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Despite the popular phrase “once in a blue moon”, Blue Moons are not so rare, astronomically speaking. Today, for example we will have one of them.

Putting it in a nutshell, a blue moon is the second full moon of a month, which is not exactly the most poetic of definitions, a detail that does not prevent blue moons from working as an inspiration for songwriters, and a quite eclectic one, I might add.

The song Blue Moon, for example. It has ben recorded by many artists, but it always sound fresh. From the (unusually cheerful) Billie Holiday interpretation, to the melamcholic one from The Mavericks , from the accoustic Elvis Presley version from the 1950s to the “feel good, play free” studio jam by The Beatles in the 1960s, the good, old, blue moon has seen it all.

Such adaptability in relation to different interpreters and styles goes well with another the interpretation of Astrology regarding blue moons. Astrologically speaking, a full moon is always about change (like the tides), so a month with two of them can be a little intense.

Changing is not always comfortable. Whether we are talking about attitude, jobs or addresses, a change always requires some kind of adaptation and flexibility.

One trick that has worked really well for me is not to overlook the cumulative power of small changes. It started as a way to fight sedentary lifestyle. You know: those steps you can walk up instead of taking the elevator, answer a call standing up, preferably moving your hips, things like that. From there, it was only a matter of time before applying the theory to other areas of life.

It is a simple trick: define your “big change”, divide it into small actions, and incorporate them one by one, calmly and steadily.

How about counting the time between today and the next blue moon and see what you’ve managed to change for the better in this period? Happy Blue Moon to you!

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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Nouvelle Cuisine is the name of a culinary movement born in France in the 1970s. Among its characteristics are the appreciation of freshness, lightness and delicacy of dishes. The “new kitchen” is based on the concept of exploring the natural flavors of each ingredient.

Preserving the “signature” element of the food to the maximum and equally careful about the visual presentation of the dishes, the nouvelle cuisine appealed for the senses to reach the soul of the gastronomic experience. The movement also lent its name and its concept to a very interesting and often unmentioned chapter in the history of Brazilian jazz in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1987, when rock and roll was the hegemonic rhythm in the Brazilian music scene, five musicians formed a… jazz group. The artistically daring act, in itself, would be worthy of note, but Nouvelle Cuisine, the quintet was much more than that, especially thanks to its vocalist Carlos Fernando.

Accompanied by Guga Stroeter (vibraphone and drums), Flávio Mancini Jr. (double bass), Luca Raele (piano and clarinet) and Maurício Tagliari (guitar), Carlos Fernando imprinted good taste and refined technique in a scene marked by excesses. I remember the strong impression the group made on me when I first saw them live.

Extreme care and good taste was present in each and evry element on stage, from the sober costumes of the musicians, to the lighting; from the repertoire to the minimalistic arrangements and, above all, the velvety, singing of Carlos Fernando.

I would achieve the same musical enchantment years later, attending a performance by the group Madredeus, and listening to Tereza Salgueiro and her divine vocals. The feeling of being in front of a special voice is not easily forgotten.

By the time I saw the Nouvelle Cuisine on stage, I was living in the city of Campinas, in the country side of São Paulo, studying History, and in charge of the vocals in a music band whose repertoire was mostly formed by Brazilian Jazz. I remember how excited we got, when the quintet came to town, and we all went to the concert. It was like facing a possible future for our quartet.

We were innocent, I know, but in our defense I might add that, at the time, Nouvelle Cuisine was at the height of its fame. They had just released a second album by Warner Music (which is, amazingly, still not fully available for streaming), and being treated by the mainstream media like stars. For us, all that buzz was like a sign that the jazz scene was definitely consolidated. Big mistake.

Nouvelle Cuisine recorded only three albums and Carlos Fernando recorded also a couple of solo albums. Certainly much less than this remarkable composer and performer would deserve. What happened? I dare to say, Nouvelle Cuisine was the right band in the wrong time.

While the fin-de-siècle scene created great expectations, the 2000s took a completely different path and there was no place for the good taste that Nouvelle Cuisine represented.

For those of you who want a taste of this delicatessen, there are tracks and compilations to be found on Youtube and Spotify. I leave here the link to my favorite one, a bossa-nova reinterpretation of the song by Stevie Wonder: Flower Power. Bon appétit.

Be seeing you!

G. F.

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Today is the birthday of my mother. We planned a party in 2020 that had to be cancelled, obviously, and this year will be the first time we’re having a party. Nothing big or complicated, only lunch for 30 people, in a cozy restaurant with large windows overlooking the sea.

Simple and lovely. Or, is it?

I came to the conclusion that there isn’t that much of a difference between putting on an event like a luncheon for 30 ladies or a jazz concert.The stages of preparation, for example, are very similar. For instance,there is a need for pre-planning, may it be a guest list or the searching for a gig. In both cases, of of the first limits to face is about the audience.

You must be aware that the capacity of the venue impacts several aspects of your organization, from the budget, (after all expenses tend to grow proportionally to the size of the venue, to the dissemination of results. After all, which is better for your portfolio: a small venue full of enthusiastic fans, or a large venue, with fans separated by empty “holes”?

The location will guide lots of the following decisions, from lighting issues to the stage setup (or tables, in the case of the event for the ladies). Once the location is defined, the next step is to think about what will be offered.

For example, what kind of food and drinks will be served. The time of the event will guide you. For example, it is assumed that at lunch the intake of alcoholic beverages will be lower than at an evening event. Your type of audience (children, seniors) will play a huge role in this step, as each audience has its preferences and specific needs.

And if we think in terms of a music concert, the responsibility is even greater. How will your musical menu be? Rich in different flavors, or focused on a single genre? The ups and downs type or the “dance floor only” type? Full of hits or more of a singer/songwriter experience? Needless to say, the setlist assembly can make your performance a wonderful experience for the audience or cause yawns.

And last but not least, what are your guests taking home? A rose? A piece of cake? I firmly believe that a reception that offers a souvenir at the exit is much more likely to be engraved in the affective memory of the guests. In the case of concerts, these souvenirs are called merch and allow their fans to build and feed an affective memory with your work. Keep it in mind when setting up your merch table.

Top tip: Make your merch table really special by not only showcasing the products, but also providing a reason for the public to come and visit it. Typical candies from your region usually work very well as an attraction factor, without weighing on your budget.

Be seeing you!

G.F.

p.s. Happy Birthday, Mom! Love you!

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Recently, I heard from an friend that in-person events are back with full force. My friend L. is an editor and lives in São Paulo, but I see the same phenomenon happening here in Rio. Among the various cultural activities that are currently (re-)flourishing, poetry reading soirées seem to be multiplying with particular rapidity.

It is amazing how the written word attracts people of all types and backgrounds! At a literary gathering with audience participation you will inevitably encounter at least of of the following: a student in a top hat who would put the rabbit in the story of Alice to shame, a handful of shy poets who refuse to succumb to the current rule of full exposure in socials, but are comfortable behind the open mic, as well as people who have experienced hard times and managed to repurpose their pain through words.

I write poems since… well, I have the impression that since I was literate and such meetings are not unfamiliar to me, either as a watcher or an active participant, singing or reciting. It is always a nice experience, but… There is something about poetry readings that make me feel, well, uncomfortable. I do not quite know how to explain it, but it is as if some very intimate sphere has been crossed.

And what would that sphere be? There is something very personal about reading and listening to a poem. I am not referring here to a specific need. honestly, I do not think there is a “correct” setting for enjoying poems. There are words to be recited screaming, others more suited to whispering in the ear, in short, there is poetry for the most diverse situations.

My discomfort at poetry soirees is the same I feel at restaurants with live music performances. Someone performing while other people are distracted is not an image I like very much. I am aware that the fields of gastronomy and entertainment are intertwined: we want gigs and venue owners want to sell their products. And you know what? For the sake of our gigs, we wish them and their business well. We all need to live in harmony, for the sake of the scene.

Things kind of take car eof themselves when gigs take place in theaters or concert halls that really understand what they are doing and suspend services during the musical performances. However, this is not the reality in poetry soirées, which are characterized by a climate of, shall we say, healthy chaos, meaning that while some pour their souls into the open microphone in front, others pour out the news of the week in loud shouts at the side tables and counters in the back.

On the one hand, I find some comfort in knowing that my discomfort is not shared by many and that soirées will live long and propsper. On the other hand, I would like my confession to serve as a wake-up call to the fact that maybe, just maybe, we are just too loud. Everywhere, not just at concerts. And speaking loudly is a feature that is usually part of a package that includes, among other unpleasant things, the inability to hear.

My impression is that despite (or perhaps precisely because of ) the frenetic production of words and sounds, our capacity for assimilation has greatly diminished. I do not have the solution for what might be a twentty-first century sindrom, but I am sure that it does not lie in our ability to make eye-catching videos of up to three seconds.

We worship speed since the beginning of the nineteenth century and it is simply not working: we do not work less because of computers os smart phones, neither faster cars have solved traffic problems. Speed is definitely not the answer to our growing lack of attention. Are we really going to keep insisting?

We can do better than that.

Be seeing you,

G.F.

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Heaven has been particularly jazzy lately. In addition to the arrival of João Donato and Tony Bennett last week, this week they needed singers there and Leny Andrade e Dóris Monteiro, two muses who had already beautifully fulfilled their missions on this plan, went to shine from high above, like the true real stars they are.

I had the pleasure of seeing them both on stage and such experiences are worth a lesson in singing and devotion to art. Both were demanding performers and profound music connoisseurs. Leny was a classic painist and Doris had also a successful career in movies.

In addition to that, they had in common the precision of singing, accurate sense for the new (they were, for example, pioneers in what we know today as concept albums) and the impeccable good taste in choosing songs to their repertoires. They understood plenty how powerful voices can be.

Leny was known as the “singer of the musicians” and, in that sense, she is very similar to another diva, Ella Fitzgerald, with whom she also shared talent for scats. Doris, in turn, played an imporant part i: the golden age of the “chanchadas”, back in the 1950s. Chanchadas were Brazilian musicals, whose light narrative thread was sewn by performances of the most famous radio stars of the period.

Doris and Leny helped immensily in the construction of MPB (Brazilian popular music), a genre formed by the different nuances of what internationally became known as Brazilian Jazz, including but not limited to Bossa Nova and there is certainly much more to say about these wonderful women, but I would rather leave you with a couple of suggestions, in case you are not already familiar with their very special voices. Here ist goes:

Leny Andrade: I recommend the album that introduced me to the diva: Nós (Us, 1993). The piano (played by Cesar Camargo Mariano) and voice format gives Leny all the freedom to do what she likes best: improvise and enchant us with her vocal resources and her unmistakable timbre.

Doris Monteiro: Released in 1971, “Doris” is one of those albums that do not age as years go by. Its repertoire, ranging from Pixinguinha to Tom Jobim, and its modern visual conception, in the best “Doris style” remain thought-provoking and up-to-date.

Be seeing you!

G.F.