“Music Is Essential” ZOOM Webinar Speaking about “Bossa and Beyond,” the Rhythmic and Harmonic Development of Brazilian Music and Beyond.
Report by Dawoud Kringle
On Thursday, September 21st, 2023, MFM Presented Music Is Essential ZOOM Webinar #14: Richard Miller and Stephen Johnson Speaking on “Bossa and Beyond, the Rhythmic and Harmonic Development of Brazilian Music and Beyond, The guest speakers were MFM members Richard Miller and Stephen Johnson.
Richard Miller was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to an American father and Brazilian mother. He is now based out of San Diego CA. Hisrecent credits include: a grammy nomination (Best Latin Jazz Album) for the recording “Virtual Birdland” with Arturo O’Farril, Paquito D’ Rivera, and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra; a special performance for Pope Francis; a White House performance for President Obama; a residency at Club Bonafide in New York City, a cross-country solo tour entitled “A Rhythmic History of Brazilian Music,” and music director for the premiere of Olivério, A Brazilian Twist at the Kennedy Center and for its production in Los Angeles in 2019.
He holds a Master’s in guitar and a Ph. D. in music theory, Miller has 25 plus years of teaching experience (including most recently teaching for eight years at Columbia University), directed the education programs for the Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance (ALJA) in NYC , and is writing their Afro Latin Jazz Curriculum for Higher Education. Miller’s publications include the book The Guitar in Brazilian Choro, and the CD “It’s Time. He is currently working on the Afro Latin Jazz Curriculum for Higher Education, commissioned by the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance. Miller also created Balanced Guitar, a guitar, yoga, and surfing retreat that takes place in Costa Rica (www.balancedguitar.com).
MFM Board of Directors member and head of MFM’s Hudson Valley chapter Stephen Johnson is a guitarist, percussionist, and vocalist. A native of Staffordshire England and 18 years in New York, recently lived in County Cork, Ireland for 2 years and now resides in Kingston NY. Johnson co-founded: Edge, Vienna, Victorian Parents, Son of John, Island of Men, ‘luckymission’ (Green) and Future350.
After MFM’s board of directors member Adam Reifsteck opened the talk, Stephen Johnson began with an introduction of the content of the talk and introduced Richard Miller. Miller gave a brief discourse on how he became interested in Brazilian music. He spoke about the significant role his classical training had and how this transformed into Brazilian music.
From there he discussed the history of the music and its roots in African music and dance. He spoke of the evolution of the music over its history. One surprise was how they integrated polka into the music. He spoke of other related historical events, such as the Mashishi dance, in which the Catholic Church threatened excommunication to anyone performing the dance.
Then Miller picked up his guitar and demonstrated the rhythm and notes. It was quite enjoyable! He continued with more demonstrations, such as the basic samba and bossa nova patterns, how the music evolved, and the theory behind it. He also devoted a great deal of time to Joao Gilberto, one of the most important figures in the history of Brazilian music.
Inevitably the other participants started to contribute to the discussion. This continued into some questions and answers and in depth discussions on the music and how it works. This became too detailed to include in this brief report. But a few examples included Johnson posing a question to Miller and Vanessa Falabella (whose music we had the opportunity to hear): what is the future of Brazilian music? Falabella spoke about the new variations of the music that are coming out. Miller spoke about how bossa nova has a strong presence on the east coast. There was also some discussion about what may be interpreted as a new renaissance of Brazilian music.
The talk met the high standards set by previous MFM talks. It was informative, enjoyable and provided a valuable service to MFM members and the music community overall.