At a choro concert I attended on New York's Lower East Side, I was clued in to an upcoming show with guitarist Douglas Lora backing up singer Verônica Ferriani. Lora gave me glowing reports about this young woman who is part of a new generation of great singers in the tradition of Música Popular Brasileira, or MPB. Based on the quality of Mr. Lora's last choro performance, I went to check it out.Ms. Ferriani is a petite woman, but listening to her sing is a very large experience. Her voice is warm, precise and powerful, and she has an impeccable interpretive style. She is on the rise in Brazil -- so remember, you saw her here first!

The evening's repertoire drew from mostly well known sources, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, Luis Gonzaga, Tom Jobim, and Milton Nascimento, to name a few. And Ms. Ferriani even ventured into American jazz standard territory. But sticking to the Brazilian side of the program, I've chosen two songs: "Canção do Sal," a soulful work song by Milton Nascimento that I was not familiar with, and the grand chestnut "Manha de Carnaval" also known as the Theme from Black Orpheus. Ms. Ferriani takes on this song that has been sung by just about everyone (No less an icon than Dinah Shore evidently did a cover in Portuguese!) and gives it an authentic and personal reading.

I was also fortunate to get an audio track off the board from the Living Room, as they were taping the show for "The Loft" series on Sirius Satellite radio, so the sound is nice and clean. And if you want to hear the whole show, mark your calendars, 'cause it's airing Sunday June 5th at 7pm EST, on Sirius XM channel 30, "From the Living Room to the Loft" with encore presentations on following Tuesdays at 12noon, for two weeks.

Contact for Verônica Ferriani: eric@mtalifetime.com
To see an exclusive performance by Doug and Veronica, go to: goo.gl/​xN6id

Viewer Jeanne Andrews says, "Each episode is a gift. Everyone I have recommended the series to has enjoyed it and said that they got a lot out of it. I am recommending the episode on "Earth Wisdom" to a mythology group I organize as we are visiting the State Indian Museum and exploring the wisdom and contributions of indigenous peoples in April. I am grateful that past episodes are available on-line at your web site :) Thank you."

In this clip from Earth Wisdom for a World in Crisis, a woman from Kenya says "there will be a pay back time." What wisdom can we learn from those who are deeply connected to the land?  What should we do now? What are the current environmental "shifts" trying to tell us?

Residents of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas (slums) are suffocated daily under the triple weight of poverty, drug cartel violence, and police oppression. In a culture and society as vibrant as Brazil’s, this pressure pushes against the surface with little outlet, especially for the youth. Schools are underfunded, home life is rocky for most, and getting food on the table is never a sure thing. More often than not, kids drift towards the most readily accessible example of people who have escaped poverty: the drug runners and gangbangers. Positive role models are few and far between in a sea of rickety shacks and makeshift abodes. In 1993 in the midst of the Vigário Geral favela, however, a seed was planted in the minds of a few brave individuals-- a seed that would grow into an idea and a way of life that gave hope and provided direction to a generation of favela youth.

Anderson Sá was a typical young kid in 1993, in the process of being sucked into drug trafficking like so many others. That year a tragedy took place so devastating that it would be forever burned into the memories of favela residents. The Rio police, enraged by the killings of four officers, stormed Vigário Geral with guns blazing, looking to kill anyone in sight. When the shooting finally stopped and the dust cleared, 21 innocent people were dead. Anderson Sá’s brother was among them. This had an immediate and life-changing impact on Anderson. His mother worried that the killing would push him further into the world of drugs, but it had the opposite effect. Right then and there, he set out to find a way to stop the endless cycle of violence that his community was trapped in.

Anderson’s thinking soon led to the realization that the only way to end the culture of violence was to substitute it with a more positive cultural model. The first manifestation of this was the Grupo Cultural AfroReggae, a cultural group focused on music and black culture that Anderson started along with his friend José Junior and others. It published the AfroReggae Noticias, a newspaper for youth that focused on hip-hop, reggae and soul music. There was such a need for a positive cultural message that their first community center, the Núcleo Comunitario de Cultura, was opened. It filled a void in people’s lives, and all of a sudden kids in the favela had a place to go to learn music, capoeira, theater and dance. They opened the Vigário Legal AfroReggae Cultural Center in 1997, a larger facility in the community. The musical aspect was especially appealing, and from there Banda AfroReggae was formed. It soon became a huge hit in the favela, thanks to some donated percussion and sound equipment. The band and the movement steadily gained national popularity, thanks in part to the charismatic face of the organization, Anderson Sá.

Several years later, budding filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist was at home in Brooklyn when he received a call from his friend Matt Mochary, who was on the phone from a favela in Rio. Jeff and Matt had been looking to make a movie focused on an example of a successful and innovative community in Latin America, and Matt had found the perfect story. He wanted to examine the community built around AfroReggae and how other communities and favelas throughout Rio were confronting violence. Jeff was sold on the idea, to the point that he quit his job and met Matt in one of Rio’s most violent favelas, Vigário Geral. The scope of the movie steadily shrank as the process progressed and it became more and more apparent that Anderson Sá was a natural vehicle through which to tell the story of poverty, violence, and AfroReggae.

Jeff and Matt spent three years filming in the favela, making many trips back and forth between Rio de Janeiro and New York and becoming close friends with the leaders of AfroReggae. The film Favela Rising emerged naturally from their experiences. It was one of the first documentaries to shine a light on the violence that grips the everyday lives of poor people in Brazil. It shows how courage in the face of fear and intimidation can change the futures and destinies of kids whose outlooks were once hopeless. It illustrates the power that music has to transform society.

Join us this Sunday at 11pm EST/8pm PST for the DOC-DEBUT premiere of the groundbreaking documentary Favela Rising.

With all the challenges confronting the world as a new year begins, it is more important than ever to be engaged with and connected to every part of the globe. That’s why it is our New Year’s resolution at Link TV to bring you even more fresh voices, independent views, and inspirational stories from different countries and cultures.

We’re kicking off the New Year with the Link TV's groundbreaking documentary series Doc-Debut, showcasing a new international film every Sunday evening. Our first premiere is Niko von Glasow’s powerful film NoBody’s Perfect, a look at the physical and psychological barriers facing twelve people born disabled due to Thalidomide poisoning. The filmmaker, also affected by Thalidomide, brings these strangers together to confront their disabilities through a nude photo shoot.

Tune in next week for The Unwinking Gaze, a unique behind-the-scenes look at the daily life of the Dalai Lama. Filmmaker Josh Dugdale had unprecedented access to His Holiness for a three-year period, showing what this extraordinary figure is like in his private life and the grueling work that goes into taking on a world power on behalf of an entire people.

Next, travel halfway around the world to the slums of Rio de Janeiro in Favela Rising. Former drug trafficker Anderson Sá has sparked a social revolution through music, helping kids in one of the most dangerous places on the planet have a positive outlet and alternative to gang life. Filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist (The Two Escobars) provides a visually stunning and musically dynamic documentation of Anderson's life and impact in the favela.

While Anderson Sá was transforming his community through music in Brazil, José Antonio Abreu was doing the very same thing with his youth orchestra in Caracas, Venezuela. Starting January 12th, Link TV will be broadcasting his inspirational speech as part of our ongoing TED Talks series. We are proud to be a part of the TED Open TV Project, helping spread these important ideas from these innovative talks and charismatic speakers.

The powerful Dollar a Day series also continues in January with the premiere of The New Silver. This six-part international series documents what life is like for the billions of people living in poverty around the world. The New Silver chronicles the transitioning economy of Bolivia and how access to capital changes lives and nations.

On a lighter note, 2011 continues on with the new season of Arab Labor. The hit Israeli sitcom, dubbed “The Seinfeld of the Middle East,” pokes fun at the cultural similarities and differences between Palestinians and Jews and looks at life in the holy land from a different angle.

Algeria: Quitting Terrorism, from the United Nations’ 21st Century series, is another documentary bringing a fresh perspective on an age-old issue. Much has gone into figuring out why people turn to terrorism, but this film takes a unique look at why an Algerian man has given up violence.

That, in a nutshell, is what Link TV is all about: challenging established assumptions about how the world works by exploring different viewpoints and perspectives. We hope you join us throughout 2011 for many more groundbreaking shows, insightful stories and brand-new programs to come.

I had the good fortune to have the ever sunny Brazilian singer/songwriter Jair Oliveira in the studio last September. Oliveira is the son of Jair Rodriguez, one of Brazil’s most beloved musical stars, and famous for his hit “Deixa Isso Pra La” which is arguably the first Brazilian hip hop song. For those you who follow the blog, you may remember at that time Oliveira sang a charming song he wrote for his baby daughter, called "Showertime."
He also sang a song about soccer, and suggested that I hold it in reserve for the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.  Which I did. It’s a damned good song too.
Let the games begin!

President Richard Nixon solicited the help of Brazil's notorious leader Emilio Medici in early talks of overthrowing Chile's President Salvador Allende, according to a secret memo from 1971 released to the public for the first time on Sunday. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote up the meeting, and was asked to act as a back channel between Medici and Nixon.

Two years later Allende was killed in a US-backed coup which put Gen. Augusto Pinochet into power. Pinochet's name would later become synonymous with brutal human rights abuses and "disappearances" in the thousands.

The actions of Brazil's leadership, who were no strangers to torture and assassination, are detailed by the victims themselves in the astonishing contemporaneous documentary Brazil: A Report on Torture [watch here]. The young students and professionals who appear in the film were living in Chile as political refugees when Pinochet came into power, throwing them again into a world of detention and pain. In this interview, filmmakers Haskell Wexler (Medium Cool, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) and Saul Landau (Fidel) talk about their time in Chile interviewing the Brazilian victims, as well as US involvement in South American politics. Wexler and Landau were in Chile working on a documentary about Allende when they met the victims.

Link TV also broadcasts the documentary The Trials of Henry Kissinger. Check here for airdates and a clip from the film.

Keeping a band together in NYC is TOUGH.  I know because I've done it -- or tried to do it -- myself. So I have to hand it to Scott Kettner for sheer tenacity, regarding his pet project "Nation Beat." You may remember Scott as one of my very first interviews for this blog, about his Forro Brass Band. He made me promise back then to blog something about Nation Beat, so I started collecting and shooting footage, and letting the story develop.

Scott does raise an interesting issue, regarding "world music." In the fledgling days of the term, it was assumed that Cajun, Zydeco, Tex-Mex, Bluegrass, etc. were all part of world music. (Just check out the landmark "Rough Guide to World Music" published in 1994.) Since then, the term has expanded to include all kinds of hybrids. So in my opinion it's a kind of daft political correctness to exclude the Country Music influences in the Nation Beat repertoire...after all they aren't getting up there and doing an all-Country set; it's American Country filtered through Brazilian Country.  And anyway, our Country Music derives from our Scots-Irish heritage, does it not?  Or does that not qualify as world music to some folks any more? 

New York City is a magnet for artists from all over the country and the world. That's why I thought it would be cool to make this blog as much (or more) about the musicians, clubs and entrepreneurs in town, as about new CD releases,  or music biz news. There's so much that goes on between the working musicians of New York-- connections made, ideas exchanged, and of course, bands formed. This week I interviewed Scott Kettner, who wears the hat of musician, bandleader and entrepreneur, and who is a passionate advocate for North Eastern Brazilian music.

Scott's first baby is Nation Beat, a band I'll profile later, but the other evening, his Forro Brass Band was in fine form, getting everyone up and dancing, and dancing very sexily, too as you can see from the video.  Although I'm a fool for the good old forro of Luiz Gonzaga and Dominguinhos, I liked the horn arrangements.  Well, MAYBE I'd still like to hear an accordion in the mix, but as Scott mentioned wryly in his interview, he'd have more musicians up there if he could only get a bailout.....

This week we are showing director Mika Kaurismaki's love letter to Brazilian choro, Brasileirinho. Choro is an endearing form of acoustic urban folk music with a soft, sweet sound. Its roots go back to 19th century Rio, when musicians started to blend indigenous, Afro-Brazilian and European music into a new genre. In this film you are going to meet some amazing players: guitarists, mandolinists, singers, and more. You'll get a terrific insight into this music, where it has been, and where it is going.

By the way, if you are wondering why there is a scene with a manicurist that opens the film, consider this: many guitarists rely on their fingernails to get just the right sound on their instruments. If a nail breaks, it's almost as bad as breaking a string. Thankfully, nail salons these days are adept at creating strong nail extensions, and finding a good place can generate quite a buzz amongst a surprising number of guitar virtuosos. So no, those men were not getting a manicure!

You aren’t going to find "Brasileirinho" on any mainstream channels -- it's only here on Link TV. So I hope that during this month's mini-pledge you'll show your support for the "World of Creativity" that Music and Culture brings you every day. Just lift your gaze to the "Pledge Now" button at the top of the page, click on it, and show your support. Thanks!

WOMEX is now just a fond memory - one of the fondest of which was the Swedish band Väsen who turned in a remarkable performance that was a dazzling display of musicianship. In particular, it was a pleasure to see and hear guest mandolinist Mike Marshall and his interaction with Väsen’s guitarist Roger Talroth. I am now in Torres Vedras, a lovely, small city in Portugal that has hosted an international accordion festival for the past five years. I’m here to observe a residency: accordionists Martin Lubenov (Bulgaria), Renato Borghetti (Brazil), and the Portuguese quartet Dançes Ocultas have been preparing to perform together – not separately, but colaboratively. For the past few days, they have been finding common musical ground and the sounds are very exciting. Each musician brings a different orientation to the project: Borghetti’s music is especially rhythmic, Lubenov’s playing is somewhat linear (though both accordionists can play at breakneck speed), and Ocultas creates highly textured, ambient music, so the potential for a well rounded program is very much there. The purpose of the festival is to see how people from different cultures can be united by a single element - in this case, the accordion. I’ve been promised videotape of the festival, so you will soon see and hear what I’m writing to you about.