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The friendly couple who hosted me and my friends the first time I stayed at a bred and breakfast in London were as polite as only British couples can be. After showing us the facilities, the tall and elegant gentleman asked us what we would like to have for breakfast. He was quite surprised by our answer: “Darling, they are tea drinkers!”, he exclaimed to his equally elegant wife.

I have never forgotten the way he phrased it, not only because of the delicious “pompous ease” (totally British!) but also because it was the first time anyone had ever called me a “tea drinker”. Although I have inclination for tea, the coffee culture is so strong in Brazil that there is no such division between “tea drinkers” and “coffee drinkers” simply because the first, as a category, does not exist for the average Brazilian.

Yerba mate drinkers? Okay, we have a lot of them, mostly in the south of the country, but even they do not consider themselves “tea drinkers”. Brazilians and coffee are so strongly connected that the expression in Brazilian Portuguese for breakfast is “the coffee of the morning” (o café-da-manhã).

From production to consumption, coffe is a beverage strongly linked to the history of Brazil. Understanding who produces what type of coffee and for whom means understanding a lot about the Brazilian society.

Anyway, since the London event, I believe that a reasonably efficient way of cataloging humanity is to divide it into coffee drinkers and tea drinkers. Here is where I am in my reflections so far:

  1. tea people seem to be more attentive to details, while coffee people would go more for the big picture;
  2. coffee people speak louder, while tea people tend to speak longer;
  3. tea people are zen while coffee people are drama queens.

Okay, it is a pretty debatable short list, but it is what comes to mind when the playlist of the day ranks two classics: Tea for Two and Black Coffee. Compare the energy of these jazz standards, their lyrics and the images they evoke and you may no longer consider my list so crazy.

And do not forget to do your listening in the right company, escorted by a nice cup of tea. Or coffee. After all, what kind of person are you?

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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I already liked to buy in thrift stores before it was cool. And just like in the mentioned case of tea, we are dealing with territory that Brazilians in general are quite unfamiliar with. In fact, shopping at thrift stores was for a long time associated here with a situation of great poverty, and many people still think that only a situation of extreme need can justify wearing clothes previously used by strangers.

Perhaps because I was raised in a family in which it was a common practice for younger to wear clothes that no longer fit the older sinblings and cousins, inheriting clothes was never a problem for me. Incidentally, I believe that the practice, from an early age, of choosing the pieces that I liked among family donations is responsible for my “good eye”, that is, the ability to find good pieces, even in the messiest thrift stores.

The ability to establish some kind of order in a chaotic situation can be very useful when it comes to writing a song, because the idea is basically the same: being able to gather some sense in the midst of, according to the beautiful words of the genius Luis Melodia, everything there is “loose on the platform of the air”.

Some musicians take this ability to capture what is in the air and translate it into wonderful music to a spiritual level, like Coltrane and João Donato, who just left this planet to join the stars.

The Brazilian musician João Donato (1934-2023) had one of these blessed gifts. A seemingly effortless capacity not only to insert his signature (a “piano by Donato” can be recognized from afar) in his vast oeuvre, but also to keep transiting through different styles without ceasing to be, well, totally Donato.

Unlike many people think, and despite being strongly associated to the movement, Donato did not classify himself as a bossa nova musician, nor samba, nor jazz, nor rumba, nor forró: “Actually, I am all of these things at the same time”, he used to say.

As a fan of of the his phases have, but I would like to draw attention here to his 2016 album Donato Elétrico. It is a proof that great artists can surprise at any stage of their career (did anyone mention the jazz phase of Matisse?). The album has an enviable freshness and vigor. It refers to modern arrangements ans references, but also pays tribute to the roots, in a way that always reminds me of Fela Kuti. The irresistible energy of the album makes me want to dance, even if only in my mind.

João Donato is now jaming in heaven and we will miss him a lot (his live concerts during the pandemic years saved my day, more than once). Luckily, he will live forever.

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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I really like the movies directed by Wes Anderson. I like the colors, the costumes, the direction and, above all, the ingenious scripts. I recently watched Rushmore, a turn-of-the-century Anderson.

The last of the titles I saw on my back-to-the-Wes-Anderson universe journey was The French Dispatch. To be honest, I was not really excited to see the movie at first. The fragmented structure of the stories did not seem very interesting to me in the trailer, but I am taking very seriously my attempts to return to the world of movie-wtachers and book worms. And being a person that eventually sleeps well, but I do not want to get ahead of myself.

Here is the story: I have always been a person surrounded by books and the passion for cinema is equally old, but for some reason or several reasons (I still need to elaborate further) in recent years I have strggled to keep a reading routine and completed distanced myself from films. New releases? No interest. Oscar favourites? Those did not even get my attention.

My disdainful attitude was such that even if, from time to time, I felt like revisiting a classic, something always got in my way and I ended up forgetting to return to the world of movies. However, given my current erratic sleep rhythm, I decided to apply a formula that often works: when the routine is not working, change the routine.

I started with Fassbinder, then Cassavettes, the Tarantino and to Wes Anderson it was just a matter of time. And from there to Feng Shui just a matter of words.

Despite my delight with The French Dispatch, I was still not quite sure about the meaning of the word “dispatch”. After a quick search, among the definitions I found, two fit the title perfectly:

  1. the sending of someone or something to a destination or for a purpose
  2. a report sent in by a newspaper’s correspondent from a far away place

That is, ‘dispatch’, used as a noun, has to do with movement. And movement is about change, and I really could use a change! A big philosophical change? I wish! I was going for a much more basic kind of change, one that is essential to sustaining life: the change between sleep and wakefulness states.

It has been a while since I try to improve the quality of my sleep (yes, I know, there are many of us out there, babe). After trying teas, breathing exercises and healing oils, I remembered a resource not used in a long while: Feng Shui! Or, at least, an application of the age-old technique in home decor. It consists of rearranging the furniture and objects in the rooms, in order to make the energy flow more efficiently.

I have spent the whole day moving furniture around, cleaning, throwing useless things in the trash. The whole process raised an admirable amount of dust, causing a sinusitis crises, but otherwise an immense amount of joy, as Ms. Kondo would say or “functionality”, as I would say.

An example? Long ago I had positioned an armchair and a small table near the window to be my reading corner. However, every time I sat there with a book, there was a problem (too windy, too sunny, too much outside noise) and teh reading would not continue. I tried many times and failed miserably.

The solution: my wardrobe, which was previously kind of hidden in the gap behind the door is now in the problematic area near the window. And the gap behind the door became my new, upgraded reading corner. It has now not only the armchair and the table, but also a lamp!

And did all this moving and dusting work? It sure did. By the time I sat down to try out the new ambience, I did not feel like leaving at all. Even better, now I have the reading corner close to the bed, which has also a new position.

Dreamy nights, here I come.

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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Carmen McRae said once that Stevie Wonder is a genius, and I should add that his discography is the greatest proof that Carmen was not just giving her opinion, but actually describing a fact, a musical indisputable truth.

A great example of his Wonder-touch is Stevie Wonder´s Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, usually cataloged as representing the B-side of his vast oeuvre, due to its extremely experimental nature. You may remember that I previously mentioned this album here, suggesting that it is the perfect soundtrack to enhace the healing energy of taking care of plants, but it is certainly much more than that.

The album would be classified today as conceptual. All tracks revolve round the subject brought to light by the controversial 1973 book The Secret Life of Plants, by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, which served as the basis for the homonymous 1979 documentary, directed by Walon Green.

The soundtrack, by Stevie Wonder, was released separately under a slightly modified title. In fact, the change was subtle, but it reinforces the independent character of the work in relation to the book and the documentary. Now, the journey is what matters. And what a ride!

The careful listener will be rewarded with an album with a unique atmosphere. With his genius touch, Stevie creates a dreamlike aura that makes any controversy seem unimportant, just as he would do again in the 1991 movie Jungle Fever, but this is another story.

Anyway, my journey to the journey of Stevie has to do with the fact that no matter where I live, there will be plants around me. No matter how big or small, how well or poorly lit the rooms are, I always manage to keep green spots on the house (and yes, I am very proud of it).

It was a matter of time until the book by Tompkins and Birdbook fell into my hands, but by then I still did not know about the soundtrack. As a matter of fact, I only became aware of it because of… another re-interpretation!

The song was Flower Power and it was part of the 1991 album Slow Food, from the Brazilian jazz group Nouvelle Cuisine. They also deserve a full text on their contribution to the transition from the colourful music scene of the late 1980s to the minimalist 1990s, but for now I can tell you that I was immediately hooked by the arrangement.

Ironically, it was the strong bossa nova influence that brought me to the Mr. Wonder. As you can see, flower power always finds a way.

Be seeing you!

G.F.