul, and you might think that their debut release, ‘Kindness of Strangers’, happened almost by accident. But the album's growing popularity underlines the fact that this could well be the most successful Brazilian crossover CD in years.
"Terra Sul just naturally evolved over the last four years," said Peixoto. "Many of our members have been playing together in different groups all over the Bay area. One of the keys to Terra Sul's unique musical personality lies in our diverse background. Mine is Brazilian jazz and classical. Our drummer Celso Alberti comes from a Brazilian rock background, and bassist Gary Brown's is funk. With ‘Kindness of Strangers’ I wanted something to reflect what the group is, documenting what we do, and where we've come from."
Mauro Saldana's vocal escapades on ‘Lands’ opens the CD with a welcoming invitation to explore Terra Sul's musical frontiers. You'll soon discover the smoothly flowing instrumental rhythms of ‘Meia Luz’ (Half Moon), the insistent samba push of ‘Heavenly Bodies’ and the title track, with Peixoto's elegant guitar carrying the melodic banner. For Peixoto, Brown and Alberti the vocal presence of Claudia Villela's gentle scatting over ‘Matatlantica's’ Brazilian hip hop beat recalls days gone by with Flora Purim and percussionist Airto Moreira. The more things change the more they stay the same.
"Brazilian music seems to come in waves," said Peixoto. "I've been hearing about Brazilian music becoming the next big thing, and then it dies down a little, only to resurface again. I'm starting to think that rather than hitting all at once, It instead infiltrates to become more and more part of the mainstream. Look at how it's begun to compliment contemporary jazz."
Much of Brazil's cultural makeup come from absorbing other cultures to make something totally unique, totally Brazilian. It's defiantly true with music, as Ricardo Peixoto recalls:
"My Grandmother bought me my first record, a Ray Charles album. I remember that the radio station that I grew up listening to in Rio would play one Brazilian song, then a foreign song: American, French, English, maybe Italian music. I heard the Beatles as much as I listened to Joăo Gilberto. That taught me the importance of good writing when it comes to music. A good song is a good song, no matter where it comes from. And that's why I'm very happy with ‘Kindness of Strangers’."
Maybe ‘Debra Ann’ with its soft Bossa rhythms will become your favorite. Or ‘Incognito’, or any of the other nine tracks included on this album. You may have trouble deciding, but one thing is certain. From beginning to end, ‘Kindness of Strangers’ is one of the most balanced Brazilian recording of its time.
