Jazz for aficionados

Nolatet

Frogman, I'm basing my thesis on a Brazilian film festival that lasted two weeks where they had movies from all parts of Brazil, not just what we see in Rio, and Bahia, but the interior of Brazil as well. These movies were about getting to know the entire country, and the music was incidental to the movies, not all of the music was even Afro Brazil, although I heard some Afro Brazilian music that was very unique, but I can't find it.


Africa is a continent, not a country; those countries are European boundaries that put tribes who hate each other together, and to add to the confusion; before slavery, Africa was divided into "villages", and tribal areas, not cities. Each village had it's own rhythms and dances, which are presented by different dance troops based in New York. When they present these dances, they specify what "village" the dance is from, and from what part of Africa that village could be found, and last, what country that part of Africa is now called.


I am basing my statements on nothing but my musical ear, and what I've heard that was Afro in Brazil which is so different from anything I've heard from Africa. I stated that some of Africa was transported to the America's and no longer exists on that continent. I still believe this but it is impossible to prove.

Most beautiful Afro Brazilian music.


      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlWr3VGUzoQ

Thanks Jafant, I needed this.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5dIkFmafx4

Beautiful Baden Powell, O-10. Thanks for that.

**** what I’ve heard that was Afro in Brazil which is so different from anything I’ve heard from Africa. I stated that some of Africa was transported to the America’s and no longer exists on that continent. I still believe this but it is impossible to prove.****

O-10, its impossible to prove because it isn’t so. With respect, this is along the same lines as your assertions that there is no link between Delta Blues and Jazz because the two are so different......on the surface. Or, that there is no link or lineage between Swing and Bebop. The link lies below the surface. 

The Baden Powell clip shows a clear African rhythm component while still sounding very different than anything native to Africa due to the equally clear melodic and harmonic component which is NOT African in origin, but European and indigenous Brazilian instead. Any “African” music heard in the America’s during our time would have been, just like Baden Powell’s music was in Brazil, a mixture of the influences of African culture and all the other ethnic cultures that were (are) found in the New Orleans area. That is why it sounds different.

As you may know I like food analogies when discussing music. They are very applicable to music. With Thanksgiving coming up my wife and I are already discussing the dinner menu. All bias aside, my mashed potatoes are always loved by all. 😋 How exciting can the lowly mashed potatoes be? The secret to why my mashed potatoes taste so good? Horse radish! Just enough and no more; so that one can’t taste it as such. In all the years that I’ve been making the mashed potatoes, no one has been able to identify the secret ingredient. However, if you remove it from the mix the dish becomes just plain old boring mashed potatoes. It’s in there....below the surface.