My take on the Choro Ensemble's Carnegie debut

I had wanted to write about the Choro Ensemble's Carnegie Hall gig back when it happened last weekend, and I had started a draft of my thoughts that very night of October 22nd, but I just now had the opportunity to edit it and post it:

What a pleasure it was to see the Choro Ensemble in their Carnegie Hall debut, playing with the New York Pops. Pedro Ramos (cavaquinho), Anat Cohen (clarinet), Gustavo Dantas (7-string guitar), Carlos Almeida (7-string guitar), and Ze Mauricio (pandeiro) were all wonderful; each got their moments to shine, as particular parts of particular songs highlighted their playing. The ensemble played three songs unaccompanied and then two more with the Pops backing them. The three the group did on their own were Jacob do Bandolim's "Noites Cariocas," Pixinguinha's "Cochichando", and another Bandolim classic, "A Ginga do Mane." Then Skitch Henderson's orchestra played along on two more Pixinguinha favorites, "Injenuo" and "Um x Zero."

I hadn't known quite what to expect of how the Choro Ensemble would sound with violins, cellos, etc., backing them up. Fortunately, it worked--in a subtle yet profound way. The string arrangements were not intrusive at all, but you could feel almost as if they were gently holding up the Choro Ensemble--giving them a platform on which to jump, skip, and dance. And the way that Anat, Pedro, et al., play really does sound like their music can dance. There's a lightning speed required by the faster choro songs. Yet, instead of sounding like they're trying to keep up the pace, these guys manage to carry so much emotion and weight in every swing of every note, that their songs are never weighed down, never miss a beat.

Surely the experience of Carnegie Hall differed immensely from the warm candlelight coziness of Bistro Jules (the ensemble's unusual Sunday night spot) and I would have to say that my heart is more fond of the intimate bistro setting. But that did not stop me from being extremely proud of my friends having the honor of sitting up on the Carnegie stage--one of the most important music venues in the world--and bringing Brazilian choro to a completely new audience.

And when conductor Skitch Henderson spoke to us in the audience and conveyed his enthusiasm for the "unique, unique, unique" Brazilian music that is choro, I was proud of that, too. Because as an American fan of Brazilian music, I know that far too few of my fellow Americans know anything much of Brazilian music besides "The Girl From Ipanema." So when I see an opportunity like this to bring these sounds to a whole new audience, it makes me very happy indeed.