SOUL BOSSA ‘The perpetually fresh fusion of Marcos Valle BY PAUL SULLIVAN * PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARCOS VALLE Marcos Valle, one of Brazilian music's most unassuming superstars, has been at the helm of his country's music scene for more than forty years. His career has encompassed the bossa nova movement of the 1960s, experiments with cinematic samba, jazz, funk, and rock during the °70s and '80s, right up to recent work alongside European DJs and club producers. 4 He has written over four hundred tunes, some of which have been recorded by the likes of Walter Wan- derley, Dizzy Gillespie, and Tim Maia. He has collaborated with Brazilian legends like Azymuth, Milton Nascimento, and Eumir Deodato; and worked with a host of American jazz, rock, and soul luminaries—Sarah Vaughan, Chicago, and Marvin Gaye songwriter Leon Ware included. Born in Rio de Janciro in 1943, Valle was encouraged by his family t0 train as a classical musician from an early age, though his ears were constantly tuned into the jazz and bossa of the day. By his teens, Valle was writing bossa records alongside his brother, lyricist Paulo Sérgio Valle His firse local band was formed with his friends Edu Lobo and Dori Caymmi (son of Brazilian legend Dorival), but Marcos and Paulo Sérgio found success when the Tamba Trio recorded their tune “Sonho de Maria” in 1963, Valle’s breezy, bossaciled debue album, Samba Demais (Odeon; 1964), was an immediate sensation, eatning awards not just for Marcos (Leading Composer of the Year) and Paulo Sérgio (Best New Lyricist), but also for Emuit Deo- daro (Best New Arranger), who had written the arrange- ments for the project. Both Samba Demais and its follow-up—the equally it O Compositor ¢ 0 Cantor (Odeon: 1965)—estab- lished Valle as a subtle interpreter of classic runes and an cradite songwriter in his own right. The following year, he lefe Brazil for New York, where he continued to work wich Deodato (who had moved there to arrange for Luis Bonfa), toured with Mendes'’s Brasil '65, and scored his first over- seas smash with Walter Wanderley’ 1966 cover of “So Nice (Summer Samba).” Nineteen sixty-seven’s seminal Braziliance (Odeon), ‘a mix of bossa nova and emotive instrumentals (again arranged by Deodato), was followed quickly by Valle’s Verve debut, Samba 8, a collection of English-language takes on his own compositions and plenty more catchy Brazilian pop with backing vocals provided by his wife, Anamatia. Succumbing co saudade nostalgia”), Valle moved back to Brazil in 1968 and, working again with his brother Paulo Sérgio, recorded a stream of albums largely consid- ered his best. Fusing classical arrangements and Brazilian roots music with the emerging soul, rock, and funk trends, albums like Viole Enfuarada—which featured two tracks sung by Milton Nascimento—began a newly experimental phase that mixed up happy-go-lucky bossa with baroque production and more introspective atmospheres. Created under Brazil's oppressive military regime, records like Mustang cér de Sangue ("Blood-Colored Mus- sang’) were coy'y political yer continued—along with other Jandmark albums like Garra and Marcos Valle—to chart new musical territory, mixing up traditional NortheasternBrazilian chythms, Beatles-esque pop, Mancini-style cin- cematies, and rock. “The film soundtrack O Fabuloso Fitipaldi and 1973's Previsio de Tempo feswured a new band lineup in the shape of Roberto Bertrami, Alex Malheiros, and Mamao—aka ‘Azymuth—who lent Valle’s productions a heavy Moog! Hammond influence that reflected Valle’ love of American, soul, funk, and rhythm and blues. In 1975, stifled and unnerved by the political dictator- ship in Brazil, Valle headed once more to the States, where he spent four productive years working wich the likes of Airto Moreira, Chicago, Leon Ware, and Sarah Vaughan. Between recordings, he hung out with Henry Mancini, the Beach Boys, and Quincy Jones—and came close to punch- ing out Marlon Brando for making a pass at his (then) wife. Returning to Brazil in the early '8os, Marcos recorded two albums for the label Som Livre—Vontade de Rever Voce (981) and Marcos Valle (1983)—and Tempo da Gente for Arca Som (1986), and continued to write for films, r¥, and, other artists During the carly 90s, Vale's music and legacy was redis- covered by Europe's rare-groove cognoscenti, most notably in London. In 1995, British label Mr. Bongo put out The Essential Marcos Valle anthology, and, in r998, the Br Lumiar label released two volumes of the Marcos Valle Song- ook, a collection of rare tracks and covers alongside Bra ian legends like Ed Motta, Azymuth, Gal Costa, Caetano ‘Veloso, Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque, and Maria Bethania [A series of shows at London's Jazz Café resulted in a deal swith Joc Davis's Far Out label, home to fellow brasilefror ‘Azymuth and Joyce. Valle’s Far Out debut, the fusion-esque Nova Bossa Nova (1998), proved he could still deliver solid, timeless grooves, and won him the award from the Asso- ciation of Art Critics in Séo Paulo for Best Arranger of the Year. He also received an award from BMI in the USA for his song “Samba de Verdo’—an award that had only been won in Brazil by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de ‘Moraes, for the song “Garota de Ipanema.” ‘After putcing out Live in Montreal in 2000 with Victor Biglione, Valle recorded 2001's Escape for Far Out, and, in the same year, EMI released Serie Bis, a two-co set span- ning the years 1963-74 and containing mostly bossa mate- rial from Valle’s classic EMI-Odeon albums, In 2003 came Contrasts, and another live album, Bossa Entre Amigos (Albatroz), recorded alongside Valle’s old friends Wanda S4 and Roberto Menescal. His latest album, Jet-Samba (Dubas/Universal)—his first ever self produced album of instrumentals—has been released to great acclaim, winning, further awards in Brazil. Valle continues to record and our, riding the wave of his resurgence as effortlessly and natu- rally as he surfed the waves of Copacabana in his youth. You're currently touting for your new release, Jer-Samba. How is the album doing? Tc just won best inscrumental album of the year, an important award in Brazil, and is being rereleased in Europe by Universal, so it's going great. Ie’s an instrumental album, which I haven't done in a while. I often put one or ‘wo instrumental tracks on an album, but the last time I did a whole album of instrumentals was Braziliance in’67, sehen “Summer Samba” became a hit in the U.S. Back then, I wrote the arrangements, and the orchestrations were by Deodato, but this time I did everything for the first cime— production, arrangements, orchestration, everything. After forty-three years of making music, I am still discovering, new things, and thae gives me a lot of pleasure. Let's flip back a bit to the early days: what were your carliest musical experiences? 1 got into classical music via my grandmother; she was a piano player. She had a piano in che house, and I would go there and play, and my family eventually decided to take me toa teacher. [started having lessons when I was six and kept ‘going for about seven years. But atthe same time, [listened to Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman, and also a lot of Black ‘music, rhythm and blues, et cetera always felt that all these different sounds had alot in common. When bossa nova came along, it was really just one more thing to add co the pot. Which part of Rio did you grow up in? I grew up in Copacabana. At that time, it was quiets there was no violence. I could walk to school alone and walk the streets without any trouble, After school, I would go co the beach right in front of my house. My father and grand- father loved the beach, so that was the main sport for us. ‘We played volleyball and basketball, did jujtsu and boxing. ‘When I was thirteen, we moved to Leblon, an area close to Ipanema, My family buile 2 house there. Friends would come to the house, and it became a meeting place later on, for my music friends. people like [Milton] Nascimento, [Tom] Jobim, Carlos Lyra, [Roberto] Menescal, Edu Lobo. Even people from outside Rio like Herbie Hancock and, Henry Mancini would come by in later times. ‘When did you start writing your own material? I started writing songs with my brother, Paulo Sérgio, ‘but one ofthe first people I made music with was Edu Lobo. I studied with him ar school for a year or so, andy ew years Jaret, I was on a bus and saw him walking down the street with a guitar. He got on the bus, and we started talking. We hhada’t seen each other for a few years, but I remembered that his father was Fernando Lobo, a famous songwriter in, Brazil, and that he was also a friend of Dori Caymmi, the son of Dorival. I told Edu I was playing guitar and piano and accordion, and he suggested we get rogether. Through Edu, I met Dori. We got on well and made a trio, It was me on piano, and those two played guitar. That was my first professional band. Ie didn’t last long, but we wrote some ‘tunes and even got onto some Tv shows “Was that how you got introduced to Rio's bossa set? Yes, Fernando, Edu’ father, cook me ro some of the meet ings of the bossa nova people. I remember being taken © the house of Ary Barroso, the guy who wrote “Aquarela do Brazil.” He was very old. Jobim wasn't there that time, but Carlos Lyrawas, and sowas Roberto Menescal, Baden Powell, Vinicius de Moraes. I was excited, but very shy. I didn’t play anything that firs vime, but, a week later [went co the house ‘of Vinicius de Moraes, which wasalso arranged through Edu. and Dori, and sang a few songs. I had taken along maybe six, waxPoeTics 103all with lyrics by my brother Paulo, There was a guy there called Lula Freize, a lyric writer d politician, also in the house, He had lived on the same street as me in Copacabana when I was a kid, so T kind of knew him, When he heard me play, he said, “T love your songs; ets meet in my house next week so you can sing ‘Sonho de Maria,” a bossa song I had written with my brother, about a poor woman who lived in ng to call, the hills. Lula told me to come early, as he was going, another group to listen, called the Tamba Tri. Tamba ‘Trio were already popular then, right? Yes, and, of course, [liked their mu lot. When I got there, before I had played an thing, [the Tamba Trio] told me their new record was complete. “There are no mote spaces,” they said, but they wa ted to listen to my songs anyway. | think now that they said that in case they didn’t likke the because when I had finished, they said, “We will rake out any of our songs to put yours in.” I was so happy! I called my brother Paulo to tell him right away. Halfan hour later everyone started to appear at the house, Luis Bonfa, even Jobim, who I mec chen for the first time. I played more of my songs, and [Roberto] Menescal said he loved them too and band, Os Cariocas, Good thing you had plenty of tunes! Sounds like they ‘wanted to play them to anoth were in demand. [laughs Menescal told me to only lec Os Car ‘wo of them, so I could save the rest for even more opportu niciesin the Future. Lateron, he jokingly told me he had said that so that he would be able to get some of his own songs on their album, In the end, Os Cariocas actually asked for two, 50 it was perfect. Some of the other people at the firs party called afterwards and asked for the other songs T had played, Wilson Simonal being one of them So you managed to get rid of all your songs in a very: short span of tim Yes, it happened very quickly. Then Menescal decided to take me to EMI to meet the musical director, Milton Mira ain, and, when I had finished, Milton said, “No one is going to record your songs.” I thought, “What?” Then he smiled and said, “Because you ed them. We want you co be an EMI artist.” I recorded six of my songs and six covers of songs by Jobim and Menescal, et cetera, some bossa nova classics, and that You mentioned in a previous interview that Antonio Carlos Jobim was originally asked to write the arrange ments for Samba Demaist They o nally asked him co do it, yes, I went to his inema and played the songs, which he loved and