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BRAZILIAN POP/JAZZ COMPOSER/VOCALIST FERNANDO HOLZ RELEASES HIS DEBUT CD MINH' ALMA NUA (MY NUDE SOUL)

"In addition to being an excellent singer, Holz is a composer of great sensibility... beautiful and provocative melodic lines. But the most significant part of his work as a composer is represented by his lyrics." - Martin Pillsbury, Ritmo Brasileiro

On his new release Minh' Alma Nua (My Nude Soul), Fernando Holz sings and orchestrates original Brazilian pop-jazz music that makes the listener feel that he or she is being spoken to personally. The Boston-based musician from the south of Brazil by way of Europe melds happiness and sadness in superior material with an uncommon ease. Poetry is achieved through his sensitive and careful employment of mood, tempo, melody, and harmony. Never stilted or weak in sentiment, the music makes connections with that of the master, Tom Jobim.

Back home in Rio Grande do Sul, Holz balanced successful careers as a photographer and a singer in clubs before undertaking the journey that resulted in his arrival in Boston in 1990. He first made a favorable impression on the New England music scene as the vocalist with the popular quintet Gandaya, which created "Brazilian music with a great deal of heart and soul, and not afraid to take a chance or two," - Jeff Turton, WFNX-Radio, and appeared at the Boston-area's premier jazz rooms Scullers and Regattabar as well as at the Hartford Jazz Festival before disbanding in the '90s. He's also displayed his sizable musical talent with the Rio Show Band, with Banda Aue, and with Duo Bossa Rio. Outside of the Greater Boston area, Holz has earned a following in New York City by performing at prominent venues like the Zinc Bar, SOB's, and the Queens Theatre. The Fernando Holz Quintet, whose repertoire includes sambas and bossa novas from the songbooks of Djavan and Jobim along with originals and gems from the Great American Songbook, consists of the bandleader, pianist Afredo Cardim (a former sideman with Astrud Gilberto), bassist Jose Pienasola, and percussionist Paulo Braga. Holz also keeps busy as a vocal coach when not performing with his band or making special appearances at Brazilian music shows held at MIT, the University of Massachusetts, Berklee College of Music, the Brazilian Cultural Center of New England, and many others.

The music of Minh' Alma Nua opens up vistas of beauty with colors and textures resulting from Holz's smooth singing, a string section, Romero Lubambo's guitars, Gilson Schachnik's and Rebecca Cline's pianos, Jose Pienasola's bass and Paulo Braga's drums. With complete command of phrasing and timbre, Holz works through hard sorrow on "Freud Explica" ("Freud Explains") and projects both vulnerability and determination during "Segredos De Laetitia" ("Laetitia's Secrets"). His voice radiates a poignant tension amidst the surprising blend of rambunctious drums and sweet strings on "Outro Outono" ("Another Autumn"). The joy-plus-ache that his vocals carry on the infectious, melodious number "Diaspora Brasileira" ("Brazilian Diaspora") makes for a perfect fit emotionally with the guitar expositions. These and all of Holz's other song performances are at once pristine and sensual. Radiant innocence often masks harsh reality in his arresting prose.

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CD Reviews:


- All About Jazz

Minh' Alma Nua
Fernando Holz | Independent
Brazilian music has created a welcome niche in jazz, the bossa and the samba giving the music a uniquely sensuous and vibrant rhythm. The beat goes on with Fernando Holz, and though he is more attuned to pop, he works the genre with a convincing passion.


Holz is a singer who delves into yearning and pain, into joy and love with a simple directness. Even when a dollop of strings unveil a velvet curtain, he does not let the moment get syrupy. He uses strings judiciously, and with the other musicians showing a controlled sensibility, the songs pack a quiet wallop.


Holz sings in Portuguese but the booklet has the lyrics in English, which helps the unfamiliar understand the emotion of each song. His voice has a nice yearning quality and when he sings of "Segredos De Latitia" ("Laetitia's Secrets"), the pain of a lost love is amply evident. The harmonic structure of "Érica" gives him the room to open out, his singing a spirited joyousness that even has him scatting for a while with Romero Lubambo's guitar, creating a supple tension. One of the most beautiful tunes comes in the form of "Estação" ("Station"), which dwells on life passing by. The strings add to the atmosphere, and so do Lubambo's guitar and Paulo Braga's drums.


Holz sets up a welcome presence.

~ Jerry D'Souza

Personnel:
Fernando Holz-vocals; Romero Lumbabo-acoustic and electric guitar; Gilson Schachnik-piano;
Rebecca Cline-piano (7,8); José Pienasola-acoustic and electric bass; Paulo Braga-drums and percussion + strings

Style: Brazilian

Review Published: June 2004
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- Ejazznews.com

Posted by: Anonymouson Thursday, July 29, 2004 - 09:34 AM

Brazilian Beat

I've been a Brazilian music fan for a pretty long time now (no I'm not going to tell you how old I am!) and it seems as if the rhythmic mosaic in that South American country is getting more and more varied and beautiful. A couple of CDs I've come across recently amply demonstrate the point.

Some punters hold the view that the bossa nova form is exhausted, a
rickety wagon carrying outworn clichés of romance and heartbreak on the
beaches of Rio.

More discerning music lovers, however, are convinced that gifted singer-guitarists such as Fernando Holz (Minh' Alma Nua, Holz Works, 2004),
will continue to enrich this world-renowned, enchanting music genre, enabling it to exercise an even greater impact on musical imaginations within and beyond Brazil.

Ably abetted by the nimble-fingered guest guitarist Romero Lubambo, Holz
scats and croons his way into our hearts with joyous, energetic abandon
on the spirited "Erica". It's an infectious number and you soon find
your hips swaying and your brow moistening with every beat. But Holz's
quarry is the human heart. Indeed, this disc is all about romance.

Fernando Holz dips into a deep well of passion and sadness (saudade)
occasionally exposing his nude soul, but thankfully never in a mawkish
manner. A fine example of this is on "Segredos de Laetitia".

Boston-based Holz attempts to straddle the worlds of pop, jazz
and Brazilian music in an admirable fashion. The icing on the cake comes
in the form of lush string arrangements featuring high-class musicians
such as drummer Paulo Braga, and the above-mentioned Romero Lubambo.


Review by John Stevenson

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- Bruce Crowther's Website

Relaxed and unpretentious singing from Fernando Holz, a Brazilian musician now resident in northeastern USA. Melodic and musicianly, Fernando presents a programme of songs almost all of which are his own compositions. Ably backed by a fine rhythm section including pianist Gilson Schachnik, guitarist Romero Lubambo, bassist José Piensola and drummer Paulo Braga, and on some tracks a string section, Fernando performs all of his material with charm and good taste.

~ Bruce Crowrther
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Transcript of the interview for "The World" a WGBH/BBC radio Program.

Global Hits

June 1, 2004

Listen Technical Help
Artist: Fernando Holz
Title: Minh' Alma Nua (My Nude Soul)
Label: --
Country: Brazil
Music Available from: Public Broadcasting One
More World Music at: BBC Music Online
The subject of our global hit today is a singer and guitarist from Brazil. His name is Fernando Holz and he hails from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.

He's been living in the United States for the past 14 years, and recently released his first CD. It's called "Minh'Alma Nua"

The music on the CD can be described as Brazilian jazz. But Holz says as a boy he listened to something completely different. Holz's family has German roots.
He grew up in city in Brazil called "Novo Hamburgo"-- or "New Hamburg." Many of its residents ALSO have German roots. So Holz heard a lot of brass band music in his childhood. He says it was his uncle -- a brass band musician -- who introduced him to music.
Holz's uncle had a Vespa he used to get to his music gigs-- mostly local dances-and he would take his nephew along for the ride. Holz's uncle played tuba and trumpet and used to tie both instruments on the Vespa... next to his nephew.
Music in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul is influenced from the Argentinean tango, the samba beats from Rio and the traditional gaucho songs. The gauchos are the local cow boys and their songs are similar to Spanish tunes in style. Such songs are also played in Uruguay and Argentina. They are sometimes accompanied by drums. It's the local equivalent of American country music.
Some of the songs on Holz's album are named after women. The song "Erica" however, was not written for a woman. Holz was inspired by his auto repair mechanic to write it. It talks about a man's love for his country of adoption: America. Holz's mechanic-who is Brazilian-- had just received a letter granting him resident's status in the United States. Upon learning that he would receive a green a card, the man told Holz, he felt that he had just been freed from slavery. Holz says the title "Erica" is a poetic take on the word "America."
The lyrics go: "When you asked me to stay with you, my eyes cried of happiness, as if I was granted freedom from slavery. Release from slavery. But I'm conscious that in our relationship-- as in any and all-- there will be moments of yes, there will be moments of no. But what in fact really matters is to sing love until the end, and never say goodbye shutting the door behind."
Holz says the song applies to his situation too. He says that no place on earth is perfect but that after living 14 years in the US, he can say he's had more good times than bad.
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- Radio Stations Play List

WFNX -107.1 - Boston
Jazz Brunch
With Jeff Turton


- Chicago Public Radio
Passport
with Celso Fonseca