The “Sambalanço Trio” group is a magical meeting of 3 Brazilian music experts that influenced, inspired and motivated musicians from all over the world through the fusion of Brazilian music (samba, bossa nova, etc.) with jazz. They released their first LP “Sambalanço Trio” in 1964, at the “golden moment” of bossa nova and the boom of the São Paulo jazz clubs, among them “João Sebastião Bar”, in which they participated in the inauguration.
It is a milestone in style and the recording brings back the entire atmosphere of that time, with the characteristic recording sound of the Piano, Acoustic Bass and Drums, with live recordings, usually without coverings and technical pyrotechnics. For any musician, especially pianists, knowing the works of Cesar Camargo Mariano should be a “mandatory subject”.
Perhaps Cesar has become more famous for his wonderful professional and personal partnership with the unforgettable Elis Regina, but his swing, good taste and harmonies have always been innovative and contagious.
I have some stories with Cesar:
” I’ve always admired Cesar, and look at this, coming home from college when I was 20, who was at my home chatting with my parents Marilia and Jayme Freidenson? The one and only! At home we used to make music every Saturday, in a party room, but it was a weekday, and in my honor, Cesar asked me to go to the Piano and play something for him. Imagine my “nervousness”, ha, ha. He had met Flavia, Patricia’s sister who used to sing in our musical soirees, his wife since then. In addition to these contacts, Cesar invited our band “Zonazul” to participate in his TV show at the time, he was a great help.
 After that, when I was invited to record some appearances on the Ivan Lins “Anjo de Mim” CD (my solo on this CD), we met in the studio and still had the opportunity to record some of the tracks that Cesar produced. A tremendous honor.
The most incredible: For production of an advertising campaign for DPZ (Brazil’s largest advertising agency) here in our studios, Cesar, Pedro Mariano and Marcelo Bôscoli came one night. Our longtime technician, Zé Bodão (Zezinho) noticed a “metronome” type of noise, a tic-tac that did not stop and that interfered with the recording of Pedro’s song. This was one of the many mystical experiences we had here, one day I will say in the book I intend to write. What I can say now is that it was one of the most beautiful emotions I have ever experienced.
Still after that, I went to the launching of Cesar’s autobiography “Solo”, where we briefly met.
 
Returning to the “Sambalanço Trio”, there were another 2 monsters on bass and drums: one could write books about the two! The bass player (also a spectacular harmonica player) Humberto Clayber, who was one of the master musicians of the period had participated in the “Manfredo Fest Trio” after the “Sambalanço Trio”. He also participated in other famous trios at the time, “Sambrasa Trio”, “Sambossa 5 Trio” and “Jongo Trio”. Although an accomplished bass player, Clayber helped immensely to promote the harmonica in Brazil, and with his exceptional talent was considered one of the best harmonicists in the world.
I knew and had the honor of playing with Clayber. When you hear a jazz harmonica solo, at any recording (like Toots Thilemans & Mauricio Einhorn), it’s one thing; but when you are next to it and playing together, that’s when you realize how complicated, and how it is for the few: Clayber is the world’s best! And I have the honor to be his friend and have had recorded with his daughter, the super singer Adriana Drê.
Airto Moreira was the icon at the drums in the “Sambalanço Trio”, who curiously like Cesar, would marry a singer, the spectacular Flora Purim. Throughout his career in Brazil and the USA, Airto Moreira joined the “Quarteto Novo” (with Hermeto Paschoal, Theo de Barros and Heraldo do Monte), “Return to Forever” (with Chick Corea among others) and recorded with Eumir Deodato, Miles Davis, among other jazz fusion giants. In order to know where we are going, it is always good to know where we came from. Musically this LP is a good example of an enlightened time, with so many wonders that surely certainly transcended time and will always be a source of inspiration.
I hope you like it, Hugs to Everyone