Blogging
From Abroad

I had an incredible stroke of luck a couple months ago when I met a young composer, Diana Popoff, at a concert. She is the daughter of a well-known bassist, composer, and arranger, Yuri Popoff, and the niece of one Brazil’s greatest guitarists and composers, Toninho Horta. She has been very gracious in introducing me to other musicians as well as a whole style and sound that was pioneered by her uncle. The music comes from Minas Gerais, a state in the interior of Brazil. Many say that becuase Mineiros don’t have beaches like Rio de Janeiro, they instead turn to more introspective efforts. As such, the harmony in this region is deliciously rich and complex. A side note for jazz fans: the Pat Matheny “sound” is actually heavily influenced by this muisc; he traveled to Brazil and studied with Toninho Horta.

I had the pleasure to play a show with Diana with only her compositions. I think you’ll agree that her writing is very unique and sophisticated; it certainly wasn’t easy to play. Diana is playing piano and singing, her father is playing guitar, Rodrigo Ferreira is on bass (the same guy from the previous videos), and Kleberson Caetano on drums.

Click “Continue Reading” at the bottom to see the videos.

Enjoy.

Balanço (Balance)

Algum Lugar (Somewhere)

Pobre Coração (Poor Heart)

Intenção para Filme (Intention for Film)

James Taylor

Muito Frio (Very Cold)

Baião Brasileiro

Veu do Oceano (Ocean View)

Madeira (This song was written for me; madeira is wood)

Paz,
Colin