MP3: Na Boca Do Sol: Verocai Live at Los Angeles Theater Center

It has been a week since Brasilian composer/arranger Arthur Verocai performed in Los Angeles. To have Verocai come to Los Angeles once for Timeless was incredible – to get him back for a reprise was pure magic. Arthur arrived on Monday afternoon after a long flight from Rio. After some needed rest we began rehearsals on Tuesday morning. The delight in the faces of the musicians as the music struck up was palpable.

After some re-arrangements and adjustments the advertised band of 12 became 14. We added electric guitar player Woody Aplanalp and master percussionist Krishna Booker. The band is a Timeless All-Star group with mostly musicians who had played in the original series, many from the original Arthur Verocai concert.

Unforgivably early Thursday morning, we all convened in Santa Monica at KCRW. Morning Becomes Eclectic has been playing Verocai’s music since the Timeless concert series. It was through host Jason Bentley and producer Ariana Morgenstern’s efforts that the live performance there became a possibility.

That morning the 11 o’clock hour of MBE was truly electric. Halfway through the performance the band sang Arthur happy birthday. June 17th, wasn’t just Arthur’s first live performance on radio in the US, it was also his birthday. The performance is archived in the link below…

Friday came fast and the expectation in Los Angeles was huge. Some internet issues with spam meant a lot of people didn’t get their invites until the last day. As the lobby filled to capacity Quartetto Fantastico went through their final check. Their performance opening for Arthur was magical, you can hear a little of it on the beginning of the video.

After a quick break Arthur took the stage – the band being smaller than it had been for Timeless took nothing away from the power of the music. Many in attendance actually preferred the performance at the LATC because of its intimacy. At the end Arthur received a long standing ovation, he then asked the crowd “What music do you want to hear?”

via VTECH