Brazilian
jazz trio Azymuth first gained the attention of mainstream British record
buyers with a nine minute 12” single on the Milestone label. Jazz Carnival and its B-side, Fly Over The
Horizon were taken from the 1979 album Light As A Feather. The record spent 8 weeks in the UK charts in
late 1979 and early 1980; reaching number 19.
Five weeks of the chart run were spent in the top 40.
In late 79, jazz-funk was a very saleable commodity – The Crusaders’ Street Life went top 10 in August, the 12” single format was proving useful to market records by artists such as Ramsey Lewis (Spring High); Herb Alpert (Rise); Herbie Hancock (I Thought It Was You); Donald Byrd (Dominoes); Roy Ayers (Can’t You See Me) and John Handy (Hard Work). The furious pace of Jazz Carnival and the extended mix helped make it a hit with night club DJs; jazz-curious record buyers were tempted further by the exclusivity of the 12” limited edition.
The follow-up single, Dear Limmertz, did not repeat the success of Jazz Carnival. It was, however, far more representative of the group’s sound – less frenetic, with floating Fender Rhodes chords, percolated & piquant bass, tight drums and airy percussion all tied together under Bertrami’s wordless Vocoder melody. The new LP, Outubro, received a UK release in early 1980 but was soon deleted.*
Between 1979
and 1988, Azymuth released ten albums on Milestone, all of which have been
released on compact disc at one time or another. Meanwhile, between 1984 and 1986 the three
permanent members – pianist José Roberto Bertrami, bassist Alex Malheiros and drummer
Ivan Conti - each released a solo album
on Milestone. Alex Malheiros’ track
Papaia received radio play from DJs such as Robbie Vincent (Radio London) and
Martin Collins (Chiltern Radio).
Otherwise, the records went unnoticed except amongst the keenest of
record buyers.
In 1986, the band played London for the first time – they have been regular visitors to the UK ever since. Consequently, their 1988 LP Crazy Rhythm sold surprisingly well (albeit on American import); the high points including a snappy take on Dave Brubeck’s Bossa Nova USA and a guest appearance by guitarist Joe Pass on the track Tropical Horizon. The LP was perhaps their best to date; interest in the band’s work reignited and unsurprisingly, their back catalogue returned to the album racks in many stores.
In 1987,
Mark Murphy recorded the LP Night Mood: The Music of Ivan Lins with Azymuth as
the studio band.
In 1988, Ted
Carroll’s Ace label acquired the UK rights to the Milestone catalogue. An eight-track best-of LP was issued on Giles
Peterson’s BGP label (distributed by Ace); the CD version contained 12 tracks –
including three** from the solo albums. The solo LPs also started turning up in the
import racks at trendy record shops throughout London - Azymuth were a hot
ticket once more. Despite a reported
split in 1988, the band continued to release albums. They were reunited by London jazz DJ and
record label boss Joe Davis – since 1998 they have recorded exclusively for his
Far Out label. The label is in the
process of reissuing the band’s Milestone recordings.
José Roberto Bertrami died in 2012. He was replaced with keyboardist Kiko Continentino. The band continue to record and play live – they are booked to appear at the London Jazz Festival 2017.
Azymuth’s
sound is practically unique - I can’t think of any other outfit that sound too
much like them. Their records are both dependable
and somewhat addictive - to own, hear and love them all is never enough. The first few notes, the first few bars are
instantly mood-altering - they are the soundtrack to a sweltering summer; they
are cocktails at sundown on white sand.
Azymuth are the full-on blast of air conditioning against soaring humidity. They are the top-down on your sports
convertible as you drive the beach road.
The three
solo albums represent a diversion from the band’s sound – but the essentials,
the ideas that make their mix of American jazz and contemporary Brazilian music
(samba doido) so appealing are still there.
The ingredients are the same, the recipe is changed. Barring one appearance by Ivan Conti on
Malheiros’ album, the three band members do not appear on each other’s
albums.
Meanwhile, what is surprising is that none of these solo albums appear to have been issued outside of the United States; they have not (to the best of my knowledge) appeared on compact disc. What you are about to hear are three mint American vinyl copies of The Human Factor, Dreams Are Real and Atlantic Forest – all ripped from a Linn Sondek turntable.
Now hit the
download links - your island hideaway awaits. And you have my full permission to drop any
Café del Mar CDs off at the nearest charity shop. You really don’t need them anymore.
* RCA,
Milestone Records UK distributor, would import limited quantities of American
pressings of albums such as Azymuth’s Light As A Feather and Outubro for UK
distribution. Unless the records sold
exceptionally well, stocks were not replaced and the records were marked as
deleted. Record dealers would then have
to source copies direct from the USA, at much higher prices.
** Including
the rather wonderful Papaia from Alex Malheiros’ Atlantic Forest
download here
Track listings
José Roberto Bertrami - Dreams Are
Real
1. Dreams
Are Real
2. Sad For
Both Of Us
3. Nova
Ipanema
4. Saudade
5. A Big
Hug For Nelson Piquet
6.
Something To Light Up My Life
7. Novo
Leblon
8. E Nada
Mais
Ivan Conti - The Human Factor
1. Menca
2. You
Have That
3.
Pantanal II (Swamp)
4. Ivana
5.
Junction (Entroncamento)
6. Oi!
(Hey There)
7. The
Human Factor
1.
Four Aces And A Joker (Quatro Azes E Um Coringa)
2.
Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica)
3.
Papaia
4.
Sleight Of Hand (Passe De Magica)
5.
Traveling Through Your Body (Viajando No Seu Corpo)
6.
Bossanovamente!
7.
Eastern Sunflowers (Os Girassóis Do Oriente)
8.
Dress Rehearsal (Ensaio Geral)
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