New Zealander Maggie Gould and Brazilian Rovanio Rovnny Nanny Assis stoke the furnace of smouldering Latin and Brazilian influenced Jazz and beyond.
Returning home for Maggie from New York City, the combo carries the torch of passion and romance from one of the fabled musical meccas.
Brief position statement from her. Politics? The world is a tense and nervous place. That is what music is for.
The same thing from Captain Beefheart who was also a hopeless romantic at heart. May the good Lord shut your mouth and open your mind.
This four-piece combo is hot and wastes no time in getting to the heart of the matter.
Maggie is a Jazz singer with an understated delivery like Sinatra from the Fifties onward. Her voice could have been higher in the mix, as the sound was otherwise on point and well balanced in the old church setting.
Nanny Assis comes from Bahia, Brazil and later became domiciled in New York. His music draws from a multitude of Latin influences. He’s a musical polymath. A composer, producer, singer, percussionist and guitarist. Often simultaneously.
Rounding out the hot four is Kevin Field virtuoso pianist, and Alex Griffith, similar on 6-string electric bass.
While the sky is grey/ Not a care have we and Maggie begins the show, her voice low in the mix. Nanny on backing vocals is louder, so maybe that is how they wanted the balance. Warm and soothing singing with rapid piano fills.
Sunny syncopated swing comes next, followed by Soul Funk and an intro which sounds like vintage Sly and the Family Stone.
Maggie converts Tom Waits Temptation into a conversational low key vocal to great effect.
So too with the Beatles Blackbird. The rhythm section rules, and there is bass solo that would give Paul McCartney excited palpitations.
Nanny sings one from recent album Rovanio. Soul Bossa with a smooth tenor voice, piano raining rainbow colours. He plays electric and acoustic guitar, drums, percussion by foot, and a pandeiro. A hand drum similar to a tambourine.
A bit of research reveals people like Paulinho Da Costa and Milt Holland being adepts as well as Assis.
After the break, Wellington joins the combo and adds some Gypsy Jazz violin.
Killing Me Softly With His Song has the vocal just behind the beat and a gentle piano intro. Then the drummer pumps it up.
Mas Que Nada is faithful to the original by Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66.
That signals a rise in the swing and tempo of the room. Young women dance and a few Boomers get it on too. Notoriously difficult for Jazz audiences in New Zealand, from my limited experience.
Ponteio is a highlight, with more audience members participating with the music. A stunning breakdown on the bass guitar from Griffiths.
Somehow, he manages to get the guitar sound simultaneously with the bass, which he did the only other time I saw this combo. Three years ago, at a converted butcher shop in Westmere.
Ahhhhh Feeeel Good Now! I knew that I would! We all love James Brown. Piano and bass mesh to drive this one. Griffiths take it further than Bootsy.
Maggie lowers the heat with her own song I Can’t Help It, from her album of 2022 Todo Amor. Produced by Assis and featuring Victor Wootten on bass and Russell Malone guitar.
Malone passed away barely a month ago (August 2024) so this was his last recorded moment in a studio.
Maggie Gould, Nanny Assis and band finish with a molten Latin Jazz jam, bass performing pyrotechnics. Bringing it all back home, and remember… Don’t follow leaders/ Watch the parking meters.
Rev. Orange Peel
