There’s a repertoire of songs you’ll hear in Brazil, again and again and again. It will happen while watching novellas, sitting in bars and restaurants, while shopping in shopping centers and when you’re drinking caipirinha at the beach. While certain artists such as Maria Bethania, Vinicius de Moraes, Caetano Veloso and other deities represent the pantheon of M.P.B. (música popular brasileira, or Brazilian pop music), there are also different levels which hold their own demigods, dryads and nymphs. And this is where Djavan comes into play, a singer and song writer who will be performing in L.A. on June 13th at the Ford Amphitheater.

Hailing from the nordeste state of Alagoas and recording albums since 1976, Djavan is a fixture for M.P.B. and a welcome sight for fans, lusophiles, and/or nostalgic expatriates. His sounds are appropriate for the quasi-elevator music soundtrack of certain Brazilian spaces and anywhere else for that matter. With mellow, funky rhythms that carry the sentiments of a smooth jazz station, this is what fictional jazz-flutist and 70s news anchorman Ron Burgundy might have referred to as “baby-making music.” But when listening deeper, one learns that Djavan is a cool operator who uses electrically infused funk that carries living ties to Chick Corea, Tim Maia and other soulful brasileiros.

Playing here in L.A. is appropriate for people who can imaginatively recognize distant and applicable echoes of Roger Troutman and the subsequent G-funk samples that we hold so dear. No matter how you go about it, funk from Brazil is worth visiting and Djavan is no exception.

SW: How many shows have you had here in L.A. and the U.S.?

D: I have done many [since] I started touring [in] 1982. But in LA, the last one was in 2001 at the Royce Hall in UCLA. Unfortunately, it took a while for me to come back [to the U.S.], but I plan on coming back more often[.] I like the people in the United States and I know they like my music.

SW: How would you describe the predominant fan-base of your fans in L.A. and the U.S. in general (e.g. Brazilian immigrants, jazz fans, soul fans, etc.)?

D: As I mentioned above, I know that I have a good following. [I]t [has] buil[t] up since I [first] came [to the U.S.] more than 20 years ago. [A]ll Brazilians love to hear the classics when away from home. I have gathered other fans from the jazz scene, world music scene and even [the] pop scene. [M]y music is a mixture of the Brazilian Northeast rhythms (where I am from) and the Beatles, believe it or not, and of course the influence of African [music], American soul and jazz, classic[al] and even flamenco… So the predominant fan is hard to [identify]… possibly world music and Brazilian music lovers…

SW: What are your favorite places to visit in Los Angeles?

D: It’s hard to visit anywhere while on tour… I would like to come back just to visit. [Afterwards] I will let you know what I like the best… for now, I am happy to be in LA with my music.

SW: With so many important nordestino/as having represented and flourished from and within the M.P.B. scene, do you feel tokenized by the major studios, media networks etc. of the industrialized sudeste?

D: Not really.

SW: What new works can we look forward to from you in the future?

D: Right now, I am [touring] with the Matizes release (Shades of Color). I have toured South America, Brazil, USA [and] in a month we go to Europe and Japan. [S]o [I'm] very busy with this project and [I] don’t have [anything] in mind [for] what is next… once all of [the tour] is over, I will start thinking [about] what I want to do next… I have many ideas, but I will see how I feel once I put my head into the next project…

He will be playing June 13th at the Ford Amphitheater located at:

3580 Cahuenga Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90068

Ford Theater info line: 323-461-3673

Show starts at 8:30pm

Tickets: $45, $65, $85

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