The band Saudade has a way of drawing people inside the Blackbird Buvette on Thursday nights to hear Brazilian jazz, clarinetist Bob Gusch said.
"A lot of people just wander in because they hear us and they'll come in and have a seat," Gusch said. "And we can see people tapping their toes and drumming on the bar."
Saudade plays Brazilian-style music including bossa nova, samba and choro. The group features Dan Golden on guitar, Gusch on woodwinds, Lenore Gusch on percussion and Blake Minnerly singing.
Gusch said his first exposure to Brazilian jazz sounded like Mozart's clarinet concertos because there were lots of notes and chord changes.
"It has its basis in the northern European classical music, and anything that was European at that time got mixed with the natives that were the slaves that were coming through at that time," Gusch said. "It's kind of a mixture music of the kind of stuff that is happening in New Orleans, so it's based in classical music. But it's really notey, and there is a lot of improvisation in it."
Golden said his first interest in woodwind-based choro music came from playing with bands in Albuquerque that played Brazilian music.
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"Bossa nova was popular around here and it was through the '70s especially and mid-'80s," Golden said. "I heard a lot of guys like Charlie Bird and his style of playing, so I tried to copy that. So I learned a lot of bossa novas, and I played with a couple of female Brazilian singers here in town a few years back, and they did mostly bossa novas."
Golden said his son, who plays clarinet, introduced him to choro.
"A lot of the choros music is mostly instrumental music, and it was developed in the late 1800s to the 1930s, so it kind of paralleled our jazz movement," Golden said.
Saudade has performed at the Blackbird for about a year. Golden said the band's shows have brought in extra business this past month.
"We've been quite pleased, and the management has been quite pleased," Golden said. "This last Thursday was quite cold and we didn't have much of a turnout, but the Thursday before, they said it was the best Thursday they had on record and it was nice. I'm sure it's just a combination of things happening, but there are groups of people who come in regularly."
Golden said people at their shows can't help dancing to the music.
"Sometimes they'll get up and sing if they know the song. Usually they want to sing a bossa nova," Golden said. "But it is a pretty open thing, and it has kind of an acoustic sound to it, so it's not right in your face if you're sitting there listening."
Golden said he was surprised when people from Brazil recognize the choros they play.
"They hear it; they like it, and it reminds them of old jazz," Golden said. "Even the young people like the choros, and, of course, they know the sambas. There are very few tunes that people from Brazil don't recognize."
Saudade
Thursdays
Blackbird Buvette
509 Central Ave N.W.
Free
