Brazilian music from Bengal

At a recent performance

Four Kolkata-based musicians who are listeners and practitioners of Latin jazz came together in August last year to discuss a disti­n­ctively new genre th­at encapsulates the lyrical poetry in Brazilian jazz, besides the intrinsic rhythmic techniques. That's how Sabor do Brasil was born. The outfit will introduce Mu­m­baikars to their own arrangements of Brazilian jazz standards next week as part of their debut India tour.

Comprising musician couple Ahona Sen (vocals) and Pradyumna Singh Manot aka Paddy (keys), along with Aditya Servaia (bass) and Tamaghna Mukherjee (drums), it all started when Sen was introduced to Maria Rita's music. "Nothing has resonated [with me] as deeply on the first listen. The genre is lilting and romantic, and also has Afro-Cuban elements of being dance-y and upbeat. It makes you feel like you're on a boat, cruising down a river," she tells us. But what struck the vocalist trained in Rabindra Sangeet were the lyrics, the poetry of which seemed similar to the Bengali vocal study. "The lyrics are poignant and explore the themes of love and longing. It's not been treated in a pop-ish manner," says Sen, who is stepping into being a professional musician with this band. "I never thought of doing music professionally. But Brazilian music made sense for me creatively thanks to the melodies, rhythm, harmonies and poetry. I have been looking to connect to the music via poetry - which is similar to [my approach to] Rabindra Sangeet," she reveals.

(From left) Tamaghna Mukherjee, Ahona Sen, Aditya Servaia and Pradyumna Singh Manot aka Paddy

But her husba­nd, Paddy, who brought back Afro-Cuban and Afro-Carib­b­ean techniques fr­om his travels in Panama two years ago, was not a part of the band's original line-up. With his additi­on, the outfit can bo­ast of unique arra­n­gements. "In India, ev­e­ryone plays 'Brazilian music', which translates to the Americanised versions of samba and bossa nova, which isn't accurate. But we have studied the roots of the music and play it the way Brazilians do," Paddy tells us. "We don't have access to their instruments like pandero, but we improvise to recreate the same sounds for authenticity. We ta­ke a rhythm like partido alto and break it down," adds Sen, who has been learning the language via an app.

And how's the new arrangement working out for the couple? "When we got married, we thought we need to give each other enough space so that our relationship is healthy. But we have got more aligned together and spend more time working together," Paddy tells us. "We have a joke - that I must have been Brazilian and Paddy Cuban in our previous lives. That is why we are together in India now and doing this music," concludes Sen, meaning it's a sonic mix that's definitely worth listening to.

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