Johnny Alf
Johnny Alf | |
---|---|
Santo André , Brazil | |
Occupation(s) | Musician, teacher |
Alfredo José da Silva (May 19, 1929 – March 4, 2010), popularly known as Johnny Alf, was a Brazilian musician, sometimes known as the "Father of
Alf was born in Vila Isabel,
Over his career, he recorded nine albums and appeared on nearly fifty others. He died in 2010, aged 80, from prostate cancer.[3][4]
Early life
Johnny Alf (b. Alfredo José da Silva) was born on May 19, 1929, in Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[5] Alf's father, an army corporal, fought in the Brazilian civil war of 1932, the Constitutionalist Revolution, and perished in combat in the valley of Paraíba. His mother raised him alone, making a living as a maid.[6] She found employment with a family in Tijuca, a quarter close to the centre of Rio. The family of the household, as well as being very welcoming to both Johnny and his mother, had much respect for music and supported Alf as he began to discover the art form.[7]
Alfredo's mother was able to enroll him at the IBEU (Instituto Brasil-Estados Unidos or Brazilian-American Institute), and it was there that Alf received his first formal musical training, studying classical piano with instructor Geni Bálsamo; it was there too that young Alfredo earned the Americanized nickname that would accompany him through the entirety of his musical career.[6] Due to his purported shyness Alf spent much more of his time listening to records (the music of the Nat “King” Cole Trio (Nat King Cole) and of the strongly classically influenced English pianist George Shearing being specific favorites) than practicing his technical skills on the piano.[8] It was Alf's growing desire to enhance his technical abilities on the piano that led him to seek acceptance into the recently founded Sinatra-Farney Fan Club. The Sinatra-Farney Fan Club was a performer's collective of sorts, an appreciation for the crooning vocal jazz epitomized by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Brazilian born Dick Farney (b. Farnésio Dutra, a Carioca) being the thread that unified all of its members. Alf's membership in the club finally allowed him regular access to a piano (which he was permitted to use for practice only on weeknights that had no other scheduled club activities), as well as a group of musically sympathetic peers with which to play and experiment.[8] The jam sessions held by the Sinatra-Farney Fan Club provided Alf his first taste of collaborative music-making and public, musical performance, the club's status being respectable enough around Rio for its members to be allowed to play (without pay) venues such as the Tijuca Tennis Club, the Fluminense Club, and the Athletic Association of the Bank of Brazil.[9] In 1950 the death of the mother of two of the founding members stranded the club without a rehearsal headquarters and it was at this point that Alf began to pursue a professional musical career.[10]
Career
Alf received his first professional break in 1952 when he was hired (on Dick Farney's recommendation) as the pianist at the newly inaugurated Cantina do César where his appointed task was, apparently, to “aid the digestion of the guests”.
Various opinions are now held about the validity of such a statement, but it can confidently be said that these two recordings displayed a largely novel sound, one that had not yet been heard by the majority of Brazilians. Following these sessions Alf would continue to find nightly work in the clubs of Rio de Jainero, musical companions such as
At Baiúca Alf would form a duo with himself on the piano and double-bassist Sabá. Unfortunately, however, the group had time only to establish a moderate following before the Baiúca was closed down for reasons pertaining to health-code violations.[14] Once again Alf found himself pounding the pavement on a nightly basis in search of steady work and, while he never starved he began (by the estimations of some) to stagnate musically. The musicians Alf had left in Rio had continued to innovate in his absence while he himself had had no time for anything more than the work required to earn his daily wages. By the time Alf recorded his first full-length LP (“Rapaz De Bem”) in 1961 his songs had begun to sound stale.[15] That same year Alf, who had never been fond of the term Bossa Nova, and had always tried to distance himself from the connotations the title entailed, declined an invitation to play at Carnegie Hall's historic Bossa Nova Festival. Alf's decision not to attend the aforementioned festival marks a decisive point in his professional history. After 1961, very little was heard from Alf, although he continued to produce albums infrequently throughout the 60s and early 70s, many of which display a sound very similar to that which was displayed on “Rapaz De Bem.” The rest of Alf's career would be spent in São Paulo, collaborating with other artists from time to time, occasionally embarking on solo recording projects, and earning most of his living from his performances in the clubs of São Paulo. Alf would eventually gain employment at a local conservatory of music.[16]
Death
Johnny Alf died on March 4, 2010, in Santo Andre, Brazil (just outside São Paulo, his home of the past fifty years) of complications caused by prostate cancer. He left no immediate survivors.[17]
Music
Alf's first recordings (“Falseta” and “De cigarro em cigarro”) were similar rhythmically and structurally to the well-known samba-canções of the day, they differed only in their harmonic richness and their melodies, both of which aspects were heavily influenced by American jazz styles and improvisations of the late 1940s and early 1950s.[11] Alf's live playing at the Plaza Hotel was heavily influenced by jazz and “stamped with the imprimatur of George Shearing [and] Lennie Tristano”.[12] New York Times columnist Larry Rohter relates, on behalf of Alf's music, that it possessed “a light and airy feeling that expressed the optimism and joie de vivre that Brazilians think of as among their defining national traits”.[18] Alf has said of his own music: “I always played in my own style […] I had the idea of joining Brazilian music with jazz. I try to bring everything together to achieve an agreeable result”.[19]
Legacy
Much conjecture surrounds the significance of Alf's role in the development of the
Discography
Singles:[21]
- “Falseta”/”De Cigarro em Cigarro” (1952)
- “Rapaz De Bem” (1955)
- “Samba Do Retorno”/“Eu E A Brisa” (1968)
As main artist/leader:[21]
- Rapaz De Bem (RCA, 1961)
- Diagonal (RCA, 1964)
- Johnny Alf (Mocambo, 1965)
- Eu E A Brisa (Mocambo, 1966)
- Ele É Johnny Alf (Parlophone, 1971)
- Nós (Odeon, 1974)
- Desbunde Total (Chantecler, 1978)
- Olhos Negros (RCA, 1990)
- with Leandro Braga, Letra & Musica: Noel Rosa (Luminar, 1997)
- Cult Alf (Natasha, 1998)
- with Dom Pedro Casaldáliga, As Sete Palavras De Cristo Na Cruz (Paulinas, 1999)
- Eu E A Bossa (Rob Digital, 1999)
Credited as writer/arranger:[22]
- Cev Y Mar/Eddie Harris (Vee Jay Records, 1963)
- Bossa Só (Rozenblit, 1965)
- Rapaz De Bem/Lalo Schifrin (Verve Records, 1968)
- Sky & Sea/The 5th Dimension (Bell Records, 1972)
- Solo Tu Amor/Martinha (UA Latino, 1972)
- Eu E A Brisa/Baden Powell (Imagem, 1973)
- O Que E Amar/Tania Maria (Medley Records, 1979)
- Diza/Azymuth (Milestone Records, 1988)
- Fim De Semana/Tenório Jr. (Dubas Música, 1989)
- Ilusão A Toa;O Que É Amar/Leila Pinheiro (Philips, 1989)
- Céu E Mar/Lenny Andrade (BMG Ariola Discos Ltda., 1993)
- Um Tema P’ro Simon (Compilation) (Blue Note, 1994)
- Rapaz De Bem/Ramón Leal & Beatrice Binotti (Siesta, 1999)
- Eu E A Brisa/Caetano Veloso (Universal Music, 2001)
- Plexus/Joyce (Sony BMG Music Entertainment; Epic, 2003)
- Rapaz De Bem/Gilson Peranzzetta (Marari Discos, 2005)
- Céu E Mar/Meirelles E Os Copa 5 (Dubas Música; Universal Music, 2005)
- Decisão/Zimbo Trio (Discobertas 2011)
- Céu E Mar/Leila Pinheiro & Nelson Faria (Far Out Recordings, 2012)
Notes
- ^ a b Larry Rohter, "Johnny Alf, a Father of Bossa Nova, Dies at 80", The New York Times, March 11, 2010.
- ^ a b Phillips, Tom (May 4, 2010). "Johnny Alf obituary". The Guardian.
- ^ "Bossa Nova pioneer Johnny Alf dies at 80". Usatoday.Com. 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
- ^ "Johnny Alf, father of bossa nova, dies – Arts & Entertainment – CBC News". Cbc.ca. 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
- ^ a b Oxford Music Online, par. 1.
- ^ a b Castro 2000, p. 8.
- ^ Neder, par. 2.
- ^ a b Castro 2000, p. 9.
- ^ Castro 2000, p. 13.
- ^ Castro 2000, p. 14.
- ^ a b c d e f Castro 2000, p. 58.
- ^ a b c Castro 2000, p. 57.
- ^ a b Castro 2000, p. 59.
- ^ Castro 2000, p. 226.
- ^ Castro 2000, p. 227.
- ^ Rohter 2010, par. 10
- ^ Rohter 2010, pars. 1, 11
- ^ Rohter 2010, par. 9.
- ^ Rohter 2010, par. 8.
- ^ Rohter 2010, par. 5.
- ^ a b Oxford Music Online
- ^ Discogs
References
- Rohter, Larry. "Johnny Alf, a 'Father of Bossa Nova,' Dies at 80." The New York Times 12 Mar. 2010: B17. Print.
- Phillips, Tom (May 4, 2010). "Johnny Alf obituary". The Guardian.
- "Bossa Nova pioneer Johnny Alf dies at 80". Usatoday.Com. 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
- "Johnny Alf, father of bossa nova, dies – Arts & Entertainment – CBC News". Cbc.ca. 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
- "Johnny Alf." Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 4th ed. Ed. Colin Larkin. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://0-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.dewey2.library.denison.edu/subscriber/article/epm/72343>.
- Castro, Ruy. Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music That Seduced the World. Chicago, IL: Cappella, 2000. Print.
- Neder, Alvaro. "Johnny Alf | Biography | AllMusic." AllMusic. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
- "Johnny Alf." Discogs. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
External links
- Johnny Alf at AllMusic