Azymuth
Light As A Feather

LA RECENSIONE

In my latest review, the starting point was a song that had been chosen for a radio program. In this circumstance, the concept is similar, with two crucial differences: we are talking about a TV theme song, and the program no longer exists. I am referring to an old show that made history in the television imagination of the 80s and is remembered also for its theme song: Mixer, hosted and created by Giovanni Minoli.

The piece of the theme song constitutes the first 30 seconds of "Jazz Carnival", the opening song of "Light As A Feather". We are not talking about a simple record: this is the undisputed and never again repeated masterpiece by Azymuth, a Brazilian trio consisting of percussionist Ivan Conti, keyboardist José Beltrami, and bassist Alex Malheiros.

The trio's journey began in 1973 with "O Fabuloso Fittipaldi", where there is a sound that seeks to approach the Jazz from the northern part of the continent, although it remains ancestrally linked to the music of the Motherland; the path is not entirely linear and goes through highs and lows. In the year of this record, 1979, there is a turning point: Azymuth's sound is definitively refined and releases a series of albums, each better than the last, although the result expressed here will never be reached again. A Jazz Fusion masterpiece enriched with massive doses of Funk and Latin music, for this whole mix, a term was coined by the group itself: "samba doide". "Jazz Carnival" represents a great piece, a sonic bomb of nearly 10 minutes, but it is not the only noteworthy piece; deserving of mention are "Avenida das Mangueiras", "Fly Over The Horizon", and "This Exists".

Azymuth's songs are generally structured along two lines: on one hand, a massive and vigorous use of the Synth (the references here all point to Joe Zawinul and there is no doubt about it), and on the other, an enrichment work of the rhythm section done with numerous Brazilian percussions and electric bass (sometimes the use of the double bass as a substitute is noted). In the years to come, Azymuth produced records that continued along the path that would be formed at the turn of the 70s and 80s, with continuous adjustments and modifications, and even now, they represent one of the major South American bands, capable of exporting their style overseas. The first results of the changes just mentioned will soon emerge, with the next record, "Outubro". However, that is another story.