Western Oregon Journal

Issue date: 1/21/09 Section: Culture

Ana Gassola and Sonia Santos of Brasil Brazil.

The stage was cast in red and blue lights and covered in exotic instruments. From the seats, the audience could see microphones, traditional American drums, a guitar, a piano, bongos, chimes and more. On stage, Brasil Brazil was introduced with, "We have a fantastic, energetic show for you tonight."
As Ana Gassola and Sonia Santos entered the stage, the audience's excitement grew. The expectations were high for this performance.The Brazilian-born singers lead the group and travel the world performing Brazilian standards as well as some American music. Their music showcases the rhythms and culture of Brazil, bringing Brazil to you.
Gassola and Santos were accompanied by Pablo Medina on the keyboard, Paulo Gustavo on the bass, Sandro Feliciano on drums and Will Philips doing percussion. Each man brought his own element to the performance; Philips played everything from the chimes to the triangle, bongos to classic Brazilian percussion instruments.
Santos explained and demonstrated traditional Brazilian instruments with Gassola to an amused audience. The cuica is called the "crying and laughing" instrument, and its name truly matched it. Santos and Gassola entertained the audience not only with their singing, dancing and music as a whole but also through their jokes.
"Brazil is very mixed, so we brought Will Philips with us... from Texas." The audience laughed, as did the musicians on stage. Their performance was a mixture of their jokes, the audience soaking in their thick lyrical Portuguese accents and clapping, singing along, shouting and dancing in their seats to the upbeat Latin American music.
For those who missed Brasil Brazil, there are still two more musical performances to come that are sponsored by the Smith Fine Arts series. The Impressions performance will be Feb. 8 and the Portland Barozue Orchestra performance is March 31.
As the introducer of Brasil Brazil said, "It's so easy for people to just sit at home and watch T.V." If that is not what you want to spend your evening doing, then the Smith Fine Arts series is a great alternative.

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