Nos
Sambacana
Independent SACANA 001
I’ve discovered that there are two types of Brazilian musicians in our midst - those that are born in Brazil and adopt Canada as their home and those that are from here and become utterly smitten with this incredibly rich musical culture. And when the two groups of people come together the results can be marvellous, as traditional Brazilian styles are flavoured with North American sounds. Sambacana is just one of a number of examples of these hybrids in Toronto and the driving force behind the band is Alan “Canadense” Hetherington.
Hetherington is an in-demand percussionist, drummer, educator and leader of a number of groups including Escola de Samba de Toronto, a large percussion ensemble modelled after the massive bands that are prolific throughout Brazil and hit the streets at Carnaval time. The other core members of Sambacana - John Yelland, bass, Wagner Petrilli, guitars, Luis Guerra, piano and keys, Aline Morales, vocals - and a dozen guests bring a range of styles and skills to “Nos”. So we get what amounts to a sampler of Brazilian musical styles, mainly from the north east regions. Amor Transcendental is a gorgeous, meditative bossa nova written by Cibelle Iglesias; Dança de Vida, an instrumental featuring Bob Deangelis on clarinet, has touches of choro and jazz; Neve is a fun pagode lament about snow, and Molho de H.P. (HP Sauce) is a complex tribute to the genius Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal. This beautiful disc and information about several Brazilian groups can be found on the website noted above.
