Our favorite jazz standards

Guybrush · 05-27-2021, 05:27 AM

^That's the biggest saxophone I've seen. Sounds like a boat horn.

I'll do one for Aquarela do brasil, also known simply as Brazil. It's a song thats been dear to me for a long time, longer than I've been here. The reason is I've been a huge Monty Python fan since childhood and am, of course, also a fan of MP's animator and since then director Terry Gilliam.

In the 80s, Terry Gilliam did his own spin on Orwell's 1984 and made a dystopian sci-fi movie about a stifling future society in which bureaucracy has gone a little mad. The movie's protagonist is Sam Lowry, an unfortunate man oppressed by his work, his mother, even his friends. The only place he is free is in his dreams in which he can fly, fight monsters and try to save the woman he loves. Along with imagery, Gilliam also used the jazz standard Brazil to symbolize Sam's hopes and dreams and freedom that he yearns for, but never seem able to achieve.

The movie has a score by Michael Kamen and while Brazil makes various appearances, the most notable version of it features none other than Kate Bush (!) on vocals. So this is my first meeting with Brazil:

Of course, I later learned that the song was penned by brazilian composer Ary Barroso in 1939. According to legend, it was a wet day and Ary Barroso was watching the rain on his window pane and how the raindrops turned the world into a watercolor painting, hence the title Aquarela do Brasil, Aquarela being watercolor.

The song was popularized in the US through the Disney movie Saludos Amigos from 1942. This was during the second world war and some countries in latin America had close ties with the nazi regime. To counteract this, the US government commissioned a friendship tour from Disney as their characters were popular in latin America. Saludos Amigos is some of the lasting results of this and, as such, was made to strengthen ties between South America and the US.

The movie has a clip which features animation set to Barroso's Aquarela do Brasil, here sung by Aloysio Oliveira. It's a nice version with Tico Tico following it.

Various other versions exist by artists such as Carlos Antonio Jobim and Joao Gilberto. A rather popular, more lavish and kinda cheesy big band version by Ray Conniff can be seen below.

05-27-2021, 05:27 AM	#15 (permalink)
Guybrush Juicious Maximus III Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scabb Island Posts: 6,525	^That's the biggest saxophone I've seen. Sounds like a boat horn. I'll do one for Aquarela do brasil, also known simply as Brazil. It's a song thats been dear to me for a long time, longer than I've been here. The reason is I've been a huge Monty Python fan since childhood and am, of course, also a fan of MP's animator and since then director Terry Gilliam. In the 80s, Terry Gilliam did his own spin on Orwell's 1984 and made a dystopian sci-fi movie about a stifling future society in which bureaucracy has gone a little mad. The movie's protagonist is Sam Lowry, an unfortunate man oppressed by his work, his mother, even his friends. The only place he is free is in his dreams in which he can fly, fight monsters and try to save the woman he loves. Along with imagery, Gilliam also used the jazz standard Brazil to symbolize Sam's hopes and dreams and freedom that he yearns for, but never seem able to achieve. The movie has a score by Michael Kamen and while Brazil makes various appearances, the most notable version of it features none other than Kate Bush (!) on vocals. So this is my first meeting with Brazil: Of course, I later learned that the song was penned by brazilian composer Ary Barroso in 1939. According to legend, it was a wet day and Ary Barroso was watching the rain on his window pane and how the raindrops turned the world into a watercolor painting, hence the title Aquarela do Brasil, Aquarela being watercolor. The song was popularized in the US through the Disney movie Saludos Amigos from 1942. This was during the second world war and some countries in latin America had close ties with the nazi regime. To counteract this, the US government commissioned a friendship tour from Disney as their characters were popular in latin America. Saludos Amigos is some of the lasting results of this and, as such, was made to strengthen ties between South America and the US. The movie has a clip which features animation set to Barroso's Aquarela do Brasil, here sung by Aloysio Oliveira. It's a nice version with Tico Tico following it. Various other versions exist by artists such as Carlos Antonio Jobim and Joao Gilberto. A rather popular, more lavish and kinda cheesy big band version by Ray Conniff can be seen below. __________________ Something Completely Different Last edited by Guybrush; 02-23-2022 at 05:52 AM.