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Michal Shapiro

Every week Michal Shapiro reports on concerts, festivals and interviews with musicians, both international and local. Check out World Music for the latest on the video blog!

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A Choro Trio in Manhattan

Douglas Lora and Dudu Maia (who I have covered previously) were in town, this time at the Caffe Vivaldi and with Douglas' brother Alexandre playing tambourine. The room was packed, so I only got this one good take out of it. But it's a sweet one!

 


Choro is a kind of urban folk music that grew out of a merging of European and Brazilian sensibilities, and it calls on the player to be agile, inventive and swinging. The emphasis on improvisation makes people compare it to jazz, but if one is going to do that, let's specify that it's a lot more Django than Miles. It's accessible music in every way.

 

Lora is a classically trained and plays a seven string guitar, and Maia also plays an altered instrument, a mandolin (called bandolim, in Brazil) with 10 strings, as opposed to the usual 8. Both are well respected musicians back home, and part of their tours generally consist of choro workshops. They are also part of a full-out band called Caraivana, so look out for that aggregate as well.

 

For more of Michal's original music videos, visit inter-muse.com

 
 

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Svetlana Spajic sings an ode to Nikola Tesla

 

From an entire night of a capella magnificence and magic at DROM, comes this praise song for inventor Nikola Tesla. (Surprise of evening was the presence of Debbie Harry in the audience.)


Here are Svetlana's notes on the song:

 

"The song in honor of Serbian Scientist Nikola Tesla, made by my old godfather Milan Bilbija from Cirkin Polje, Prijedor, Bosnian Krajina. He died in 2008. Melody made by Svetlana Spajic."

 

The brief shot of the overhead image of the gusle, the Serbian instrument upon which the epic singers (guslars) play, with image of Tesla, is the property of multi-instrumentalist Darco Macura, who I finally met face to face along with Svetlana, in Belgrade in 1997. I had used several of his musical performances in a compilation of music I was producing. He was also Svetlana’s first mentor.

 

Lyric translation by Svetlana Spajic:

 

My soul is in pain, but I sing this song, I sing the song from Nikola Tesla

Oh Nikola, brilliant and smart, you invented electric power, magnetic waves and transformers

Oh Nikola if you'd lived longer, you would have made electric power from the sun. Where are you now?

Where are your New York doves? Does the new America remember you?

Scientists don't care for monuments; yours, Nikola, stands at Niagara Falls

Oh Nikola, from the village of Smiljan, the gusle is adorned with your image

Oh Nikola, it doesn't matter that you are a Serb, the generations of the world will remember you

 

For more of Michal's original music videos, visit inter-muse.com

 
 

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