Azymuth is a Brazilian

jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creatio ...

trio formed in 1973. The original band members were the now late Jose Roberto Bertrami (

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

), plus Alex Malheiros (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s), and Ivan Conti (

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

History

From 1979 to 1988, they released many albums for

Milestone Records Milestone Records is an American jazz record company and label founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz in New York City. The company was bought by Fantasy Records in 1972. Since then, it has produced LP reissues (including items from Ke ...

. They also had a major hit single with "Jazz Carnival", a product of their ''Light as a Feather'' album, in 1979. It peaked at number 19 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in January 1980. Since the mid-1990s, they have released albums on the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

based

Far Out Recordings Far Out Recordings is a UK-based record label specialising in the music of Brazil. It was founded in the mid-1990s and is run by DJ, entrepreneur and producer Joe Davis. Music released on the label extends from samba, jazz, MPB, soul and disc ...

label, while remaining based in Brazil, and continue to tour in Europe. Azymuth have also been involved in producing albums and their artists have been involved in several other projects through the years, including an album by Brazilian singer-songwriter Ana Mazzotti, and the 2005 debut album, ''Equilibria'', by Alex Malheiros's daughter

Sabrina Malheiros Sabrina Malheiros (born 1979) is a Brazilian MPB singer/songwriter. Her music has been described as " nu bossa", combining house beats with jazz and samba influences and "cool, detached-sounding vocals",Siobhan Murphy"Sabrina Malheiros brings ...

. They call their music "Samba Doido", which means "Crazy Samba". Since the advent of the

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

, many of Azymuth's songs have been redone by a wide range of artists and musicians. Several electronic acts like

Jazzanova Alexander Barck, Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany Jazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reine ...

among many others, can be heard remixing their works.

Solo careers

Ivan "Mamão" Conti has released several solo records, including ''The Human Factor'' (

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

, 1984). In 2008, Conti and hip hop musician

Madlib Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), and Fr ...

released an album as "Jackson-Conti" titled '' Sujinho''. Alex Malheiros has released ''Atlantic Forest'' (

, 1985), Zenith (Niterói Discos, 1992) and ''The Wave'' (Far Out, 2009). Bertrami had the largest solo career. His album ''Things Are Different'' (Far Out Recordings, 2001) featured

Robertinho Silva Robertinho Silva (born 1941)allmusic Biography/ref> is a Brazilian drummer known for jazz. His first album was ''Música Popular Brasileira'' in 1981. He began his career with the band Som Imaginário with Zé Rodrix, Wagner Tiso and Luiz Alve ...

among others. Bertrami died on July 8, 2012 at age 66.

Other contributors

*Ariovaldo Contesini was the original fourth member and percussionist. He provided

during the recording session of the Azimuth EP and album in 1975. However, Contesini left the band shortly after completing the album. *Jota Moraes is a

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

, who filled in for Bertrami after his departure from the group in 1988. He recorded as a member of Azymuth for the next two albums after the former's departure. Bertrami returned to his role upon the reunion of Azymuth in the mid-1990 *Marinho Boffa joined Azymuth in recording sessions with German saxophonist Jürgen Seefelder.

Discography

Pre-Azymuth

Studio albums

* 1972: ''Som Ambiente'' - CID Entertainment (with

Marcos Valle Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portugue ...

, credited as 'Som Ambiente') * 1972: ''Brazil by Music Fly Cruzeiro'' -

Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul was the second oldest airline of Brazil, tracing its origins to 1927, when it was founded as Syndicato Condor, a subsidiary of Deutsche Luft Hansa. Syndicato Condor retained rights and interests of a former Ger ...

('uncredited')

Single

* 1972: "Concerto para um Verão" / "The Girl from Paramaribo" (with

, credited as 'Alan and his Orchestra')

As Azymuth

Original motion picture soundtrack

* 1973 - ''O Fabuloso Fittipaldi'' -

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...

(with Marcos Valle)

Studio albums

*1975: ''Azimüth'' (original issue on Som Livre) - 2CD reissue on Far Out Recordings *1977: ''Aguia Não Come Mosca'' (Atlantic) *1979: ''Light as a Feather'' (Milestone) *1979: ''Live at the Copacabana Palace'' (Isis) *1980: ''Dear Prelude'' (Compilation) *1980: ''Outubro'' (Milestone) *1982: ''Cascades'' (Milestone) *1982: ''Telecommunication'' (Milestone) *1984: ''Rapid Transit'' (Milestone) *1984: ''Flame'' (Milestone) *1985: ''Spectrum'' (Milestone) *1986: ''Tightrope Walker'' (Milestone) *1987: ''Crazy Rhythm'' (Milestone) *1988: ''Carioca'' (Milestone) *1989: ''Tudo Bem'' (Intima) *1990: ''Curumim'' (Intima) *1991: ''Volta a Turma'' *1994: ''21 Anos'' *1996: ''Jazz Carnival'' (Far Out) *1998: ''Woodland Warrior'' (Far Out) *1999: ''Pieces of Ipanema'' (Far Out) *2000: ''Before We Forget'' (Far Out) *2002: ''Partido Novo'' (Far Out) *2004: ''Brazilian Soul'' (Far Out) *2006: ''Pure: The Far Out Years 1995-2006'' (Far Out) *2008: ''Butterfly'' (Far Out) *2011: ''Aurora'' (Far Out) *2016: ''Fênix'' (Far Out) *2019: ''Demos (1973-1975), Vol. 1 & 2'' (Far Out) *2020: ''Azymuth JID004'' (Jazz Is Dead) with

Adrian Younge Adrian Younge (born May 7, 1978) is an American composer, arranger and music producer based in the Los Angeles area. Background Younge grew up in Fontana, California. His father is a lawyer and Younge himself earned a Juris Doctor degree fr ...

and

Ali Shaheed Muhammad Ali Shaheed Muhammad (born August 11, 1970) is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, and rapper, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg (and sometimes Jarobi White), the group released five studio albums ...

References

External links

Azymuth
*
Azymuth
interview on Clubbity {{DEFAULTSORT:Azymuth Brazilian jazz ensembles Musical groups established in 1971 Far Out Recordings artists Milestone Records artists Atlantic Records artists