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Assad Brothers

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Jonathan

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Nov 12, 2012, 3:57:07 PM11/12/12
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I saw a concert by the Assad Brothers this weekend. The first half of the program was traditional repertoire, and then the second half was a tribute to Brazilian music.
Have any of y'all ever heard them play? They are amazingly gifted.
They played a "re-interpretation" of Mahna de Carnaval that was almost unrecognizable, yet hauntingly beautiful.

Jonathan

Gerry

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Nov 12, 2012, 4:01:00 PM11/12/12
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On 2012-11-12 20:57:07 +0000, Jonathan said:

> I saw a concert by the Assad Brothers this weekend. The first half of
> the program was traditional repertoire, and then the second half was a
> tribute to Brazilian music.
> Have any of y'all ever heard them play? They are amazingly gifted.

Oh yes. I've been buying their recordings since they began issuing them
in the late 70's. I particularly loved their "Alma Brasileira" ('88-ish)

> They played a "re-interpretation" of Mahna de Carnaval that was almost
> unrecognizable, yet hauntingly beautiful.
--
Music is the best means we have of digesting time. -- W. H. Auden

Alan Turing

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Nov 12, 2012, 5:17:44 PM11/12/12
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On 2012-11-12 20:57:07 +0000, Jonathan said:

I recall a concert with them a few years ago back home in India. They
played a more traditional program then, Villa Lobos and some Tarrega. I
would have loved to hear their rendition of Manha De Carnival


--
-AlanTuring

Jonathan

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Nov 12, 2012, 6:44:13 PM11/12/12
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If they hadn't told us what the piece was, I wouldn't have recognized it until the end when they played the final phrase. It was very impressionistic and deconstructed. At first, I was a little disappointed because I love the song so much, but after they got into it, it was magic.
They also played an original piece as a tribute to there Lebanese heritage that had a lot of cool percussive and flamenco things going on. I think that piece got the most audience reaction of the entire show.

Jonathan

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Nov 12, 2012, 6:44:59 PM11/12/12
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I'd never heard of them before this concert, but now you can count me as a fan :)

Jonathan

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Nov 12, 2012, 6:46:40 PM11/12/12
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Sorry...
"their" Lebanese heritage :)

Alan Turing

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Nov 12, 2012, 7:08:07 PM11/12/12
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that's quite alright :D. Yes I remember their performance being highly
stylized in the sense that they took lots of liberties that i can see
would be disconcerting to someone wo knows the piece well. However
there are 2 of them and many a time they perform pieces that are really
only meant for one. I guess thats why they have a unique sound. It is
truly magical though.
--
-AlanTuring

Gerry

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Nov 12, 2012, 7:09:48 PM11/12/12
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On 2012-11-12 23:46:40 +0000, Jonathan said:

> "their" Lebanese heritage :)

Don't start that; if I follow suit my postings will triple.

The Assads also have a truly head-turning album of Astor Piazzola pieces.

Alphonsus Jr.

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Nov 12, 2012, 7:12:45 PM11/12/12
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On Monday, November 12, 2012 12:57:08 PM UTC-8, Jonathan wrote:

> They played a "re-interpretation" of Mahna de Carnaval that was almost unrecognizable, yet hauntingly beautiful.

Speaking of which, here's Baden Powell playing it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8tyya8HPQc

Jonathan

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Nov 12, 2012, 7:22:10 PM11/12/12
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Nice!

Have you seen Black Orpheus?

Alphonsus Jr.

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Nov 12, 2012, 9:35:05 PM11/12/12
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Oui.

Jonathan

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Nov 12, 2012, 9:41:53 PM11/12/12
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There are not many tunes that can coax the Sun to rise.

Richard Jernigan

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Nov 12, 2012, 11:49:36 PM11/12/12
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On Monday, November 12, 2012 8:41:54 PM UTC-6, Jonathan wrote:

> There are not many tunes that can coax the Sun to rise

Having once been corrected on the subject myself, permit me to point out that it was the boy Zeca playing Luiz Bonfa's "Samba de Orfeu" which brought the sun up.

In 2000, at the last of the International Festivals of the Guitar at Cuernavaca, Mexico, I heard Roland Dyens play Baden's "Berimbau" and Tom Jobim's "A Felicidade".

(In typical Brazilian fashion, "A Felicidade [Happiness]" begins with the word "sadness":

"Tristeza não tem fin, a felicidade, sim" "Sadness has no end--happiness does")

I went straight from Cuernavaca to Rio de Janeiro. Dyens' music rang in my ears for days. After a week in Rio I hired a guide with "connections" and a Jeep. Bringing with me the sweet young brunette I had met on the beach, we went in the pre-dawn darkness to the favela on the Morro da Cabra, which overlooks Copacabana. From the breathtaking cliff, the soaring skyscraper hotels of the Zona Sur look like miniature children's toys below. At first light the eye is drawn out to the broad ocean.

Drinking hot sweet coffee with milk, nibbling on pastries and tropical fruits, we watched as the great flaming orb of the Sun rose majestically from the blue Atlantic.

I still dream of it.

RNJ

Jonathan

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Nov 13, 2012, 7:14:29 AM11/13/12
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I distinctly remember Orpheus asking someone (either Euridice or one of the two young boys) if he would like to hear a song that will make the sun rise, at which point he plays Manha de Carnaval. I can't remember if Orpheus actually produces the sunrise at that point, although there is the implication that this is the song he would use.
What you say is true, however. At the end of the movie, Benedito tells Zeca to play something to make the sun come up and Samba de Orfeu is what comes out.
That last scene of the two kids dancing the samba is priceless -- one of the best images in cinema.

And Rio is indeed quite a city! When I was there, I was constantly hearing Jobim and Bonfa; they are inextricably woven into the very fabric of the place.

thomas

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Nov 14, 2012, 8:37:27 PM11/14/12
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They have a guitar-playing sister too. I like her conception, but she's never quite grabbed me.

Matt Faunce

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Nov 14, 2012, 9:06:15 PM11/14/12
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That's Badi. I love her music.

Clarise Assad, Sergio's daughter, is a composer and performer. A very
musical family.

http://clariceassad.com/

Looks like she's getting ready to compose some guitar music, or is in
the process right now. I'll be interested to hear what she comes up with.

--
Matt

hans

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Nov 28, 2012, 7:12:42 PM11/28/12
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Yes, I've heard them a few times in New Orleans and elsewhere. But recently I heard Odair Assad in solo recital here at UNO and it was also spectacular. He played a very diverse program of brazilian and modern classical music, much of which I had not heard before (yeah!!). He was absolutely outstanding in his musicianship and expression. His technique is so completely secure that he can make remarkable musical and technical expressions. He seems not to need to concentrate at all on technique and can devote all of his attention to the moment and his musical expression. Played a Stephen Connor guitar which sounded fabulous in his hands.

hans

Gerry

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Nov 28, 2012, 7:28:59 PM11/28/12
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On 2012-11-29 00:12:42 +0000, hans said:

> I've heard them a few times in New Orleans and elsewhere. But recently
> I heard Odair Assad in solo recital here at UNO and it was also
> spectacular. He played a very diverse program of brazilian and modern
> classical music, much of which I had not heard before (yeah!!).

Say, if you still have the playbill from the performance I'd really
love to know what would have been on the menu. If not, that's cool.
But I'm always intriqued by what the Brazilians are doing--they have a
fantastic interplay between high- and low-brow material.

> He was absolutely outstanding in his musicianship and expression. His
> technique is so completely secure that he can make remarkable musical
> and technical expressions. He seems not to need to concentrate at all
> on technique and can devote all of his attention to the moment and his
> musical expression. Played a Stephen Connor guitar which sounded
> fabulous in his hands.
> hans

Matt Faunce

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Nov 29, 2012, 11:44:13 AM11/29/12
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Gerry, maybe this piece by Marek PASIECZNY was on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN6d0vpiusc

--
Matt

Gerry

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Nov 29, 2012, 12:02:36 PM11/29/12
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Wow. Four cameras.

Steven Bornfeld

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Nov 29, 2012, 4:32:55 PM11/29/12
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Hey, Doc--hope all is well!

Steve

Alan Turing

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Nov 29, 2012, 4:54:44 PM11/29/12
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On 2012-11-29 16:44:13 +0000, Matt Faunce said:

hey thats quite something, didn't like the beginning that much but at
56 seconds :D
--
-AlanTuring

thomas

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Nov 29, 2012, 5:14:52 PM11/29/12
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On Thursday, November 29, 2012 11:44:13 AM UTC-5, Matt Faunce wrote:
>
> Gerry, maybe this piece by Marek PASIECZNY was on it.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN6d0vpiusc

Nice one. Tnx for the link.

hans

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Dec 1, 2012, 5:01:51 PM12/1/12
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On Thursday, November 29, 2012 3:32:55 PM UTC-6, Steven Bornfeld wrote:
> On 11/28/2012 7:12 PM, hans wrote:
>
> > On Monday, November 12, 2012 2:57:08 PM UTC-6, Jonathan wrote:
>
> >> I saw a concert by the Assad Brothers this weekend. The first half of the program was traditional repertoire,and then the second half was a tribute to Brazilian music.
> Have any of y'all ever heard them play? They are amazingly gifted.
> They played a "re-interpretation" of Mahna de Carnaval that was almost unrecognizable, yet hauntingly beautiful.
>
> Jonathan

> > Yes, I've heard them a few times in New Orleans and elsewhere. But recently I heard
> Odair Assad in solo recital here at UNO and it was also spectacular.
> He played a very diverse program of
> brazilian and modern classical music, much of which I had not heard
> before (yeah!!). He was absolutely
> outstanding in his musicianship and expression. His technique is so
> completely secure that he can make
> remarkable musical and technical expressions. He seems not to need to
> concentrate at all on technique and
> can devote all of his attention to the moment and his musical
> expression. Played a Stephen Connor guitar
> which sounded fabulous in his hands.
> > hans

> Hey, Doc--hope all is well!
>
>
>
> Steve

Hi Steve, yes thanks, just haven't been onboard for a awhile. All is well but working too much in last 2 years. Bit better now and hoping to be around more and play a bit more often. Best wishes

hans

Alphonsus Jr.

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Dec 1, 2012, 6:11:45 PM12/1/12
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Deeply embarrassing drivel. Excuses for such anti-art should now be long gone. This cynical dreck is now so very tired. His laugh at the end says it all. He knows very well that this is con-artistry. And he also knows that his audience is composed of the processed who, as the processed, can't resist the felt obligation to applaud such trash.

Jonathan

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Dec 2, 2012, 10:24:17 AM12/2/12
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I think you're being too harsh.
The piece may lack a cohesive vision, but in my opinion the bossa part in the middle was worth the price of admission.
Do you own the Bonfa album "Solo in Rio 1959?" I love that style of playing.

Gerry

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Dec 2, 2012, 12:27:13 PM12/2/12
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On 2012-12-02 15:24:17 +0000, Jonathan said:

> The piece may lack a cohesive vision, but in my opinion the bossa part
> in the middle was worth the price of admission.

I didn't, because there is so much great Bossa around. I wasn't
offended but the other, nor did I believe it was a "con". On the other
hand "exploratory" music is something I like when I'm the one exploring
but not so much if I have to listen to others do it. This may not be
as true for non players.

> Do you own the Bonfa album "Solo in Rio 1959?" I love that style of playing.

Iconic, almost perfect, highly sweet and sentimental. It's about as
good as his recordings get.

thomas

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Dec 2, 2012, 4:47:50 PM12/2/12
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Great record. I remember buying that some years ago when it was first reissued on CD, and there being some discussion in RMMGJ about whether or not there was a bass player on it. I don't remember ever going back to listen again for a bass player.


Gerry

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Dec 2, 2012, 9:22:51 PM12/2/12
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I was part of that dialogue, if memory serves. "Solo" is indeed "solo".
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