An Eloquent Tribute to Jobim



Michael with his hero
Antonio Carlos Jobim, 1978

I must confess: I adore Brazilian jazz. Its seductive lyrics, exotic percussion, and gorgeous chord changes combine to make Brazilian jazz one of the most romantic — and unappreciated — music genres. Artists like Antonio Carlos Jobim have been unfairly dismissed as creators of “lounge music,” a bachelor pad soundtrack frequently lampooned in films like Austin Powers. Instead, the genre should be acknowledged as being a sophisticated combination of world music and jazz.
In 1994, Brazilian jazz legend Jobim passed away. One year later, one of his most ardent fans and occasional collaborators, Michael Franks, expressed his sorrow and admiration by releasing Abandoned Garden, a moving and exquisite tribute to his longtime friend. Best known for quirky songs like “Popsicle Toes,” Franks has maintained a steady output of albums filled with jazz and pop influences, set to eccentric but intelligent lyrics. While Franks has recorded a steady stream of quality albums, Abandoned Garden remains his most heartfelt, personal, and lovely work. The CD’s first track, “This Must Be Paradise,” sets the tone for the rest of the album. The soft strumming of the guitar melds into Franks’s voice, which croons: “See that shadow cross the mountain/summer in the warbler’s eyes/beauty never is forgotten/though the moment passes by.” Immediately the listener is drawn into a sort of alternate universe filled with natural beauty, where time comes to a virtual standstill. “Bird of Paradise” vividly paints a picture of a private beach, clear water, and a beautiful woman by his side. It could be seen as a continuation of Jobim’s “Girl from Ipanema.” “Hourglass,” a delicate ballad, perfectly exemplifies Franks’ superior lyricism. Does it describe a love affair or musings on the nature of time? The beautiful acoustic guitar, melded with quiet piano, adds to the song’s romantic atmosphere.


From the Abandoned Garden photo shoot.

Franks picks up the tempo a bit with “A Fool’s Errand” and “Cinema,” the latter being one of my favorite tracks. “Cinema” depicts a woman finding her true love, but the language evokes a movie. “Love never lasted off screen… losing each new leading man/to those unhappy endings” Franks narrates. Like many of his songs, this one has a happy ending: “Enter the one/that the author created especially for her/the focus blurs/the composer writes strings,” a perfect summary of a typical romantic comedy. Only two songs seem slightly out of place on Abandoned Garden: “Somehow Our Love Survives,” a remake of his original collaboration with Joe Sample (previously included on Sample’s Spellbound album); and “In the Yellow House,” a piece from his long-delayed musical Noa Noa (based on the life of Gauguin). Both are pleasant tracks, but serve as a brief detour from the album’s overall theme. Abandoned Garden’s tour de force, however, is the title track. “Abandoned Garden,” which appropriately closes the album, serves as Franks’s eulogy for Jobim. In this song, nature mourns Jobim, since he planted the seeds of frangipani, jacaranda, camellia, and jasmine (images commonly present in Jobim’s music). The crux of this track — as well as the entire album — lies in the refrain: Though the samba has ended, I know in the sound
Of your voice, your piano, your flute, you are found,
And the music within you continues to flow
Sadly, lost Antonio.

You were my inspiration, my hero, my friend;
On the highway of time will I meet you again?
If the heart ever heals, does the scar always show
For the lost Antonio?
For the lost Antonio? Thus, with superior musicianship and carefully-crafted lyrics, Franks’ tribute to Jobim ends. One can imagine Jobim appreciating this album, as it perfectly captures his language, chord changes, percussion — everything present in a Jobim creation. Interestingly, Abandoned Garden became Franks’ final album with Warner Brothers Records. In 1999 he resurfaced on Windham Hill, releasing Barefoot on the Beach, an uneven collection of smooth jazz. By 2006 he moved to Koch Records, where he released Rendezvous in Rio, a sequel of sorts to Abandoned Garden. While Rendezvous in Rio marks a great improvement over Barefoot on the Beach, it still cannot match Abandoned Garden in quality and beauty. Michael Franks continues to produce quirky, catchy jazz albums. However, in my opinion, Abandoned Garden will be his greatest legacy. :: Kit O'Toole ::

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Introspection

Entr'acte

  1. play Norman Brown — Night Drive
  2. play Norman Brown — Feeling
  3. play Norman Brown — Still
  4. play Miles Davis — miles 1
  5. play miles 2
  6. play miles 3
  7. play miles 4
  8. play miles 5
  9. play Marvin Gaye — I Met A Little Girl
  10. play Santana — 01 Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
  11. play Santana — 02 Black Magic Woman-Gypsy Queen
  12. play Mongo — 02. Afro Blue



The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me"). 


As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even 
harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.

 

The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created. 

The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon). 

If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available. 

Enjoy.  "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967) 
 
 "I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year) "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" (Phila, 1966) "Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
   
 "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)
   
 "If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)
 



Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.

Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a
well-known penning Double Exposure's
"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay." 
 While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).

The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. If, by chance, you know of a way to get in touch with Frankie Beverly or his management, please drop me an e-mail. It would be absolutely great to do an interview with him about his pre-Maze work. He's still playing out, most recently doing a New Year's Eve show in Atlanta.
:: Funkinsoulman ::

Power...Through Simplicity ♪♫♪

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