Los Angeles is a city with more than a thousand live-entertainment options every night
and several thousand armed incentives that make staying home an appealing alternative.
Anyone striving for self-expression in L.A. can call themselves an artist by performing on
a sidewalk, in a bookstore, or paying a club owner for the opportunity. If there is
anything good about the music scene here, it's that weak bands die off quickly. Any act
that lasts five years has to be relatively strong by virtue of its very existence.
Singer and lyricist Kátia Moraes has been active on this scene since the early
nineties. Calling friends to come out to gigs and mailing flyers, she has worked hard for
commercial success. Year after year, night after night, the various incarnations of
Kátia's band played the same circuit to the same crowd of faces without any sign that all
this dues-playing would bring anything more than a typecasting of her group as a small
venue act. She could fill clubs, but not concert halls or arenas. In the last year,
however, Moraes's new group has burst onto the broader music scene with their debut CD, Ginga.
Sambaguru is a consummate ensemble of musicians from Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, and the
United States that plays an open minded and wide-ranging blend of original music. Their
rich and extensive repertoire arises from the huge diversity in approaches and techniques
that distinguish the personal and regional backgrounds of each band member. It is a
vibrant band that has its own lively identity as well as a rapport that borders on the
telepathic. Listeners can easily detect how stylistic inner tensions among these players
from widely separated areas of the globe unite to express a remarkable depth and quality.
Gigging together for the last two years with almost no lapses, these players have
opened their ears and sharpened their reflexes. In live performance they demonstrate a
spontaneous quick ear equilibrium that both amazes and intoxicates listeners' eyes and
ears with the color and sound of a cinematic landscape. The repertoire, pulsing and
driving with its jumping skein of rhythmic counterpoint, integrates a variety of sources
and offers listeners dozens of opportunities to experience a group with prodigious chops
that plays with a collective feel.
The metamorphosis of Sambaguru as an ensemble began in the late eighties when Tony
Shogren, who was playing with Sônia Santos and the Obathalá Band, called Bill Brendle
inviting him to fill the recently vacated keyboard chair. Brendle was at that time working
with a number of jazz groups and was thoroughly frustrated with playing what had come to
be called "wave jazz." 1 He sensed that Brazilian
music was the bright star that would show him the way out of the L.A. jazz scene, but
allow him to remain living in Los Angeles. Brendle says, "I took the job to maintain
my sanity."
Through his work with Santos, Brendle met percussionist Meia Noite (another Sérgio
Mendes alumnus) who was putting together a new band called Midnight Drums in which Kátia
Moraes was singing. Brendle joined Midnight Drums and had been working closely with the
singer for over a year when Moraes's own group, The Rio Thing, started breaking up. Tony
Shogren (who was then playing drums for Moraes) called Brendle and asked him to join a new
project Moraes was starting. The three of them lured Hussain Jiffry to fill the bass
chair, and Brasil Nuts was born.
The Brasil Nuts band gigged constantly, playing small clubs three or four nights a
week, performing cover tunes from the repertories of Djavan and Elis Regina as well as
leftover arrangements from The Rio Thing. The material was good, but after a couple of
years it became a little tiring for both the players and their followers. Brendle wanted
to see the band grow. He was at the point where either the band was going to mature
musically or he wasn't going to continue with it. Says Brendle, "Everyone agreed
because they were also tired of it." At this juncture, he and Moraes collaborated on
a tune they titled "Tonto" (Dizzy). Audience response to the tune brought them
the validation and encouragement they needed to continue. They found that by tacking
Brazilian dance grooves onto their own material, they could get paid to play original
compositions in the same clubs and for the same audiences that had previously requested
tunes. Taking advantage of this surprising situation, they wrote even more.
The band's only CD, Ten Feet and the Sun, was recorded in studio with almost all
parts tracked as if the band were playing a live show. Some keyboard parts were
overdubbed, but there was no layering, or stacking, of strings, piano parts, or solos. The
CD reminds the listener more of a live concert than a studio session. The tunes are early
Brendle/Moraes compositions that lack the sophistication of their later work, but their
intention was simply to produce a demo, a calling card to give to club owners to get more
gigs. After almost 80 percent of the demo was recorded, the band realized that a few
hundred dollars more—for packaging and liner notes—would allow them to produce a
CD, if for nothing else, to sell at gigs. Thus, the demo became a CD, and although Ten
Feet and the Sun received good reviews when it was released in 1996, it remains an
incomplete work in progress, flawed by embryonic writing and a lack of resources to take
production to a higher level.
Over the next two years, the Brendle and Moraes writing collaboration continued to
change and develop, as did the evolution of the group. The other players were encouraged
to bring in new instruments, to contribute their own compositions, and to become visually
and vocally more active in live performance. Moraes was interested and altogether
accepting of everyone's talents and wanted each member of the group to shine in his own
way. A dancer/background vocalist left the band, but a percussionist and a guitar player
were recruited. These changes triggered the next step in the budding group's
identity—figuring out exactly what to call themselves.
Clarifying the name Sambaguru, percussionist Kevin Ricard explains, "The music
that we play is danceable. It obviously makes you want to move, because it's rooted not
only in folkloric music, which is tied to dance anyway, but also in your soul, in the
spirit. We're playing our music to lighten your spirit. There is a cerebral
element—chord structure, arrangements—you know? But the bottom line is, you've
got to make your butt shake. It's all about making people happy."
Sambaguru, a six-as-one collective that is greater than the sum of its parts, is Kátia
Moraes, vocals; Sanjay Divecha, guitars; Hussain Jiffry, bass; Tony Shogren, drums and
percussion; Kevin Ricard, percussion; and Bill Brendle, keyboards, accordion, and cavaquinho.
Although these musicians record and tour extensively with today's top artists (see
biographical sketches below), the idea of a group identity appealed to them, as it gave
the players creative control of the music and the chance to express their individual
voices. Says Brendle, "When you're working for someone else, you're a hired gun and
have to shape the sound and interpret tunes the way the boss hears them. He's paying you
to deliver what he wants. With Sambaguru those kinds of limitations have vanished. All new
ideas can be and are brought to the table. We shape the sound and choose whatever
directions or opportunities gratify us. This band is our baby."
In addition to their musical roles, each member of the group has also assumed specific
adjunct responsibilities in relation to the band's business affairs: accounting,
contracting, scheduling, bookings, public relations, and media contacts. Moraes had been
handling all these arrangements, but it was difficult for one person to cover all these
bases. Besides, artists who represent themselves in L.A. aren't always taken seriously by
club managers and festival promoters, especially if that artist is a singer, female, and
Brazilian.
Sambaguru's debut CD on Sugarcane Records, Ginga, is a vigorous mixture of bold
rhythms, gutsy writing, and innovative arranging that conveys an atmosphere of
effervescent excitement. Parallels between Ten Feet and the Sun and the new CD can
hardly be drawn. Ginga is a furious cross-pollination of distinct styles and
musical innovation with infinitely more musical value and insight. It distinguishes itself
by the consistent care given to every phase of production, from the amount of time devoted
to recording—one part at a time in the studio with melody changes up to the final cut
of the vocal—to the recording engineer's techniques and the quality of his recording
equipment. "In general, the recording is a constant letting go of the ego," says
Moraes. "This is about the songs, about a cohesive sound, and not about someone
taking a lot of glorious solos." On Ginga, the six sources of Sambaguru
amalgamate in a fusion that clearly demonstrates how well musicians from different corners
of the world can work together, especially when they have Brazilian music as the center of
their magnetic field.
Ginga contains 13 original songs stylistically ranging from the serenity and
subtle intensity of an afoxé titled "Sarando" (Healing) to a catchy choro
called "Pra Tocar Pandeiro" (To Play Pandeiro) to the humorous
samba-reggae "Fofocada" (Gossip) with its strains of California surf
music. Ginga's strongest offering, and the last song the band decided to include on
the CD, is "Convite Pra Bituca" (Invitation for Bituca). The piece is dedicated
to Milton Nascimento and propelled by a drum groove Shogren brought back from Minas
Gerais. Playing a surdo-type drum called caixa de folio, percussionist Kevin
Ricard seamlessly weaves the rhythm into the tune's larger fabric and renders a sort of
rhythmic Rorschach test. "Convite Pra Bituca" features three brilliant guitar
parts played by Heitor TP whose aggregate rhythmic complexities are better listened to
than described. Also joining Sambaguru on Ginga are Steve Tavaglione on flutes and
synthesizers, Justo Almario on flute and clarinet, and Cássio Duarte on pandeiro.
What is unusual about Ginga is that it is almost impossible to classify. One
cannot simply categorize it as pop, world beat, Brazilian pop, world beat pop, or any
other one denomination. Says drummer Tony Shogren, "Sambaguru is much more world
influenced than Kátia's last band. We're incorporating many more instruments and getting
out from behind our instruments, our safe zones." Brendle feels this is one of the
reasons the band has had a hard time acquiring good management and a good record deal.
"No one knows exactly what to do with us."
Ginga confirms that the future of eclectic, vibrant music lies with the
independent labels who have always been the first to recognize and record real talent.
Ricard points out, "There is a growing backlash to the way the industry has been
concentrated in four or five goliath companies. People are fed up with how corporatized
and formulized the industry has become. It has created a real creativity crisis. But with
the 'indies' (independent record companies) and downloadable music, the situation is
changing daily."
Sambaguru has plans to include more traditional Brazilian percussion instruments and
exploit their acoustic performance possibilities to create as warm a sound as possible.
They also intend to move in unexplored compositional directions and toward new sounds,
possibly incorporating more African and Indian elements. "But we have to do this in
the right way," says Sanjay Divecha. "I have too much respect for classical
Indian music to fake it. What is most important to me is getting the music out there for
people to hear. The studio is fun, but when we're playing live, there is a chemistry that
constantly changes our music, and we begin to hear things we haven't actually played yet.
These songs, even though they've already been recorded, are still changing. They sound
different live than they do on the recording. Things change for the better."
As these words are written, the most successful year of Kátia Moraes's career in terms
of artistic achievement and popular recognition is drawing to a close. It hardly seems
possible that a full decade has elapsed since her arrival from Rio. Sambaguru has
responded to the challenges of its singer with a creativity and skill that is only
possible with the highest caliber working bands. With Ginga, Sambaguru has produced
a meaningful musical landscape and situated themselves at an arresting vantage point. It
is a recording with depth, richness, and color, delivered from a unique perspective. And
with Sambaguru, Kátia Moraes has arrived at her optimum musical setting, an inspiring
setting that has taken her to the threshold of a difficult art—and art it is, albeit
at the level of alchemy.
1 Wave jazz is a derogatory term that developed in reaction
to the gutless Kenny G style of soft jazz fusion in which formats, grooves, and order of
solos are all dreadfully predictable and that a particular Southern California radio
station airs continuously.
Kátia Moraes began her career in Rio de Janeiro where she performed in musical
revues and recorded background vocals for top Brazilian acts like Rita Lee and Banda
Cheiro de Amor. After moving to Los Angeles in 1990, Moraes started lending her voice to
films and television for dubbing and "voice-overs." About Moraes the Los
Angeles Times says, "She comes on stage like an explosion, her body in constant
motion, her voice excited and dynamic."
Kevin Ricard, an intensely talented percussionist whose family's roots lie in
the Louisiana bayou country, has toured and appeared on recordings with scores of musical
luminaries—Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Kenny Loggins, Stevie Wonder, Bette Midler,
Paula Abdul, Sérgio Mendes, The Temptations, Roberta Flack, Lionel Richie, and Crosby,
Stills & Nash among others. Ricard's ability to fragment the beat and increase
rhythmic pressure is especially gripping, potent. Interacting with the other Sambaguru
musicians, he infuses each performance with a special vibrancy, conjuring up the effect of
power wedded to relaxation.
Guitar player Sanjay Divecha, a native of Bombay, credits his family for his
early appreciation of music and fondly recalls childhood memories of his grandfather
playing Indian folks songs on the harmonium. When Divecha was 8 years old, he began formal
musical training on the tabla, gravitating eventually to the sitar. After his
exposure to North American rhythm and blues and English rock 'n' roll, Divecha took up
guitar. At the age of 17 he was touring India with his own band, and by the time he had
finished college, Divecha was earning his living composing jingles for radio and
television commercials. In 1987 he moved to California where his eclectic approach and
forcefully mature playing enabled him to obtain work as a recording session musician.
Divecha has recorded with world renowned West African vocalist Angelique Kidjo.
Sri Lankan bassist Hussain Jiffry began his musical path by singing in his
school choir and by age 10 had taken up the piano, switching to the accordion at 12. When
he was 17, he realized his real passion and talent lie in the electric bass. In 1982,
Jiffry was invited to tour Europe with a rhythm and blues band, eventually spending six
years on the European club circuit. He moved to Los Angeles in 1988 where his reputation
as one of the most authoritative and absorbingly original bass players keeps him busy
freelancing. Jiffry's career, which continues to develop, includes countless performances
with some of the scene's most respected musicians, including Tom Scott, Kenny Kirkland,
Chaka Khan, and Whitney Houston. Jiffry is currently touring with Sérgio Mendes.
Drummer and percussionist Tony Shogren is the springboard both rhythmically and
emotionally for Sambaguru. He plays with the same distinctive power and originality as his
teachers—Alex Acuna, David Garibaldi, and Vinnie Colaiuta. Shogren began studying
drums when he was five years old and played his first professional gig at 12. When he was
15, he moved from Fresno, California, to South America where he began compiling rhythms
distinctive to the various regions, an avocation that he continues to pursue and which has
led him to other parts of the globe as well. Over the course of his career, Shogren has
toured and performed at numerous jazz and world music festivals throughout the United
States. In addition to playing drums and percussion with Sambaguru, he is the band's
recording engineer.
The band's resident scholar and co-founder, Bill Brendle, began his musical
training on the piano at age 3 under the guidance of his father, a professor of music at
the University of California at Santa Barbara. Brendle's work has appeared on more than
forty CD's with such legendary Brazilian artists as Simone, Gilberto Gil, Maria Bethânia,
Caetano Veloso, and Hermeto Pascoal. He has composed and performed more than eighty
television and radio commercials and counts Suzuki, Nike, Honda, and ABC News among his
clients. In spite of his busy performing and recording career, Brendle has found time to
arrange and orchestrate more than thirty pieces for João Gilberto and the London
Symphony, a project slated to be recorded in the year 2000. Brendle has been the musical
director for Sérgio Mendes since 1994.
