Farewell/Despedida

Immigration is such a hot topic, where the sentiments and creativity of a migrant may be difficult to hear over mean-spirited protests. But it is fascinating: the idea of not really having a home anymore, always being an outsider in your adopted country, and your home country changing until it becomes unrecognisable to you.

Brazilian bassist Marcel Bonfim ‘began playing professionally in his hometown of São Paulo a decade and a half ago, before immigrating’ to Chicago, US, in 2015. This, his debut as bandleader, is his way of dealing with this duality, the mixing of samba-esque rhythms of his homeland with American jazz, creating a fine example of jazz samba, a genre defined by Stan Getz and refined by names such as João Donato, but here with a heavy focus on the double bass. The album opens with a medley of two Edu Lobo classics, ‘Casa Forte’ and ‘Zanzibar’, based on the northeastern rhythm of baião, vocalist Ana Catharina Oliveira duets and duels with Bonfim’s stridently plucked bass notes. ‘Sister (Irmã)’ features ‘a 7/4 bass groove’ accompanied by Gerald Martinez’ sax while Casey Dahl interjects with his piano solo, and ‘Farewell/Despedida’, a forlorn piece, demonstrates Bonfim’s saudade for his homeland.