Recorded at studio Transamérica, São Paulo in February, 1987 and remastered by Lelo Nazario at Utopia Studio in São Paulo in February, 2012

Design - Toshio H. Yamasaki

Bonus tracks: 'Canção para Lupicínio Rodrigues': track recorded in studio; 'Veranico de Maio' and 'Contatos': recorded at Radio Suisse Romande in Geneva, Switzerland in 1986

Recorded one year after Pindorama, to all intents and purposes Cenas Brasileiras is a consequence of the same musical project. It was recorded to make good use of time Nenê, who was living in France, was spending in Brazil. “With the arrival of Nenê, the group began to sound increasingly more Brazilian. Not just because of the way we played, but also because of the way we composed”, Stroeter remarks.

Paulo Bellinati cannot forget how hard it was to play the ‘Dança do Saci Pererê’, one of the drummer’s compositions. “Nenê invented a few polyrhythms that gave us quite a bit of work. It took us weeks to get the arrangement right, because each one of us was playing a different rhythm. It was a very rewarding experience”, says the guitar player who adapted his suite for guitar called ‘Contatos’ for the original Pau Brasil line-up.

Nelson Ayres (who also contributed to two of the album’s tracks) notes that, even then, the group was especially concerned as to the form of arrangements and compositions. “Usually, we try to steer clear of the ‘famous’ theme-improvisation-theme jazz formula and I think we acquitted ourselves nicely In ‘Veranico de Maio’ and ‘Flor do Mato’. The formal solution is what gives the music its flavor”.

“Instead of repeated improvisations on a harmonic series, in keeping with traditional jazz practice, we created more open forms that allowed us to improvise more freely. In parts, the music became totally free and we would be trying to respond to whatever the other guy was playing at that moment. We were attempting spontaneous dialogue”, observes Roberto Sion.