Saints and Sambas

After the life raft drills mentioned in my previous entry, many of us were free to visit the large city of Salvador. One tourist brochure referred to the waterfront “old town” as “an intriguing mix of African and European heritage as you walk through Pelourinho district, one of the oldest areas in town”

It could just as accurately be described as a dangerous slum. It’s quite a stretch to call this place “quaint”. Fortunately the ship travel guide didn’t have such delusions, and gave fair warning -- don’t wear jewelry, don’t wear your camera around your neck, don’t put your wallet in your back pocket, avoid carrying purses entirely.

Two of my musician colleagues from Eastern Europe spent all of 20 minutes visiting Salvador. They were immediately frightened and disgusted, and quickly went back to the friendly confines of the Veendam.

I was somewhat more intrepid, or stupid or whatever, trekking through the nastiness to get to the highly-hyped Cathedral of San Francisco. The travel guide said that even a jaded “over-cathedral-ed” traveler should check this one out.

And it WAS ridiculously ornate. The exterior only gave a hint of what was inside. Photography was prohibited, but suffice to say that I never saw so much gold in my life. Every square foot of the interior except the floor was decorated with ornaments covered with gilded gold leaf. After my initial ooh and aahs, the place struck me as obscene, considering the abject poverty right outside. Oh well, Lord enjoy Your Gold, and may the rabble never get their hands on it.

I was able to sneak a few pictures of a rather freaky sideshow in a room adjacent to the cathedral. I’d hate to get trapped in this place overnight. The room, or should I say the “gallery”, was a sort of House of Wax for Saints. Lifesized wax figures of saints, clothed, many of them with rather pained “martyr” expressions on their faces. Eerie and unique.

Yes, the third figure from the right is holding a sword. The guy next to her seems to be dead.

But the highlight of the day was totally unplanned. There was a restaurant a few feet from the Golden Cathedral, the only decent eatery in the area. As I walked past it I heard my name called. Seated just inside the open front doors were 2 couples who were piano bar regulars. I waved and walked in, sat with these 4 people, and then saw a singer-guitarist in a nearby corner. He was playing those exquisite Brazilian chord voicings in samba tempo, singing in Portuguese, a smooth understated baritone.

This guy was the real deal. “Inacio de Bahia“, born and bred in this music, doing it for a living his entire adult life, now 40 years old. At the risk of ignoring my 4 Belgian friends, I was mesmerized by the performance. Finally they left and I stayed around another half-hour, long enough to chat with this wonderful musician for a minute during his break. He was intrigued that I’d be playing piano on a cruise ship. He liked the idea of doing such work himself, but it would be tricky.

Holland America only has two ships in South America each year, with the Veendam presently doing its only focused Brazilian cruise. In his samba-bossnova niche, Inacio would be perfect for the Veendam here and now. I picture him playing on the back deck outdoors on a warm Brazilian evening. “Ah, the music and romance of Brazil.”

Or he could get highly ambitious and try for a Main Showroom gig, with a 45-minute structured show. It would be a gamble, but for what it’s worth I thought he was easily good enough to pull it off, if he really wanted it.

Anyway I have his card, seemingly an outdated one, where he clearly looks younger and thinner. He had no CDs for sale, saying that people purchase his stuff via MP3 downloads now. His recorded music is duet, with piano, and it’s beautiful stuff. Much like legendary “Ipanema” composer Jobim, who was a pianist, and played sparse and delicate melodies over the accompaniment of Brazilian guitar.

American tourists, in recognition of being in Brazil, are asking me to do “Girl from Ipanema” every night, and I oblige them with a pretty decent rendition. I learned the song over 40 years ago, so I ought to play it decently. Especially since it’s a bossa nova, which is pretty easy to play, tempo-wise.

Samba, faster and much more energetic, is another matter. One of Inacio’s tunes was Samba De Uma Nota, a Jobim composition which was given English lyrics and re-titled “One Note Samba” for American consumption. I’ve played the tune, but never particularly well. My project for this week is One Note Samba, hopefully with the grace and beauty that it deserves, hopefully a rendition worthy of a restaurant in Salvador, Brazil.

A whale tail and a Trident.