Music + Film Brazil: Andre Midani—An Insider’s Story of Brazilian Music

André Midani throws amazing dinner parties, but apparently, that’s what you get when you know everyone who is anyone in Brazilian music. Over a number of casual get-togethers, Midani tells anecdotes from his career as a record executive in between laidback performances from his famous friends in the feature documentary cut of Andrucha Waddington & Mini Kerti’s miniseries, André Midani—An Insider’s Story of Brazilian Music (trailer here), which screens as part of the Music + Film Brazil film series at Symphony Space.

Midani was originally a Jewish Syrian who came to Brazil via an extremely circuitous route. As it happens, Brazil was not his intended destination, but he liked it so much during a stopover, he decided to stay. We can’t really blame him for not knowing Portuguese under the circumstances, but it made finding a job difficult. Yet, somehow, he was able to talk his way into a meeting with the president of Odeon Records and the rest is music history.

When we say Midani has famous friends, we are not kidding around here. Those you will hear laughing and playing at Midani’s comfortable home include Caetano Velsoso, Gilberto Gil, Erasmo Carlos, Marisa Monte, Jorge Ben (Jor), Marcos Valle, Roberto Menescal, and Carlos Lyra. In addition, a small army of Brazilian rock stars who haven’t crossed over to the extent their Bossa Nova, Tropicalia, and MPB colleagues have also duly pay homage to Midani. Plus, we see some archival footage of artists Midani nurtured, but sadly are no longer with us, such as Nara Leão.

There is some great music here, particularly the jams featuring Jorge Ben Jor, Monte, and Gil. The latter is a near constant in the film, appearing with just about every informal ensemble. Fittingly, he gets to take the out chorus, performing a poignant solo rendition of “Não Tenho Medo da Morte.”

In a way, Insider’s Story is good way to sum up the Music + Film Brazil series, because it connects all the various styles and subjects of the previous films (yes, Tim Maia is in here too). The Midani doc is just a pleasure to spend time with, because it is so relaxed, yet filled with joie de vivre, much like This is Bossa Nova, hosted by Lyra and Menescal. The fact that so many artists worked with Midani, ranging from Tom Jobim to Os Mutantes, is pretty darn impressive, but he seems pretty grounded for a guy who can have a former Minister of Culture come play at his house whenever he wants. Highly recommended for fans of Brazilian music, in all its many varieties, André Midani—An Insider’s Story of Brazilian Music screens tomorrow night (4/10) as the Music + Film Brazil film series continues at Symphony Space.

Janeiro in New York: The Mystery of Samba

Meet Marisa Monte, song-hunter. Though known as an international Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB) star, Monte has wide-ranging interests in many forms of Brazilian music, most certainly including Samba. Indeed she displays an easy camaraderie with the senior statesmen of Samba affiliated with the Portele Samba School in Rio de Janeiro, while searching for classic unrecorded Sambas in The Mystery of Samba (trailer here), an official selection of the 2008 Cannes Film Festival which screens this Thursday at the 92 Y Tribeca as part of the Janeiro in New York film series.

As our guide to the musical legacy of Portela, Monte also gets valuable assists from samba stars Zeca Pagodinha and Paulinho da Viola, but she is the film’s primary contemporary voice, and for good reason given the warmth of her on-screen presence. Having a family connection to the school, she seems to establish immediate rapport with the veterans of Portela and in some cases their survivors. With a voice beautifully suited to the gentle impromptu a cappella duets she performs with her interview subjects, her interest in preserving these lost songs comes across as a completely genuine Alan Lomax-like impulse. Of course, it also gives her an opportunity to be the first to sing some very cool, previously unheard tunes.

Comparisons to the Buena Vista Social Club are probably inevitable with a film like this, but that is fair enough. Still, Rio’s Samba schools are themselves essentially music-based fraternal organizations, perhaps closer akin to the parading societies of New Orleans. Regardless, the old gentlemen of Samba show they can still get it done, with a party atmosphere pervading throughout Mystery. Most have roots both at the school and in the surrounding neighborhood going back decades. Seu Argemiro is a bit of an exception. Though of the same generation, he is relatively new to Portela, but fit right in when they heard his Sambas.

Directed by Carolina Jabor and Lula Buarque de Hollanda, Mystery is lovely to look at, capturing the charm and vibrancy of the surrounding Madureira neighborhood and the Portela School, with its blue and white colors. It is an elegant film, crafted with respect and affection. It screens the 92 Y Tribeca on Thursday (1/28).

Premiere Brazil: Mystery of Samba

Meet Marisa Monte, song-hunter. Though known as an international Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB) star, Monte has wide-ranging interests in many forms of Brazilian music, most certainly including Samba. In the new documentary Mystery of Samba, she profiles the senior statesmen of Samba affiliated with the Portele Samba School in Rio de Janeiro, while searching for classic unrecorded Sambas. It joins the Bossa Nova of Out of Tune and Humberto Teixieira’s baião music heard in Man Who Bottled Clouds in a distinctly musically flavored Premiere Brazil film series at the MoMA (maybe there will be a choro film next year).

As our guide to the musical legacy of Portela, Monte gets assists from Zeca Pagodinha and Paulinho da Viola, but she is the film’s primary contemporary voice, which is a good thing given the warmth of her on-screen presence. Having a family connection to the school, she seems to establish immediate rapport with the veterans of Portela and in some cases their survivors. With a voice beautifully suited to the impromptu a cappella duets she performs with her interview subjects, her interest in preserving these lost songs comes across as a completely genuine Alan Lomax-like impulse. Of course, it also gives her an opportunity to sing some cool, previously unheard of tunes.

Comparisons to the Buena Vista Social Club are probably inevitable with a film like this, which is fair enough. Rio’s Samba schools are themselves essentially music-based fraternal organizations, perhaps closer akin to the parading societies of New Orleans. Regardless, the old gentlemen of Samba show they can still get it done, with a party atmosphere pervading throughout Mystery. Most have roots both at the school and in the surrounding neighborhood which go back decades. Seu Argemiro is a bit of an exception. Though of the same generation, he is relatively new to Portela, but fit right in when they heard his Sambas.

Directed by Carolina Jabor and Lula Buarque de Hollanda, Mystery is lovely to look at, conveying the charm of the surrounding Madureira neighborhood and Portela’s blue and white colors. It is a vibrant film with crisp and clear subtitles, but the English trailer on youtube appears distorted, so the Portuguese version will give you a better sense of the film. It screens again at MoMA this Saturday.