ARTHUR
VEROCAI "ARTHUR VEROCAI"
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"Music Is My Drug!" Arthur Verocai.
In 1972 a repressive Brazilian military dictatorship frowned on
artistic impression that might influence the youth of the country.
However, producer, arranger and guitar player Arthur Verocai released
a self-titled album on Brazilian based Continental Records that
challenged the musical conventions of the day. His subtle protest
experimented with new musical directions, and used figurative language
to sneak under the censorship radar.
Luv N'Haight records is honored to release its first full-length
Brazilian album. It's super rare and will appeal to fans of the
folksy soul and lo-fi electronic experimentations of American artists
like Shuggie Otis or the orchestration of producer Charles Stepney.
Closest Brazilian comparisons would be to Tim Maia and Jorge Ben.
This unique recording has a touch of folk, more than a hint of funk,
jazz style soloing, amazing 20 piece string arrangements, blending
of electronics and keyboards with organic sounds,
and superb soundtrack style music.
"I used to listen to Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago,
Stan Kenton, Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Web, Frank Zappa, Herbie Hancock,
Bill Evans and Miles Davis, Milton Nascimento, Bossa Nova, among
others," explains Arthur Verocai. "In Brazil
we had many musical influences, and by that time there wasn't a
hegemonic one in the market. In this way my album reflected a search
and musical experimentation. I was in an adventurous mood on this
album and that led me to explore new melodic, harmonic and rhythmic
paths.
Verocai arrived at the 1972 album with a number of accomplishments
under his belt. He'd produced the Ivan Lins 1971 album "Agora"
which was influenced heavily by the sound of North American soul.
He had contributed string arrangements to Jorge Ben releases, too.
"I also produced two albums by a singer named Célia
for Continental and the president of the company was delighted with
the results. He invited me to produce an album using my own compositions
and I agreed as long as I was able to choose the musicians to perform
with me. All the strings sessions featured 12 violins, 4 violas
and 4 cellos, always with one or two percussionists. The idea of
mixing strings with contemporary sounds came from my desire of searching
for new paths. I think this album was very rich in terms of both
quantity and quality of musicians!"
Verocai wasn't messing around with his line-up of musicians, which
included Brazilian legends like Robertinho Silva, Pascoal Meireles,
Luiz Alves, Paulo Moura, Edson Maciel, Oberdan Magalhães
(Banda Black Rio), Nivaldo Ornelas (Milton Nascimento band) and
Toninho Horta.
Born Arthur Cortes Verocai in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 17/6/1945,
he studied music with Léo Soares, Darci Villaverde, Nair
Barbosa da Silva, Roberto Menescal and Vilma Graça. In 1966
Leny Andrade included his song "Olhando o Mar" ("Looking
at the Sea") on her "We Are There" album. Two years
later Verocai participated in Musicanossa an event that brought
together composers, musicians and singers in presentations to play
live in the Santa Rosa Theater in Rio de Janeiro, for which he wrote
his first arrangements. The live recording of the event included
the songs "Madrugada" and "Nova Manhã",
composed in partnership with Paulinho Tapajós.
By 1968 his main gig was working in Civil Engineering in Rio de
Janeiro. He still managed to perform and participate as a composer
at many of Brazils famous Festivals of Music. He was working with
artists like Paulinho Tapajós, Elis Regina, Creuza Maria,
the Golden Boys, and Evinha. In 1969 Arthur Verocai began his professional
career as musician and arranger. He scored the music for the theater
show "Is The Greater", and wrote his first arrangements
for orchestra. He arranged records by the Terço, Jorge Benjor,
Elizeth Cardoso, Gal Costa, Quarteto em Cy, MPB 4, Célia,
Guilherme Lamounier, Nélson Gonçalves, Marcos Valle,
and others. His music also appeared in the musical "The Life
of Braguinha", alongside Elizeth Cardoso, Quarteto em Cy, MPB4
and Sidney Magal. By 1970 he was writing for other groups and regularly
composing music for multiple TV shows and incidental music for TV
series.
The 1972 self-titled album allowed Verocai to take his interest
in instrumental music even further. "I always wanted
to compose soundtracks in great style, as in the cinema, but this
wasn't possible with television work," he says. "My
opportunity came when I was recording this album. I created a rhythmic
cell in the acoustic guitar with the harmonic line. I added bass
and the non-conventional drums and the percussion with a very smooth
orchestration in blocks (four trumpets and a flute) plus the delicate
touch of the strings (12 violins, 4 violas and 4 cellos). At the
end of the song, Oberdan Magalhães played and sang with his
flute." The resulting track is "Sílvia".
"Presente Grego" is perhaps the funkiest
track on the album. "This song was influenced by American
soul and funk," says Verocai. "By 1972
many of the musicians of my generation were feeling the same influences.
Because of our exposure to all many musical influences, we put a
distance between us and the conventional recording styles. "Presente
Grego" means "Greek gift." It is an expression that
comes from the horse of Troy, a gift from the Greeks that hid the
warriors that defeated the Troyans. Likewise, the military dictatorship,
under the appearance of a good government, practiced censorship
and oppression", he explains.
In addition to the funky soul elements the album features many solos
from artists obviously well schooled in Jazz. Check the soloing
in "Pelas Sombras" or "Karina",
where saxes blow hard and true against the backdrop of Brazilian
rhythms. "My musical preferences go from J.S. Bach
and Villa-Lobos, to jazz musicians like Tom Jobim, Milton Nascimento,
Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Wes Montgomery and
Bill Evans," explains Verocai. "I remember
Edson Maciel, was invited to a studio session at 9 AM and was to
perform a solo on "Karina." He asked us to wait for a
while because he wanted to be inspired by some "cachaça"
(a Brazilian liquor made from distilled sugar cane juice). While
rehearsing, he asked for a little more "cachaça"
to bring on some more inspiration. This happened twice until he
found his inspiration and performed a tremendous solo!"
remembers Verocai.
In the years after the album release Arthur Verocai became a music
advertising executive, creating and producing albums for customers
like Brahma, Fanta, Petrobra's, South America, Souza Cruz and was
even honored with the Colunistas Prize in Advertising. Since 1983
he is the main proprietor of Studio "V" - House of the
Sound and in 2002 he released a solo album "Arthur Verocai
- "Saudade Demais" featuring a collection of his work
as composer, including some unreleased songs.
Arthur Verocai's musical peer Ivan Lins has this to say about his
great friend, "Arthur is a very dedicated musician.
He has always been. Not only dedicated but very talented also. He
made this record years ago just for the fun of it without much publicity.
And now will strike back. That's great!" |
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