Given the way our world turned in March, you might think that this show, focused on the feeling of Saudade, wasn’t planned until after everything changed, but that wasn’t the case. It actually came about shortly after the prior show “Moods” aired, on a night that now fills me with great Saudade, because it was such an amazing night and I (just like everyone else in the world) have no idea when that life will return. I was with my friend, Brazilian singer Monique Maion, seeing Anna Wise perform at one spot and then Lonnie Liston Smith at Jazz Is Dead (with a stop in between at Cafe Birdie in Highland Park for grub, a spot that I can’t wait to reopen) and we got to talking about music and the idea of having Monique as a guest to focus on “Saudade,” was born. “Saudade,” isn’t really translatable into English. It’s a Portuguese word, one that I particularly associate with Brazil and with Brazilians I’ve known, that more or less connects to deep feelings of missing something that is both there and no longer there, whether it is a person, a time, a place or a place in time you shared with a person. A memory that is a bit bittersweet, one that you may reminisce about frequently because of the importance of the moment in your life. I was so excited to do this show at the Artform Studio, to have Monique come in and perform, possibly on some of Adrian Younge’s vintage instruments, but that plan like so many others had to be changed as we got used to the life we now lead. But just because we couldn’t do the show live together at the store the way we envisioned didn’t mean we couldn’t still do it. So, Monique and I set up our individual recording technologies at our respective apartments and recorded the show. What you’ll never hear is the roughly 90 minutes of us just shooting the shit, drinking wine and laughing until we finally got down to business to record what we needed for the show.
Monique is one of my favorite people in LA, someone who makes me laugh harder than practically anyone (some of which was edited out of this show, but quite a lot of chuckles on my end still remain), and she’s got this wild way of being that comes through in virtually everything she does, but especially in her singing and performance (she also hosts the “Tropicali” radio show, which you can catch on Venice’s KTPC 99.1 FM or on her mixcloud page).
After a discussion of “Saudade” and how Monique views it, we start things off with a set of songs that she chose that connected to this feeling, thinking back to discovering Brazilian funky men Paulo Diniz and Miguel De Deus, her first recordings with the collective Mamma Cadela and music from an artist she currently collaborates & tours with, Sessa.
In addition to the set of songs she chose that are emblematic of “Saudade,” Monique performed two songs from her living room for the show, “Painho,” written as she describes during a period of self quarantine years ago, and stripped down to just her vocals and ukulele and “20 Anos Blue” originally recorded by Elis Regina in 1972, but something that reminded Monqiue of her mother, who had the record in her collection, and of her 20s in Brazil just as she was beginning her musical career.
From there, I take over and have my own set filled with Saudade for the Springtime that we’ve missed due to this pandemic, missed road trips to the Bay and my fave record store Groove Merchant, and songs that remind me of times and people I dearly miss from Atlanta to the Bay to here in LA. Saudade is such a rich emotion and feeling that I wouldn’t be surprised if I return to this feeling at a later date…until then, enjoy the show!
Moods In Free Time 003: Saudade – 03-26-2020
Playlist – Moods In Free Time 003: Saudade
{opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)
~~~~ Break ~~~~
Paulo Diniz – Ve Se Pisa No Braseiro – Paulo Diniz (Odeon)
Miguel De Deus – Pode Se Quiemar – Black Soul Brothers (Underground)
Mamma Cadela – Bohemia Sin Calcinha – Mamma Cadela Em Busca Da Verdade (MCK)
Sessa – Lingua Geral – Grandeza (Boiled Records)
~~~~ Break ~~~~
Monique Maion – Interview & Performance – Recorded Live At Her Apartment
~~~~ Break ~~~~
Tim Maia – Primavera – Tim Maia (Polydor)
DatBu – Right On – 12” (Self-Release)
The End Result – Reminiscing – 7” (Motion City)
Smoke – Hank Aaron – Heaven On A Popsicle Stick (Long Play)
Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Bitar (Kemado)
~~~~ Break ~~~~
{Closing Theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It (Columbia)