Fate and Perseverance
The unlikely tale of how master percussionist Sammy Figueroa joined Brazilian vocalist Glaucia Nasser on the recently released Talisman (Savant Records) is rooted in Chico Pinheiro’s mesmerizing guitar and Nasser’s steadfast vision of an album that would meld the taut rhythms of Latin jazz with Brazilian song’s honeyed melodies.
Figueroa had been airing Pinheiro on his radio show at WDNA in Miami for a year when he was invited to attend a Jazz Gallery concert headlined by the Brazilian ax-man. “This guy plays guitar like one of the best guitarists I’ve heard in the last 30 years,” Figueroa says. “I became a big fan”.
As luck would have it, another encounter awaited Figueroa that night: opening act Glaucia Nasser. “I had never heard of Glaucia,” Figueroa recalls, “and she was magical.” Afterwards, Figueroa finally met Pinheiro and was introduced to Nasser, who invited him to Brazil to explore the possibility of collaborating on a project. Figueroa was surprised. “I take anything with a grain of salt,” he says.
Fast-forward a year later and Figueroa and his five-piece band are performing in São Paulo as Nasser’s guests in a show called “Latin Jazz Meets Brazil at Bourbon Street.” Figueroa played a guest spot in Nasser’s band, while Pinheiro played in his. “It was a beautiful thing,” Figueroa recalls, “but I went back home and didn’t really think that anything would come of it. My idea at the beginning was to do an album with Chico, but it didn’t happen because there were a lot of things in the way.”
It wasn’t until Figueroa’s longtime partner/producer Rachel Faro suggested that he consider Nasser’s proposition that the percussionist finally surrendered. The resulting album was recorded over three days in Sao Pãulo’s iconic NaCena Studios. The 10 songs draw from a motley crew of Brazilian lyricists and composers, including Nasser herself, and features Pinheiro on three tracks. Figueroa, who plays congas, bata drums and assorted African instruments, reworked many of the arrangements. “Ilu-Ayê,”an old afoxê song, almost didn’t make the cut until Figueroa infused it with Puerto Rican bomba, salsa and jazz. “It came out better than I ever imagined,” he says. Other tracks, like opener “Quando Eu Canto,” showcase Nasser’s pliable vocals soaring from a rhythmic maelstrom of percussion, pandeiro and Michi Ruzitschka’s lithe guitar. “The idea,” Figueroa notes, “was that the background music was so exciting that she could sing effortlessly.”
Now the album has wings and Figueroa realizes what Nasser knew all along — fate and perseverance go a long way. “We can’t ignore the powers that be,” he concedes. “I feel that it was a calling to do this.” —Lissette Corsa