Dave Holmes Music
Social Media:
  • Home / Página Inicial
  • Listen to Music / Ouve Aqui
    • Discography
    • Playlists and Sketches
    • Session Work / Other Music
  • Multimedia / Social Media
    • Main Photos and Videos
    • Project Galleries >
      • 'Born To Bossa' Bossa Nova Albums
      • Cosmic Core
      • Fruitional (Music Project 2001-2005)
    • Blog
    • Forum
    • Downloads
  • Shows
  • Bookings & Tuition / Aulas
    • Book Me To Play!
    • Tuition
    • Other Services & Interests
  • Brazilian Radio
  • Street Performing
  • Contact Form
  • Links
  • Donate / Doar
  • About
  • Reviews

An evening of Joyce – @ Ronnie Scott’s 13th Jan 2015

10/3/2015

0 Comments

 
In January I went to see Brazilian legend Joyce Moreno play with her band in Ronnie Scott's in London. The gig was amazing, and I wrote a review of it, which is up on the B.Nova website. Joyce even posted a link to it on her facebook page.


One of our Bnova Embassadors, Dave Holmes, caught a performance of Joyce Moreno on Tuesday night.. here’s what happened

I arrived into the heart of London, and headed out into the chill of the evening, just as it started to rain upon me. It was more ‘Chuva de Janeiro’ (January rain) than ‘Rio de Janeiro’, but some of Brazil’s finest artists were in town to address the balance and clear the skies with the warm and radiant rhythms of the Bossa Nova and Samba.

I made the relatively short walk to Tottenham Court Road and weaved myself down into Frith Street to the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz club, where I was to witness the second night of two London performances by Joyce Moreno and the world class musicians that she has brought over to accompany her on this European Tour.

It was my first time at Ronnie’s, a place of legend that I’d always wanted to visit. Just a metre or so from my table, a stageside door swung open and I glimpsed a backstage area from which emerged the quartet; Helio Alves – the composer and in-demand virtuoso bossa and jazz pianist; Rodolfo Stroeter – a founding member and bassist of the band Pau Brasil, who has worked with greats such as Edu Lobo and Chico Buarque and who directed the São Paulo Symphonic Jazz Orchestra in the 90s;  Tutty Moreno, Joyce’s husband and drummer – who has performed his fluid samba-jazz style with his wife Joyce  – at least since recording the album ‘Magica’ (1981) and who has also played alongside countless artists such as Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento; and then of course, the lady herself, Joyce Moreno. All four took to the stage, and so the magic began.

They started things off with a funky bossa number, A Banda Maluca. Just like the lyrics, the samba was flowing in their veins and in their blood (samba na veia e no sangue).  This energetic entrance was followed by her upbeat take on the Forró tune Meu Pião (the spinning top), which features on her new album Raiz (meaning ‘Roots’ in Portuguese). Released on the UK label Far Out Recordings, it’s an album of covers, the originals of which she was listening to at around the time she became a professional musician.

The first track of the evening by Bossa Nova master Tom Jobim followed; a smooth and soulful version of Desafinado with references to ‘Take the A Train’ thrown in for good measure. A tribute was also made to this master’s master when they played an Ary Barroso piece.

Bossa pioneer Roberto Menescal was also praised for giving the lucky break which began her career, now in its 50th year and celebrated through the recording of the new album, on which he also guests. No better way to honour Menescal than a beautiful rendition of his composition ‘O Barquinho’ (The little boat), which was followed up by a track I didn’t recognise, and was perhaps just a good old bossa-style blues jam, such was the spirit of the performance. Roots music indeed.

The club itself has a dimly lit, ‘speakeasy’ feel to it and for the few moments when my eyes were not transfixed upon the fretboards, a piano keyboard or drum sticks, I took in the beauty of a full house of music lovers wining and dining within a sea of glowing table lamps. The whole audience obediently sitting silently, attentive of every note and pause. Some of us were so obviously urging to break free into dance; we made best of the situation with our swaying heads, bouncing knees and finger tapping.

The supporting musicians, all stars in their own right, were just incredible. The bass guitar, surprisingly, and perhaps refreshingly, void of those 5th or 6th strings common place amongst Brazilian players these days, was put to full use by Stroeter, incredibly delicately, without over crowding the musical space. A very impressive player, his continuous smile showed his total enjoyment of being right there in the moment. At one point, playfully making cuíca rhythms from string-noise in response to Tutty’s clave on the snare, the two jovially playing off each other’s sound whilst simultaneously continuing to play their parts precisely. And those drums; a humble master of the kit casually delivering a perfect bedrock on which the notes could sit.

There was some really fine piano playing too from Alves, displaying both the subtle control of harmony and dynamics, and expressive, impressive piano solos, which received some well deserved applause.

As you would expect, Joyce’s guitar playing is a refined version of staple Bossa Nova technique – for she has played her part in shaping and creating the genre. Her own signature tunes showed an even deeper mastery of the instrument with intricate arrangements. Her vocals are versatile, powerful and soothing. From memory she played a great selection of tunes, which included Puro Ouro, from her 2011 album Rio, a track dedicated to Rio’s new generation of musicians, Essa Mulher (‘This woman’) from her 1980 album Feminina, Penalty  from the soundtrack of the Spanish film of the same name and, a favourite of mine, Desde que o Samba É Samba by Caetano Veloso.

A highlight of the evening was a performance of a recently discovered Afro-samba piece, called Canto de Yansan, written by Baden Powell, the guitar master who co-wrote the wonderful Afro-sambas, such as Canto de Ossanha, with Vinícius de Moraes in the 1960s. It was explained that after Baden’s passing, one of his sons, Philippe Baden Powell – a fine musician himself, had found it amongst his father’s paperwork and offered it up to be played and heard.

She went on to say how it was a song for the Goddess Yansan of one of the Afro-Brazilian religions and with a respectful nod to seemily acknowledge the recent events in Paris, stated how important it is, especially these days, to accept all religions. Brazil indeed has many religions and there seemed to be a real spiritual appreciation from Joyce to some divinity up high at the end of this tune.

Another consistant source of spirituality at the heart of Brazilian music is nature; the golden sands, distant islands, little boats, a sky reflecting in the ocean. Brazil has a vast coastline full of this imagery and the next track – a Johnny Alf number Céu e Mar (Sky and sea), takes inspiration from those idyllic scenes.

And so, eventually, and far too soon, the show came to a climactic end with the title track ‘Feminina’ from her 1980 album, a tune which was her first hit in Brazil, and, after a rapturous applause, they made the single step back under the spotlights for just one more tune. The audience all laughed with her admission of the globally accepted protocol; “We are hypocrites. We pretend to finish and go off stage, but of course we come back,…..we always do”.

And then to the encore. I knew, moments after she struck the ‘A13′ chord, what delights were coming, even if the audience didn’t – The Jobim classic ‘O Morro Não Tem Vez’. Starting off slow and building up to a frenzy, with Tutty Moreno really going for it on drums (but still looking humble, as well as effortless), it was a great track to finalise the night.

Finally,  just as Joyce was leaving with Tutty, before they dived into a taxi, I ran over to stop her at the door to thank her and shake her hand.  I enjoyed the evening imensely, and like the pião, the melodies and memories of the experience are still spinning around in my mind….

– Dave H.



0 Comments

Euro Tour Part II

4/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
A sample of Brugge (photo from google image search)
This time next week I will have already left London and visited Brussels and will be sitting in Liège having a beer with my good friend Luc, Belgian music Producer Lucky One.

The next day I will be playing for the lovely folk at Caffe Latte for an exposition of photos by my friend Emile Froidbise , and at night I'll be playing at the exquisite moment restaurant.

Then the day after that I'll travel to Holland where I will meet up with Brazilian Blend presenter Fred Polet and will be recording a few songs live on his show.

After a few days of unplanned musical adventures in Breda, Eindhoven and Den Bosch, I will head back to Belgium, briefly stopping in Antwerp on the way to ... Brugge, Belgium where I have my last gig in Wijnbar Est. After a Monday morning in the historic city, I'll revisit Ghent for another fleeting stop to buy some chocolates and catch the bus home.

Accommodation is all reserved or booked, so that's the Bossa Nova Euro-mission part 2. I'm looking forward to it!

For my Brugge gig please click here: http://www.wijnbarest.be/events/index.html

0 Comments

New Album and Radio Premiere

19/9/2014

0 Comments

 
I recorded Born To Bossa Volume II at the end of August 2014. It's sounding alright! and it will be released for free on the 28th September, via BornToBossa.com.
Brazilian Blend radio will premiere a couple of tracks on Thursday 25th September! (http://www.brazilianblend.nl/orts).

Last night the presenter Fred Polet, played a track from the first album.
If you missed it, or want to catch the show again: http://www.lokaleomroepoosterhout.nl/radio/terugluisteren?item=7X5SwnJKws&title=Brazilian+Blend   or download here: http://media.streamone.nl/stream/accountid=57/item=7X5SwnJKws/7X5SwnJKws.mp3

Until then, be sure to get your copy of Volume I from. Just visit: www.BornToBossa.com
0 Comments

Belgium Bossa

20/8/2014

0 Comments

 
I've had a busy time since arriving in Belgium yesterday, so busy that it's been tricky to make time to stop and update my social media pages, especially so without internet on my mobile phone.. but all is good, great in fact! I am really enjoying it here.

Currently I am in Liège staying with producer friend Luc (aka lucky one - www.luckyone.be). 

Last night he and I spent some time in the studio starting a track and today I woke up early and caught a bus to the city centre to walk around and get a feel for the place.

It is a busy city and a little confusing to navigate at first, but its interesting historic architecture is full of hidden side streets packed with shops, restaurants and cafes which remind me so much of my time living in Porto.

Even though there is so much here, I pretty much covered the whole city in a day of continuous walking with the occassional stop for a beer or coffee.

On my travels I stumbled upon a sign pointing to a place called Maison du Jazz, basically a meeting place to listen to and study a gigantic library of Jazz records and CDs.

I went inside and spoke to the organisers in my rusty French. I am sure that, being Jazz's cousin, there were plenty of Bossa Records and I will go check it out tomorrow, to find inspiration on some precious piece of rare vinyl.

Unfortunately tonight's gig at Encontro Brasileiro was cancelled as the venue had to close, so instead Luc and I had some beers and a meal and are currently in the studio again :-)

Today I was also scouting for good places to play and I managed to organise quite a few gigs for the next couple of days.

Tomorrow I have a gig in Winenote tapas bar at 6:30-8:30pm followed by a gig in Cafe Brasil at 9-11pm

Friday afternoon, 3pm, I am playing a café called Caffe Latte owned by my newest friends, a South African and Italian couple. That will be my base for the afternoon..and then I have decided to stay another day, so I will also play Cafe Brasil again on Friday night after a great meeting with the owner this evening.

On Saturday morning I'll head to Ghent and play de Croone Cafe in the day and in the evening meet Bram (aka producer/animator 9000 Knobs). My time there will be briefer than expected. We'll produce a bit of music at night and then Sunday morning I am heading back to London!

So that's the adventure so far, I have been taking some photos and will update when I can on my Instagram, here on the blog, or Facebook.

A bientôt!
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Belgium Beckons and London's Lined up

18/8/2014

0 Comments

 
Cambridge Closure
So.... I am recovered from a fantastic Friday and Saturday busking and playing a couple of gigs in Cambridge (UK), and that means it is time to prepare for my next adventure!

Liege, Belgium
Tomorrow I will take the Eurostar from London to Belgium, where I will head straight to Liege to meet Belgian Producer Lucky One, from the electronic Music project I direct, Cosmic Core. I can't wait to finally meet him as, although our project started in 2012, we haven't met in person yet. So we will be talking music and music software and drinking fine Belgian beer!

I have a gig in his home town on the 20th, at a great little Brazilian restaurant called Encontro Brasileiro. It will be great fun...but I think I am more excited about sampling the caipirinhas and eating the Brazilian food there....can't wait!

Ghent, Belgium
Next stop will be Ghent, staying with another producer friend from Cosmic Core, Bram who goes by the name 9000 Knobs (due to his love of a multitude of assignable Music effects controllers). He, like Lucky One, is a wonderful producer , and is also a great animator , working on a new kid's film called Hairry. he also did the title sequence on my website home page.

Historic Venue
I'm really looking forward to meeting Bram and playing a gig in de Croone café which dates back to 1492 ! That's the year Columbus set sail on his first voyage and the year of the reconquest of Spain ...we are talking ancient! So, that's got to be a fitting venue for some classy Bossa Nova :)

Brugge Busking?
I will also use Ghent as a base and head into Brugge for some Bossa Busking or even better a gig or two if I can sort it out. The last time I was in Brugge, was 2001, so I am looking forward to seeing it again and I hope this is the first of many musical trips to Belgium !   

UK Bank Holiday and Born To Bossa Volume II !
Once I get back to London, I'll be doing something for the bank holiday 25th August and recording my second Born To Bossa album in Area 18 studios. I'll hopefully be meeting an old friend who is over from Brasil, he was one of the people who inspired me to play Brazilian music on guitar.

Keep an eye on my facebook , website, twitter and instagram for daily updates during my trip.

0 Comments

Video From Cambridge Gig at d'Arry's Wine Bar and Restaurant

18/8/2014

0 Comments

 
I had a great time busking in Cambridge on Saturday. Due to a rota clash I played D'Arry's wine bar first. half way through my set birthday boy Alistair Watson from Toque Tambor turned up to play some percussion, which was great! ...and then even better Antony Carpen arrived to record us.

We later headed to Quayside and people really enjoyed the set there although that place is extremely busy and noisy, so much so the amp was cranked up full to compete! Mas Que Nada went down really well though as I could see everyone singing along. We met an Italian Bossa Flute player and his Brazilian girlfriend, Even on the train we met a couple of Brazilians heading to London (Luis, and didn't get the name) who were sitting right next to us. There were quite a few cool meetings like that, which was the best bit of the weekend. I will try to get some gigs in Cambridge for September, as the music really went down well I think.

So here's a video from D'Arry's, which is a really chilled restaurant/bar. Alistair's out of shot and I have too many pegs on display! (which I use to avoid breeze related reelbook malfuctions), but the video turned out okay! Enjoy!

Thanks to Ain't Misbehavin' for inviting me to this great event, and thanks to all the organisers for the work they put in. Until next year!
0 Comments

Cambridge Performances

15/8/2014

0 Comments

 
I'm heading to Cambridge today to play in the Buskers and Street Performers Festival. I have a series of short street performances from today through to Sunday with a gig tonight 8:30 - 10pm at the Six Bells Pub in Covent Garden, Cambridge.

Come catch me play!

For more info please check my gigs page on my website
www.DaveHolmesMusic.com
Picture
0 Comments

Interview on B.Nova Music

20/7/2014

0 Comments

 
The guys over at the home of Bossa Nova online, B. Nova Music, have published an interview with me today. Once you've read the interview be sure to check the rest of their site out  as it's full of other interesting Bossa Nova info.

Dave Holmes interview B. Nova Music
0 Comments

Download the new Album

12/3/2014

0 Comments

 
Go to www.BornToBossa.com to stream my new album Born To Bossa - Volume I or download your own free copy :-) Enjoy!
0 Comments

Born To Bossa - Volume I

26/2/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
So here's the album cover for Born To Bossa - Volume I !   The back cover is pretty much ready too.
The tracks have been whittled down to 18 which are currently being mastered by the talented producer K37. 

D
onors to the recording session will still receive the other 16 tracks that I recorded as unreleased unmastered demos. I may use some of those on Volume II, or I may rerecord them if I can get back to the studio, as I think i could do them even better, although they are relatively ok as they are.

Also Voltarol from SourceFM has said he'd play a couple of tracks in an up and coming show.

The album will be available via links on the download section of my site when released.
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    Dave Holmes

    Archives

    March 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.