Azymuth - Azymuth (1975)

#Músicaparaelencierro. Después de mucho tiempo, y gracias a Roberto I. Quesada, volvemos con Azymuth y recordamos el primer disco de una banda que sin llegar a ser tan conocida marcaría la historia de la música brasileña con su enfoque instrumental del tipo Weather Report pero a lo carioca. Azymuth en su disco homónimo con toda la calidad de la banda brazuca.

Artista: Azymuth

Álbum: Azymuth
Año: 1975
Género: World Fusion / Funk / Soul / Latin Jazz
Duración: 1:40:48
Nacionalidad: Brasil

 

Vamos de lleno con el comentario de Roberto que es por lo que esto apareció y revivió nuevamente en el blog cabezón.

Trío oriundo de Río de Janeiro formado por José Roberto Bertrami, Ivan Conti "Mamao" y Alexandre Malheiros en 1971, primeramente, con el nombre Grupo Seleçao, etapa en la que tocaban covers de diversos grupos, luego cambiarían su nombre a Azimuth y optarían por un sonido más propio.
Azimuth es otro de esos grupos desconocidos de Brasil que tuvieron cierto auge a mediados de los 70. Su estilo no era rock progresivo en si, tocaban algo así como una especie de funk-samba-jazz-electrónica con matices sonoros sinfónico-sicodélicos, solo imaginen al dúo francés Air con algo de AC Jobim o Eumir Deodato con algo de los Headhunters de Hancock, como dicen algunos periodistas cariocas, "fusión de forte personalidade".
Su disco homónimo (el mejor que tienen) se grabó en el año 75 con un mediano éxito en su país. Hasta hace poco salió una edición doble en CD, la cual ayudó a que el grupo fuera un poco más conocido. Aunque no es un grupo al nivel de Bacamarte, O Terco, Tellah, o Casa Das Máquinas, no decepcionan para nada, ese estilo medio jazzy con mucho piano eléctrico y cortinas de sintetizador junto a la batería con cierta métrica funky la verdad que relajan.
Formación:
    Ivan Conti "Mamao": batería y voces
    Alex Mahleiros: bajo, guitarras y voces
    José Roberto Bertrami: teclados y voces
Tracks:
    Linha Do Horizonte (4:28)
    Melo Dos Dois Bicudos (3:08)
    Brazil (3:57)
    Faça De Conta (4:31)
    Caça A Raposa (5:11)
    Estrada Dos Deuses (3:39)
    Esperando Minha Vez (2:59)
    Montreal City (3:18)
    Manhã (3:45)
    Periscópio (7:33)
Todos los temas tienen lo suyo; la hermosa melodía tenue de "linha do horizonte" donde sobresalen los arreglos de teclados (ese moog a final de cada estrofa uff!!); los sonidos de samba-jazz-rock de "melo dos dois bicudos", "manhã" y "esperando minha vez"; "faca de conta" y "montreal city" con un ritmo verdaderamente "hipno-funky" donde la influencia de Herbie Hancock se nota al instante o las mas psicodélica y rockera (siempre con algo de compases típicos brasileros) "periscopio", tema de casi 8 minutos con un trabajo increíble en bajo y teclados, principalmente de órgano.
Definitivamente uno de esos discos que hay que conseguir y escucharlos de una sentada.

Roberto I. Quesada 

 Así revive nuevamente en el blog una de las bandas que han marcado a fuego el estilo latinoamericano, especialmente brasilero.

Aquí tienen más Azymuth y ahora con su disco homónimo. No voy a agregar nada más porque ya todos saben de qué estamos hablando.

Far Out Recordings re-release the seminal debut album from Azymuth. Having never seen a vinyl release outside of Brazil, Far Out have given 'Azimuth' the LP gatefold heavyweight vinyl treatment. The album contains some of the band's most incendiary tracks and is quite simply a milestone album in Brazilian music.
Azymuth - Jose Roberto Bertrami, Ivan Conti, and Alex Malheiros & Ariovaldo - formed in the late 60s just as Os Mutantes released their debut record. Whilst Mutantes were honing a psychedelic 'Amazonian' version of western pop music, Azymuth were creating a futuristic, electric interpretation of US Jazz - also driven by the same rootsy Brazilian 'swing' that Mutantes had harnessed.
The original line up of Azymuth consisted of José Roberto Bertrami on keyboards and synths, Alex Malheiros on bass, Ivan Conti (aka Mamão) on drums and timbalas, plus Ariovaldo Contesini on percussion. Bertrami was the drive behind Azymuth's sound - a control freak and musical genius obsessed with the latest technology who wanted to use it to push the boundaries of music in a way that no one else in Brazil had done. His use of keyboards has drawn comparisons between Azymuth's work and Herbie Hancock's early 70s output, yet with it's Brazilian swing Azymuth's electric jazz sound is unmistakeably their own. Conti is an impulsive and an incredibly energetic drummer, and the real hardcore Carioca of the trio. Alex Malheiros, who learned his trade playing with the master of Brazilian swing, Ed Lincoln. Alex is respected in Brazil as one of the original groove masters.
Bertrami rose to fame as an arranger in the mid-60s and by the late 60s he was arranging for the queen of Brazilian music, Elis Regina. This pushed him into the major league and by the early 1970s he was arranging for the burgeoning TV novella scene. When he was not working, Bertrami made trips to New York to buy the latest keyboards and synths, ensuring he had the most up to date range of keyboards in Brazil. His work in TV Novellas meant Bertrami knew most of the A&R people in the Brazilian music industry, yet when he shipped the demos that became the core of this album round to them in 1973, they didn't share his vision - one label even going as far as to say that the music was 'wrong'.
Released in summer 1975, the album was a minor commercial success selling 200,000 copies. Opening track 'Linha do Horizonte' - a sublime piece of melancholic electronic saudade where deep cinematic synths melt into gently strummed acoustic jazz guitar - was chosen for a TV Novella and went on to sell half a million, propelling Azymuth onto the Brazilian music scene.
The rest of the album doesn't disappoint - track 2, 'Melô dos dois bicudos', sees Azymuth plugging them into the Brazilian national grid for a slice of electrified psyched out samba funk with crashing military drums, shrieking sirens and psych synths. Track 3 'Brazil' is a lolloping bass led groover with Bertrami's melody giving the track a charming, innocent naivety, and track 5 'Caça A Raposa' is a boogie jazz funk groover with Bertrami adding a Flora Purim style vocal melody.
Azymuth went on to become one of the best-selling jazz artists of the 80s with their future albums for Milestones, unquestionably the biggest jazz label of that decade. 'Azimuth' is the album that kickstarted it all for them, the record that was the blue print and definition of their 'samba doido / crazy samba' sound.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the seminal debut album, 'Azimuth', and in homage to the late Jose Roberto Bertrami, the band will be touring the album in Europe.

Que lo disfruten.

Lista de Temas:
1. Linha Do Horizonte 04:29
2. Melo Dos Dois Bicudos 03:08
3. Brazil 03:58
4. Seems Like This 04:31
5. Caca a Raposa 05:12
6. Estrada Dos Deuses 03:41
7. Wait for My Turn 03:01
8. Montreal City 03:19
9. Morning 03:48
10. Periscopio 07:36

Alineación:
- José Roberto Bertrami / keyboards
- Alex Malheiros /bass
- Ivan Conti / drums