VANDERLEI PEREIRA AND BLINDFOLD TEST - Vision For Rhythm
Jazzheads JH1242
Vanderlei Pereira (drums, percussion); Jorge Continentino (tenor sax, flute, alto flute, pifano); Rodrigo Ursaia (tenor sax); Susan Pereira (vocals, percussion); Deanna Witkowski (piano); Paul Meyers (acoustic guitar);Gustavo Amarante (electric bass); Itaiguara Brandão (electric bass).
Recorded Kakinoki Studio, Shohola, Pennsylvania, USA No recording date.
Both the name of the band and the title of this album have a deep, personal connection with drummer Vanderlei Pereira. A talented musician who straddles the worlds of jazz, classical and Latin music, Pereira was born with the inherited eye disease retinitis pigmentosa, which over time, worsens, eventually rendering the person blind. When Pereira reached his early 30s, his sight deteriorated so much that he could no longer sight read and had to give up playing classical music. Instead, he focused (no pun intended) on Latin and jazz.
Pereira has played with many jazz artists including, Toots Thielmans, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Tito Puente. The Blindfold Test is the name of an impressive band of musicians, who when playing live with Pereira, don blindfolds for part of the set to temporary share their leader’s condition. The name also refers to the Downbeat column of the same name from late jazz critic Leonard Feather, which became a jazz
institution.
Vision For Rhythm is a 12-track Brazilian Jazz album, with Pereira composing four of the tunes. Pereira’s wife Susan (who co-produced the album with him) sings on ten of the tracks and plays percussion on seven. The opening number, a cover of Airto Moreira’s Misturada is a 7/4 samba, with Susan Pereira’s delicate wordless vocals harmonizing with the flute and dancing above the sound like a butterfly fluttering over a meadow.
In fact, this track sets the template for much of the music, which is mostly joyous, samba-infused and featuring wordless vocals. My favourite track, Ponto De Partida is a lovely Brazilian Jazz shuffle with superb vocals, silky sax lines from Jorge Continentino and a fine piano solo by Deanna Witkowski. Continentino also shines on the sax-led instrumental O Que Ficou. The album’s longest track, the nine-minute The Cry And The Smile, is suite-like in structure, and opens with some haunting wordless vocals from Susan Pereira, before Rodrigo Ursaia joins on tenor sax, playing for long stretches throughout the track.
The tempo slows for the mellifluous Les Matins De Rixensart, with voice and sax singing the melody, and Itaiguara Brandão playing a short, melodic bass solo, followed by an acoustic guitar solo from Paul Meyers. In fact, Vanderlei Pereira is happy for other band members to take the limelight on most pieces, and it’s only on Alma Brasileira, which opens with some tasty drum fills, and the closing track, Vision For Rhythm - an exciting two-minute drum solo - where he emerges from the background. It was a pleasure playing this album, and a feast of Brazilian Jazz awaits anyone who encounters it.
Reviewed by George Cole
Jazzheads JH1242
Vanderlei Pereira (drums, percussion); Jorge Continentino (tenor sax, flute, alto flute, pifano); Rodrigo Ursaia (tenor sax); Susan Pereira (vocals, percussion); Deanna Witkowski (piano); Paul Meyers (acoustic guitar);Gustavo Amarante (electric bass); Itaiguara Brandão (electric bass).
Recorded Kakinoki Studio, Shohola, Pennsylvania, USA No recording date.
Both the name of the band and the title of this album have a deep, personal connection with drummer Vanderlei Pereira. A talented musician who straddles the worlds of jazz, classical and Latin music, Pereira was born with the inherited eye disease retinitis pigmentosa, which over time, worsens, eventually rendering the person blind. When Pereira reached his early 30s, his sight deteriorated so much that he could no longer sight read and had to give up playing classical music. Instead, he focused (no pun intended) on Latin and jazz.
Pereira has played with many jazz artists including, Toots Thielmans, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Tito Puente. The Blindfold Test is the name of an impressive band of musicians, who when playing live with Pereira, don blindfolds for part of the set to temporary share their leader’s condition. The name also refers to the Downbeat column of the same name from late jazz critic Leonard Feather, which became a jazz
institution.
Vision For Rhythm is a 12-track Brazilian Jazz album, with Pereira composing four of the tunes. Pereira’s wife Susan (who co-produced the album with him) sings on ten of the tracks and plays percussion on seven. The opening number, a cover of Airto Moreira’s Misturada is a 7/4 samba, with Susan Pereira’s delicate wordless vocals harmonizing with the flute and dancing above the sound like a butterfly fluttering over a meadow.
In fact, this track sets the template for much of the music, which is mostly joyous, samba-infused and featuring wordless vocals. My favourite track, Ponto De Partida is a lovely Brazilian Jazz shuffle with superb vocals, silky sax lines from Jorge Continentino and a fine piano solo by Deanna Witkowski. Continentino also shines on the sax-led instrumental O Que Ficou. The album’s longest track, the nine-minute The Cry And The Smile, is suite-like in structure, and opens with some haunting wordless vocals from Susan Pereira, before Rodrigo Ursaia joins on tenor sax, playing for long stretches throughout the track.
The tempo slows for the mellifluous Les Matins De Rixensart, with voice and sax singing the melody, and Itaiguara Brandão playing a short, melodic bass solo, followed by an acoustic guitar solo from Paul Meyers. In fact, Vanderlei Pereira is happy for other band members to take the limelight on most pieces, and it’s only on Alma Brasileira, which opens with some tasty drum fills, and the closing track, Vision For Rhythm - an exciting two-minute drum solo - where he emerges from the background. It was a pleasure playing this album, and a feast of Brazilian Jazz awaits anyone who encounters it.
Reviewed by George Cole
