CAMPED OUT
Brazil Beat column, published 2/03 in The Beat Magazine
By Mara Weiss & Nego Beto
With so much phenomenal Brazilian music around to listen to, it’s often overlooked that music in Brazil is much more than a passive listening experience. It is a participatory art! Most Brazilians would just as easily jump up and play as sit back and listen.
Amidst a plethora of Brazilian classes and schools, two Bay Area musicians discovered, after years around the scene and many trips down to Brazil, that people craved the rush of being a part of an informal pagode. They craved the feeling of communion with the music that can only come with being in it day and night.
And so a little Brazil was born--CBC, the California Brazil Camp. It is a Brazilian music lover’s dream. A week of total immersion into everything Brazilian, from samba bateria to bossa-nova guitar to candomble dance to vocal harmonies, all while surrounded by thousand-year-old redwoods. Organizers Dennis Broughton and Rich Rice pack the week full of classes in individual instrument technique, regional dance, and various forms of ensemble and group playing, from beginner to advanced levels. As musicians themselves, they realized that “hanging out” with great musicians is just as important as the instruction they can offer--listening, talking, and just absorbing. Mealtimes and evenings are cherished, often turning into impromptu sessions. Nights are long, with a few cervejinhas, and the music never stops.
Rich and Dennis quickly discovered that the teachers make all the difference. With a core rotating group of expatriate luminaries, largely based in the Bay Area, they stop at nothing to coax an impressive lineup of musicians up from the motherland and from around the US. Hermeto Pascoal, Airto Moreira, multi-instrumentalist Jovino Santos Neto, Jorge Alabe and Paulo Bellinati (named as one of Brazil’s 10 best guitar players) have all lived in with the CBC students. This year Dori Caymmi is sure to be a big draw card.
In the family spirit of music, children are encouraged (with parents, of course), and there is a kids’ program. The camp location itself, Cazadero, has a long history of music instruction for young people; it used to be “Jazz Camp,” where many well-known musicians got a start, and today is owned by the City of Berkeley, and used all summer for various types of music camps.
After hearing so many stories from friends who have attended and taught at CBC, it’s time to biggitup here at Brazil Beat. One young friend of ours saved for half a year to get there. When she returned she was high on the experience for weeks, called it a major turning point in her life.
This year the camp runs from August 24-31. With more inspiration Students and teachers alike will remember the night forro ran wild, with Airto on triangle, Carlos Oliveira and Emiliano on zabumba, and on and on in true Brazilian style until almost daybreak.