JazzWorldQuest - Jazz News With A Global Perspective: USA/BRAZIL: "Legacy & Alchemy" Concert Series

Monday, September 12, 2016

USA/BRAZIL: "Legacy & Alchemy" Concert Series - Summer/Winter Olympics Through 2024

"Legacy & Alchemy" Honors Brazilian Music's

Cultural Legacy with Performances at Each

Summer and Winter Olympics Through 2024

Rio 2016 Summer Olympics Performances Featured

Vocalist Alexandra Jackson and Pianist Daniel Jobim

The Rio 2016 Summer Olympics was the moment and stage to honor the great Brazilian music cultural legacy, to celebrate its place and synergy with world music, and to suggest a way forward. 2016 is the 50th anniversary of the time when Bossa Nova and jazz were the world's pop music, and it is the 100th anniversary of Samba. American producer Robert Hebert seized this stage to introduce his multi-media series "Legacy & Alchemy" to the world and to introduce an exciting new vocalist, Alexandra Jackson. "This launch was years in the making and, to be honest, it was rather difficult to completely explain what we were actually doing over the years," Hebert says. "This project is ambitious, unprecedented, involves everything from media to technology to marketing, and has involved well over 200 people through the years."

The legendary Three Tenors series leveraged the 1990 to 2002 World Cup marketing and media platforms. Hebert's "Legacy & Alchemy" multimedia project will similarly play out on the global marketing and media platforms of the 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024 Olympics. Hebert will produce a series of multimedia projects that present great Brazilian music and artists in international collaborations, producing music that illustrates the evergreen and contemporary essence of the music.

Atlanta born Alexandra Jackson, who expertly blends jazz and Brazilian music, was featured as part of the "Bossa Nova Noites: 2016 in Rio de Janeiro" concert series that introduced "Legacy & Alchemy." The series featured Jackson and pianist Daniel Jobim in concert with an all-star band performing music from Jackson's upcoming album.

Listen to Single "Girl From Ipanema"

The youngest daughter of the late, legendary Atlanta Mayor Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr., and businesswoman and NPR personality Valerie Richardson Jackson, Jackson was raised on music ranging from Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Earth, Wind & Fire, Johnny Hartman, to Michael Jackson, Luciano Pavarotti and Antonio Carlos Jobim. It also is worth noting that Jackson has music in her genes. Jackson's grand aunt was Mattiwilda Dobbs, the African-American coloratura soprano who was one of the first Black singers to enjoy a major international career in opera.

Jackson is joined on her upcoming album by a breathtaking line-up of greats--ranging from the late Miles Davis, the late Antonio Carlos Jobim, the late Oscar Castro-Neves, Ivan Lins, Carlinhos Brown, The Jobim Trio, Dona Ivone Lara, Al Jarreau, Banda Black Rio, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Hubert Laws, Rod Temperton, Larry Williams, Arthur Maia, Ricardo Silveira, Darryl Jones, Teo Lima, Pretinho da Serrinha, Robertinho Silva, Marcelo Martins, Jesse Sadoc, Max Viana, Marco Brito, Armando Marcal, Chris Walker, Darryl Tookes, Curtis King, Maestro Charles Floyd, and other great masters.

As an illustration of the "Legacy & Alchemy" project's international collaboration during the Rio 2016 Olympics, Legacy & Alchemy, the Rio de Janeiro consulates of Germany, France and the United States, and the Antonio Carlos Jobim Institute co-hosted a VIP reception and private show at the residence of the Consul General of Germany. At this star-studded event, Hebert and the family of Tom Jobim introduced a historic new recording of Jobim's classic "Corcovado" with Alexandra Jackson featuring the great Miles Davis, Brazilian legend Ivan Lins, and the great Jobim himself.

Paulo Jobim says, "This album now from Alexandra is just great. I mean, she is singing great Portuguese, and we had a very good arrangement by Larry Williams, and then we could get the Miles Davis track with my father's voice and (that of) Ivan Lins. It is a great album and it is a great thing being done now with music."

Daniel Jobim adds, "The song ("Corcovado") is reborn. It is the same song but a new song, and this is the moment that we have to show it to the world. And the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games are perfect for it now. Everyone is here. "

Robert Hebert states, "Bringing forward the genius of Tom Jobim in this way to new generations of the world's music fans is revolutionary. Bringing Jobim's composition "Corcovado" together with the sound of Miles Davis, and the voices of living legend Ivan Lins and a fresh, promising American singer (Alexandra Jackson) brings a new sparkle to the Jobim legacy, and to the art of the world. We are honored that Ivan and the families of Miles Davis and Tom Jobim have embraced us." Just as this composition has brought a new vision to a timeless classic, the "Legacy & Alchemy" program and forthcoming album will attempt to bring new generations and audiences to a tradition of celebrated music.