The Brazilianist Magazine - Yamandu, by Frank Cherry

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Yamandu Costa
Photo from Café Music.com.br

Writing about music is like dancing about architecture (attributed to Woody Allen).

I was privileged to be in São Paulo in 2001 and to have attended the four concerts where Yamandu emerged from regional obscurity and traveled the road towards canonization. These concerts were in March at the SESC Pompeia, June at Tom Brasil, October at the Free Jazz Festival, and in December at SESC Pompeia again.

I was drawn to the first concert when I saw that the headliner was Armandinho, a stringed-instrument virtuoso from Bahia. Stuck in my memory was the comment of Luis Nassif, financial journalist in print and on TV, who once gushed that Armandinho is the greatest living instrumentalist in Brazil (Folha de São Paulo c. 1996). (Nassif's serious avocation is Choro; he has released one CD called "Roda de Choro"; and his financial columns drift into music commentary from time to time).

It was March 18, 2001 in the Chopperia (Beer Hall) of the SESC Pompeia in São Paulo. Most of the crowd came to see the headliner Armandinho, well known throughout Brazil from his days with the Trio Eletrico, which, well, electrified the Carnival in Salvador when it rolled through town on a flatbed truck some 20 years ago; and for his prowess with the mandolin and cavaquinho (ukulele-type instrument). And Armandinho did not disappoint.

He came on stage wearing a bright red bandanna across his forehead, cotton pants with vertical red and black stripes, and a black sport shirt, and was greeted with a standing welcome ovation. Accompanied by a just-competent guitar player and percussionist, he cruised through the familiar territory of bossa nova, samba, and Choro, but with a driving, pounding attack and lightning fast riffs. After some 40 minutes the just-competent guitar player went off stage and on walked a tall pudgy juvenile wearing stylish gaucho garb, all in earthtone brown: boots, bombacha (baggy trousers which are used in the South of Brazil because, so the story goes, the gauchos are manly, and need all the room they can get), a brown vest, and a cowboy hat pulled down low on his brow over long brown curls which dropped down shoulder length, framing a puffy, red-complected face.

Yamandu and Armandinho proceeded to ignite the audience with over an hour of songs, all from the popular canon familiar to the audience but which, after a couple of measures, rocketed off into improvisation so unstructured that soon the original tune had evaporated. At times the improv became so free-form that the two players had to keep close eye contact in an attempt to try to guess in what direction the piece was going to move. They alternated taking solos, Armandinho riffing the mandolin like a madman, getting high, clear sounds in the treble registry, and Yamandu doing counter harmony by coaxing deep bass tones and rhythms out of the seventh string. The encores went on almost as long as the show itself. North met South and both were winners.

A short time later I attended the Grand Finale of the Brazilian Popular Music contest sponsored by Radio Eldorado and Visa and held in the Tom Brasil showcase in Vila Olimpia, São Paulo, one of the finer music venues in the city. Because of strong sponsorship the tickets were all priced at R$ 10, which included free beer and soft drinks both before and throughout the show.

First on the program were the five finalists, who each played three songs and were forbidden to say anything--the judges wanted to hear only the music. A jury of 6 music judges rated each of the performers. While the jury was tabulating the results, and the audience handed in cards for the popular vote tally, which did not count for the awards, none other than Toquinho and Paulinho da Viola came on stage to entertain--this was truly a classy event!

All five performers were extraordinary, and the competition was fierce. Duofel, a duo of guitar cracks who have been performing together for many years, made a last minute change to their program, choosing a piece which was more of a judge pleaser, one which required greater technical skills. They did this after hearing Yamandu and knowing that they had to dig deep to win.

The other finalists were Grupo Trato a Tres, a jazz trio from Rio, Diego Figueiredo, a guitar player with an impressive collection of music degrees from abroad as well as being a composer, and Heloisa Fernandes, a piano player who studied with Gilberto Tinetti and, when she got on the stage, showed some of the flash of Eliane Elias.

When all was said and done, Yamandu won the first prize and was the overwhelming favorite in the popular vote. All of the performances were superior, but it was clear that Yamandu did not come for second place. His playing was razor sharp and frenzied.

Yamandu was awarded R$ 40,000 in cash and the right to release a solo CD on the Eldorado label.

What is new or unique about Yamandu? First of all, he plays the 7-string guitar (a different instrument with different sound potential) and exploits the seventh string on the low end so that you hear two melodies or counterpoint lines and sweeping bass note swipes. The sound he delivers is an amalgam of Choro, the most played music in Brazil, with Gaucho melodies and dance rhythms producing a distinctly new sound. His style is unique: he has an aggressive masculine attack, with strong, firm fingering and explosion in his execution--technical brilliance. And finally, he has proved himself to be a brilliant composer--7 of the 13 songs on his Eldorado CD were composed by him.

Suffice it to say that both shows were sold out, both were opened by Yamandu playing solo, and he stood out among established names such as the Randy Weston quintet and the Benny Golson sextet.

These concerts had the dual purpose of launching the CD and of celebrating the style of music featured on it. And what a celebration it was: invited guests included Mauricio Carrilho, Oswaldinho do Acordeon, Proveta, Arismar, Toninho Carrasqueira, Ze da Velha, Luciana Rabello and others, all taking their licks with Yamandu. The show was very emotional, and the audience, knowing that they were witnessing the arrival of a new luminary, slid forward to the edge of their seats--and, as many as could, moved down the aisles, where they sat on the steps, in order to be closer to the music. Brazilian audiences are normally adulatory in the extreme, and this one could hardly contain its enthusiasm.

Reviews for the CD, produced by Mauricio Carrilho who also arranged all of the tunes not authored by Yamandu, have been effusive, calling it a masterpiece and a new, original sound in Brazilian music. Someone should distribute it in North America.

Frank Cherry is a Brazil-focused business consultant who has lived many years in São Paulo. He writes about aspects of Brazilian popular culture which are often under-appreciated at home and unknown abroad. Frank lives in New York City and his email is francischerry@earthlink.net