Azymuth – Demos (1973-75) Volume 2

Description

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Far Out Recordings proudly presents twoalbums of previously unheard Azymuth demo recordings from 1973-75Since their debut album release in 1975, Azymuth have risen to rankalongside the worlds greatest jazz, funk and fusion artists. As young menin Rio de Janeiro, they stood out for both their exceptional talent asmusicians, and their wild rock n roll antics in the predominantlymiddle-class worlds of bossa nova and jazz.

Their signature Samba Doido (crazy samba) sound ruptured the tried and tested musical structures of the day, resulting in what can only be described as an electric, psychedelic, samba jazz-funk hybrid. Before they became Azymuth, Jose Roberto Bertrami (keyboards), Ivan Mamao Conti (drums), Alex Malheiros (bass) and Ariovaldo Contesini (percussion) played backing band to just about every major artist in Brazil.

Azymuths name can be found on record sleeves by the likes of Jorge Ben, Elis Regina, Marcos Valle, Ana Mazzotti and countless others. But at the dawn of the seventies, fascinated by developments in improvisational music – from jazz in the US, to progressive rock in the UK and of course samba, bossa and tropic lia on home turf – the energetic young group were inspired and ready to move forward.

These previously unheard recordings took place between 1973-75 at Bertramis home studio in the Laranjeiras district of Rio de Janeiro. At the time of recording, there was nothing in Brazil, less the world that sounded anything like them, so perhaps its unsurprising that when Bertrami presented his demos to the record companies he had been working for, he was turned away, and told in effect that the music was wrong. When English producers Joe Davis and Roc Hunter arrived in Brazil in 1994 to record the first Azymuth album in over a decade, Bertrami dug out the demos which had sat virtually untouched for over twenty years. Joe recalls how he was blown away by the freedom and intensity of the music, as well as the genius of the ideas musically.

Tracklist:

A1. Duro De Roer
A2. Manh
A3. Tempos Do Paran
A4. Bateria Do Mamo
B1. Quem Tem Medo
B2. Xing (version 2)
B3. Juntos Mais Uma Vez
B4. Castelo (version 2)