The Sounds of Brazil made its broadcast debut on 90.9 FM WDCB exactly 25 years ago today. We’ll celebrate by recreating that very first radio playlist in the exact order it was presented on April 5th, 1992.
From my show notes on April 5th 2017 – Scott Adams
The time was right. Many of today’s established Brazilian jazz stars were just starting out with their careers, and several had already been signed to Verve Records by virtue of their years at Berklee School of music in Boston. Sometimes I still wonder if there was ‘cap and gown’ moment for Leo Gandelman, Toninho Horta, Claudio Roditi and Ricardo Silveira. What a picture that would be!
On the radio side Jazz was in full bloom, riding on a pop trend started in the 70’s which gave rise to the careers of the new jazz generation, like Chuck Mangione, Grover Washington, Jr and Pat Metheny. The New Age format arrived in 1987 to give a spot on the dial for Baby Boomers to discover.
And The Sounds of Brazil found its place.
The show spent a relativity short time with WDCB initially. I had my sights set on WNUA, which was my radio home in Chicago for 17 wonderful years. A brief run with WLFM followed before I returned home to WDCB four and a half years ago to anchor Sunday afternoons at 2 pm.
As the Smooth Jazz format grew in popularity, so did our affiliates list which brought The Sounds of Brazil! to fans in more than 60 cities inthe US, Caribbean and Central America. Today, our show reaches more than 1,000 cities around the world with our ‘Always Live’ 24/7 streaming station, and it’s still growing, thanks to the creativity of the musicians and the passion of our loyal listeners. After having the privilege of hosting this show for 22 years, somehow the words ‘thank you!’ seem woefully inadequate to express my deep appreciation to you.
And I’ll be forever grateful to WDCB’s Ken Scott, Scott Wager and Dan Bindert, and WNUA’s John Gehron, Lee Hansen, Paul Goldstein, Carl Anderson, Steve Stiles and Rick O’Dell for the incredible support they have shown me over the years.
The music from that first show is telling: many of these songs are still part of our playlists today due to their popularity of the years. And unlike most radio stations, where the music is selected by automation software, The Sounds of Brazil has always been programmed ‘one song at a time’ – to show off the emotion of the music in its best possible way. I recall agonizing over each song for that critically important first show, and it’s no different today.
Except for this week, where the hard work was done more than two decades ago, allowing us to kick back and relive how it all began with our 1,297th consecutive weekly show, er, I meant ‘Program #1’ for The Sounds of Brazil!
Hour One – Set 1:
Mountain Flight<>Toninho Horta/Diamond Land
Saci<>Astrud Gilberto/Plus
Only A Dream In Rio<>James Taylor/That’s Why I’m Here
Introduce Next Song
Aquarela<>Toquinho/Brasil                              Â
Set 2:
Ainda Lembro<>Marisa Monte/Mais
Gabriela’s Song<>Dori Caymmi/Dori Caymmi
Serrado<>Nestor Torres/Flight of Phoenix
Introduce Next Song    Â
Sun And Rain<>Ricardo Silveira/Small World
Brazilian Love Affair<>George Duke/Brazilian Love Affair
Anthem<>Full Circle/Secret Stories
Â
Set 3:
Leva E Traz<>Ivan Lins/Awa Yio          Â
Guaratiba<>Azymuth/Carioca
Hour Two – Set 1
Bein’ Cool<>Djavan/Puzzle of Hearts
Sorte<>Gal Costa & Caetano Veloso/Gal Costa
Introduce Next Song
Dança dos Meninhos<>Milton Nascimento
Garoto<>Carlos Barbosa-Lima/Brazil with Love
Your Smile<>Kevyn Lettau/Kevyn Lettau
Introduce Next Song
Distant Horizon<>Kenia/Distant Horizon
This is for Luisa<>Trio Da Paz/Brasil From Inside                                            Â
Set 2:
Carly & Carole<>Deodato/Prelude
Serra do Luar<>Leila Pinheiro/Novo Millennium
Spirits Of The Forest<>Leo Gandelman/Visions
Introduce Next Song
Edge of the Night<>Paulo Ramos & Shelby Flint/ Futuro
Catamarca<>Max Groove/Aqua Frio
Set 3:
Tin Tin Por Tin Tin (Little By Little)<>Joao Gilberto/Amoroso
Tender Storm<>John Klemmer/Brazilia
