Brazilian Jazz Festival
WSU School of Music Promotes the First Brazilian Jazz Festival in the Palouse!
Washington State University School of Music announced the first multinational Brazilian Jazz Festival to the Palouse. Spearheaded by Professor Dr. César Haas, the festival will feature internationally acclaimed Brazilian and American jazz artists, Três Mais and Nelson Faria.
The festival will focus on performances, clinics, rehearsals, and talks that promote dissemination, teaching, and learning of Brazilian music at WSU and local schools. The internationally acclaimed guest artists will be working closely with WSU students and faculty on performances and clinics that involve several areas and ensembles from the School of Music, including the WSU Jazz Big Band and the WSU Symphony Orchestra.
The festival will take place September 28 through October 2 in Pullman, WA, and features a guest artist residency by Três Mais, a new collaboration between American and Brazilian rhythm section musicians and educators marrying Brazilian music styles with American Jazz. The core rhythm section of Três Mais consists of three musicians and educators: WSU Guitar Professor Brazilian guitarist César Haas, Brazilian drummer Graciliano Zambonim, and American jazz bassist Wayne Moose. While the trio is the heart of the group, for each performance Três Mais invites featured artists that share the same passion for diversity and collaboration.
For the inaugural year of the festival, the featured artist will be Brazilian guitarist, arranger, and educator Nelson Faria. One of the most important musicians in Brazil, he has released 12 CDs as a leader, six books (two in the U.S., Japan, Brazil, and Italy), and he has also recorded as guitar player and/or arranger or producer on over 200 CDs by Brazilian and international artists. The guest artists will perform concerts at WSU, teach clinics, and record a live video performance at WSU Recording Studios to be released on YouTube and other streaming platforms.
Aside from the concerts, clinics, and open rehearsals, Dr. César Haas will be featured on Nelson Faria’s renowned podcast on YouTube Um Café Lá em Casa (Coffee at my Place), where guests talk about their musical careers in an informal setting and jam with the host. The show is a success in Brazil and internationally and has videos with more than 700k views, featuring artists of high caliber such as Mike Stern, João Bosco, and Yamandú Costa.
Festival Programming:
Saturday (Sep 28th):
7:30pm Jazz and Bossa Jam Session
Três Mais feat. Navin Chettri and Vern Sielert (Bucer’s Coffee House in Moscow, ID.)
BRING YOUR AXE!
Monday (Sep 30th):
9-10:30 Clinic with Pullman Middle and High School Jazz Bands (Pullman High School)
12-1 Rehearsal with WSU Jazz Big Band (Kimbrough Concert Hall)
1-2 Clinic with WSU Lab Band (Kimbrough Concert Hall)
2-3 Rehearsal with WSU Faculty (Kimbrough Concert Hall)
3-4 Clinic with Jazz Rhythm Section Studio Class (Kimbrough Concert Hall)
Tuesday (Oct 1st):
11-12 Nelson Faria talk at Full Convocation (Bryan Hall Theatre)
12-1 Rehearsal with WSU Jazz Big Band (Kimbrough Concert Hall)
3-4 Rehearsal with WSU Symphony Orchestra (Kimbrough Concert Hall)
4-5 Clinic with Jazz Guitar Ensemble (Kimbrough Concert Hall)
7:30pm Main Concert
Três Mais feat. Nelson Faria with WSU Jazz Big Band, WSU Symphony Orchestra and special faculty guests (Kimbrough Concert Hall)
Wednesday (Oct 2nd):
10-1 Recording of Um Café Lá em Casa (Coffee at my Place) podcast with Nelson Faria and César Haas (WSU Recording Studio)
2-5 Três Mais feat. Nelson Faria video recording session with WSU special faculty guests (WSU Recording Studio)
The goal of the festival is to enable WSU students and instructors exposure to worldclass Brazilian jazz talent and music that are often limited to larger urban areas. Brazilian styles of music (bossa-nova, samba, baião) are an integral part of the jazz canon. The music is rich and complex and has a storied history. However, Brazilian pieces are difficult to effectively interpret with stylistic, cultural, and historic accuracy. Brazilian music has its unique features, with rhythmic and melodic patterns that are unique even within the scope of Latin American music. And often students miss the full depth and dimension of these musical traditions. The festival will promote a richer understanding of Brazilian music and provide culturally informed study and interpretation of the music to help students develop musical skills and concepts they would not necessarily develop studying straight-ahead jazz. It will also enrich their cultural awareness and knowledge of a musical culture that is integral to the jazz idiom.
All events are free of charge and open to the community. This project is in alignment with WSU strategic plan and mission as a public land-grant research university that is committed to the principles of practical education for all, scholarly inquiry that benefits society, and the sharing of expertise to positively impact the state and communities.
This is event is grant supported by the WSU Office of Research and the WSU Office of the Provost through the New Faculty Seed Grant Program that helps junior faculty develop research, scholarly, or creative programs that lead to sustained professional development and extramural funding. This grant support has been allocated in full to the Brazilian Jazz Festival.
Contact:
Dr. César Haas
(201) 699-2725
cesar.haas@wsu.edu