Home of the Brave (and free water)

So we made it back to the States, safe and sound.

What an incredible trip. So much good music, good food, great people.

The last day after the churrasscaria was filled with checking out of the hotel and visiting the Christo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue. We were lucky enough to experience another amazing view of Rio from the top of the mountain that the 13-story statue sits on, and we got a great group photo with Jesus in the background. Check it out:

After meeting Jesus, we had a couple hours at a mall to grab some food and last minute souvenirs, and then we made it to the airport to fly home.

Thanks for following the blog! It was a fantastic trip and an amazing way to end the year. Thanks to all of our seniors who made the trip extra special - we will miss you, but I can't think of a better way to end your time with us and at Luther. Best of luck to you in your next adventures, and from all of us in Jazz Orchestra, Obrigado Brasil!

Oceans and Meat: Last Days in Brazil

This will be a quick post because a) I'm stealing Internet from somewhere, and b) it is going on 1am.
Quick recap on the last couple of days:

We had our final concert last night at the Copacabana. What a way to end the tour! The outside concert was held at a military fort quite literally on the ocean. Pictures to be posted soon. But the stage was set so audience members could look out to the ocean and the Copacabana beach while listening to our awesome show. And what a crowd - probably the most interactive crowd we had this tour. Many people were dancing in their seats and a few even got out of their seats to dance to Aquarela do Brasil at the end of the show, and there was definitely some swing dancing happening during the encore. We were invited to dinner after the performance and finally got a chance to eat the famous feijoada - a dish of black beans and rice. So delicious.

Today we had a beautiful day of relaxing and beach time with the band. We spent at least 5 hours hanging out on the sand, catching waves and rays. Afterwards we went to the gondola cable cars at Sugarloaf Mountain and watched the sunset behind an incredible view of Rio. And then, as if the day couldn't get any better, we went to dinner at a churrascaria. Imagine 3 or 4 suited men walking around with giant swords stuck with various kinds of meat for about two hours. Unlimited meat. So incredible. Most of us ate very little today to gear up for the meal, and boy were we satisfied. Such a great way to finish off our time in Brazil.

Tomorrow we head to Christ Mountain to see the giant statue of the Christ. Then a bit of mall time for some last minute shopping and lunch, and then it's off to the airport to fly home!

We will check in again when we arrive back in the States. Until then, Obrigado Brasil!
Ciao!

Brazilian Chestnuts

Since it's been a busy several days since I last blogged, we've collected a bunch of great stories that definitely merit telling. I'll share a couple of them, but although both definitely deserves its own entry, we're playing at Copacabana in just a few hours, so I'm going to have to do a bit of condensing.

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A few days back, we went to a restaurant with which Tony is well acquainted. It was fairly late and after we'd played a show, so a little less than half the band went. I was definitely beat, but Tony has talked about this restaurant for months, and promised us the food and dancing (both of which come from the northeastern part of Brazil, the Bahia region) would be superb. He wasn't wrong! The restaurant was fairly deserted--no doubt due in part to the concurrent Brazil vs. United States soccer game, another reason some of the band didn't go--so we mostly had the place to ourselves. After gorging ourselves on the half dozen dishes brought out, we got up and headed to the dance floor, where a trio was playing baião music: a zabumba (like a bass drum), a triangle, and an accordion. Fortunately, the step wasn't too difficult, and Tony and his relatives were great teachers. Before long, everyone was dancing! It went on for at least an hour and a half, and by the end were were sweaty, exhausted, and ecstatic.
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On Thursday, we played a show at the Teatro Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho in Sao Paulo. It was a fun show, and everything went well, though the audience seemed a little subdued. After our encore, Tony told some of us that we should go hang out outside the concert hall and talk to people, despite the fact that none of us spoke Portuguese. We went on out, and quickly found ourselves in an awkward situation. About ten of us were standing on one side, and about ten feet across from us, about half the audience was milling about, staring at us and speaking quietly to one another. I tried to break the tension by announcing, "Nao folla portuguese, but... muito obrigado!" (I don't speak Portuguese, but... thank you very much!) It worked (kind of) and they clapped again, but then they started shouting at us to play more. Some of us still had our instruments, and one of the audience members shouted "CHAMELEON!!" (by Herbie Hancock), so we broke out into an impromptu jam. I laid down the bass line on the bari, and a few trumpets and sax players did melody and then took turns soloing. It ended up being about a ten minute jam, and after that, they wanted still more! Someone shouted "CANTALOUPE ISLAND!!" (also by Herbie), so we tried that, and although I'm pretty sure I did most of the chord changes wrong, it was still a lot of fun to play in front of an active audience that had mostly been passive throughout the night's show.

Time to suit up for the show -- ate amanha!

Day ???

Our sincerest apologies for the delay in posts! We've been traveling and performing and generally taking Brazil by storm these last few days. Here's a brief recap: Wednesday morning took us to Paulista Avenue in downtown Sao Paulo. We spent a few free hours shopping the avenue, exploring the famous music stores of Sao Paulo, and checking out the art museum. Collin and Andrew bought their very first pandeiros. They described the experience like something out of the wizarding world of Harry Potter: the pandeiros choose them. To quote Andrew about this experience with his new toy, his "left hand is blistering." Collin said they met this guy, Diego, who was eager to teach them about the instrument, and had a fun time attempting to communicate with him between English and Portuguese. With our purchases and new experiences in hand, we departed Paulista Ave for the Baccarelli Institute, located in a favela on the other side of the city. I must preface this portion of the entry by saying that the kids who attend the Baccarelli Institue are incredible people. We heard two choirs sing, a choir of elementary-aged kids and a choir of older, middle-school aged kids. Both choirs, directed by two talented educators, took us by surprise with their poise, talent, and warmth. Most of these kids come from very poor families and less than ideal living situations - to see their dedication and love for music through their performances was inspiring, to say the least. Vocal jazz gave several performances for the kids and held a workshop about improv, blues, and chord-building. Tony gave a percussion workshop for some of the older percussionists at the institute, and I managed to sneak off and find some violinists who were practicing their orchestra music for a concert they had later that evening. I spent some time with them and taught them a jazz standard as well as some other fun jazz violin techniques. It made my day to communicate with these people about music and life in Brazil. Future music educators in the group were excited to watch Tony work with other kids and to see what a talented, driven group of students can accomplish. Tony, Clausi, and a bunch of students later went to a down-home restaurant and dance bar called Restaurante Andrade. Food, dancing, and music outlined a fab evening. Thursday morning was another easy morning. We were on our own for lunch, so I went with Tom Bouricer and a few other people to a small restaurant less then a block from our hotel. We proceeded to order multiples of seven different kinds of meat kabobs, including chicken hearts, steak, fried cheese, lamb, and sausage, all with Brazilian names that I can neither pronounce nor spell. Regardless, the food was delicious and abundant, and satisfying enough to last through our sound check at the municipal theater near the Baccarelli Institute. More to come!