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JazzTimes Review, May 2008
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Weird, but this guy with the name Ed Johnson composes some of the finest Brazilian music in the world from his home base in Northern California. It just goes to show that the world-wide reach of the bossa nova style popularized by Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto and Baden Powell has never lessened and infiltrates all corners of the globe. The joyful and romantic strains of bossa nova are what Johnson co-opts so well with his eight-piece Novo Tempo.
Johnson even possesses the Milton Nascimento/Ivan Lins sweet falsetto, which he showcases on original tunes like “Song For My Daughter,” “Behind The Fire,” and “Katrina,” as well as on those mixing English and Portuguese, including “Shipwrecked (Naufragado)” and “Chorar.” But Johnson’s real strength comes with his vocalese–no traslation needed–especially when working in tandem with pianist Jennifer Scott on “Samba 2 Tom” and “Clean Up.” Although Johnson of course works the nylon string with lyrical ease, Scott Sorkin’s plugged-in accompaniment and Scott’s piano solo give tunes like “The Other Road” a delightful Metheny-esque touch.
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The Other Road featured on www.connectbrazil.com
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The Other Road is now "Editor's Pick" on the syndicated radio show "The Sounds Of Brazil." Visit www.connectbrazil.com.
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Available now at cdbaby.com
Ed's 2007 release The Other Road (Cumulus Records) showcases his considerable talents as a composer, vocalist, guitarist, and arranger. The twelve original songs and compositions on this album (eleven written by Ed) unfold like exotic landscapes, evoking lush images in sound. The album features brilliant solo and ensemble performances from all the members of NOVO TEMPO: brass man JOHN WORLEY, KRISTEN STROM on woodwinds, guitar/ mandolin wizard SCOTT SORKIN, and Canadian pianist and songstress JENNIFER SCOTT. The rhythm sections features Canadian bass star RENE WORST, drummer MARK IVESTER, and percussionists JEFF BUSCH and MICHAELLE GOERLITZ. Additional drums and percussion are provided by JASON LEWIS and BRIAN RICE.
The Other Road
Ed Johnson & Novo Tempo | Cumulus (2007)
By Michael P. Gladstone
comments
It has been three years since Movimento (Cumulus, 2004), the last album from singer/guitarist Ed Johnson & Novo Tempo, and the wait has been worth it. The Other Road , from this San Francisco Bay Area ensemble, evokes vivid memories of Brazilian samba and bossa nova music before the Tropicalia Movement introduced rock music into the menu of the first wave of bossa singer/songwriters in the early 1970s. At the same time, despite numerous re-awakenings of acoustic samba music, where does one have to go to hear some examples of this genre?
Johnson & Novo Tempo's music may seem retro to some, but to those who still actively admire the music of artists including Jobim, de Moraes and Powell, that music serves as a springboard for the original compositions of this group. On Movimento, Johnson wrote seven of the ten tunes, but goes the full route with The Other Road, writing all save for one from guitarist Scott Sorkin. Johnson's music is what Sergio Mendes began in the mid-1960s with Wanda de Sah and Marcos Valle, and then plateaued into a world of pop covers.
The album begins up-tempo with a frevo-style samba. On both “Samba 2 Tom” and “Clean Up,” Johnson and pianist Jennifer Scott provide harmonized vocalese to keep the infectious melody going, with occasional statements from trumpeter/flugelhornist John Worley and soprano saxophonist Kristen Strom. There are seven English language songs and two that are delivered bilingually in Portuguese and English, as well as some with a repeated Portuguese refrain.
Johnson's high range on Movimento was reminiscent of Milton Nascimento, and is even more evident on much of The Other Road . On several of the English songs it is easy to hear the comparison with Nascimento's soaring style, while Johnson’s vocal register on songs including the balladic “Song for my Daughter,” accompanied initially by acoustic nylon-string guitar, recalls the range of Jobim and Joao Gilberto. Still, on the title tune, Johnson and Scott again leap into vocalese with Strom's simpatico flute solo.
“Chorar,” with additional Portuguese lyrics from Lucy Carter, offers Johnson on a ballad that could be performed successfully in a non-bossa setting. Worley's showcase flugelhorn solo fits perfectly, with Johnson's Portuguese conclusion providing the icing on the cake..
Hurricane Katrina and what came afterwards has provided the inspiration for a lot of music, but recently composed lyrics expressing the frustration of the event and it's aftermath are less common. Johnson's “Katrina” could easily serve as a substitute to Randy Newman’s already overplayed “Louisiana 1927.” Taken at a misleading midt-empo bounce, the words belie the rhythm with such thoughts as “...No shirts, no shoes, no service/No place for the weak and the poor/No more saints, no more sinners, just losers, some winners/And you wonder why we sing the blues...”
Track listing: Samba 2 Tom; Clean Up; Pacifica; Song For My Daughter; The Other Road; Chiquito; View From Above; Chorar; Katrina; Shipwrecked (Naufraugado); Bolero: Solo a Vivir; Behind The Fire (only to live).
Personnel: Ed Johnson: guitar, vocals; Jennifer Scott: vocals, piano; Kristen Strom: woodwinds; John Worley: trumpet, flugelhorn; Scott Sorkin: guitar; Rene Worst: bass; Michaelle Goerlitz: percussion; Mark Ivester: drums; Jeff Busch: percussion.
Style: Brazilian | Published: December 23, 2007
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Pacifca Tribune
January 15, 2008
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Brazilian magic at the Sanchez
with Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo
By Jean Bartlett ARTS CORRESPONDENT
Article Launched: January 15, 2008
Read the full article
Legendary Bay Area guitarist, composer, vocalist and arranger Ed Johnson, whose teachers have included vocalist Bobby McFerrin, is playing Saturday night at Pacifica Performances Sanchez Concert Hall with his top notch Bay Area ensemble Novo Tempo.
The band who previously delivered the 2004 critically acclaimed CD "Movimento" (Johnson-composed bossa novas written in original bossa style) went back into the recording studio to pump out the October 2007 Brazilian-fused release "The Other Road" which has critics racing for superlatives.
Along with Johnson on vocals and guitar, Novo Tempo's rich musician lineup consists of: Jennifer Scott on piano and vocals, John Worley on trumpet and flugelhorn, Kristen Strom on sax and flute, Scott Sorkin on guitar, Rene Worst on bass, Jason Lewis on drums and Michalle Goerlitz on percussion.
"What is great about this group of musicians is there is a tremendous amount of mutual respect and love for what each of us brings," said Johnson. "There are always a lot of wonderful surprises when we play because we have the ability and the trust to take off and go in any direction. The ensemble centers around the sound, but the collective and individual talent is just so well suited to the material that it makes each song, that much better." Johnson and Novo Tempo will be playing songs from "The Other Road." With the exception of the partido alto samba "View from Above," written by guitarist Sorkin, all songs on the CD were composed by Johnson. There is an energy samba tribute to Jobim called "Samba 2 Tom" with Ed and Jennifer weighing in towards the end on sweet vocal scatting. The reggae-infused "Katrina" co-written with Lissy Abraham is already climbing the charts on the national airwaves. "Chorar" (to cry), with additional Portuguese lyrics from Lucy Carter, is a ballad that opens up the stage to showcase the gift of Worley on flugelhorn. The title tune "The Other Road" is a samba in three. And there is of course, more.
"I describe our music as Brazilian inspired and influenced and I think there is an expansiveness to our sound," said Johnson. Brazilian critics are calling his sound "authentic, before the Tropic lia Movement introduced rock into the sambas and bossas of Jobim and Sergio Mendes."
Born in San Francisco, raised in Palo Alto, Johnson's road into the life of a musician was a natural progression. "I don't know why I chose it but in third grade, I started on the E-flat alto horn. Then I started playing French horn in 5th grade. I also took up piano in fourth grade. Of course those were the days when schools had thriving music departments."
There was also a lot of music in Johnson's house. His mom often played piano and sang standards. Sometimes his dad would 'scratch' along on the fiddle or the ukulele. There was always somebody practicing an instrument or the record player was going.
"When I was pretty young, my older brother really planted a lot of seeds by introducing me to jazz greats like Miles Davis and John Coltrane. He also had some Antonio Carlos Jobim and that really caught my ear. I learned to never really reject anything first time hearing it."
When Johnson was a sophomore in high school, he started playing electric guitar. His inspiration was the Beatles. In his senior year he heard a friend playing classical guitar and he wanted to sign up for that and did. Electric guitar changed to nylon string classical and then to acoustic steel string.
"I was part of a folk duo in high school," said Johnson. "We played at a place called The Tangent in Palo Alto and a couple of other little clubs up and down the Peninsula. I was really into singing and that's when I started to develop my voice more. I always sang as a kid but when my voice changed, I suddenly had a range of about six notes. But since I wanted at that time to be a combination of John Lennon and Paul McCartney; I learned a ton of their songs to improve my voice. Also, playing the French horn really taught me to support my vocals."
Johnson also started composing in high school. "I went back to the piano and started writing small, jazz-oriented ensemble pieces. Then I started to write songs in my late teens with guitar and those were of different genres such as R&B, acoustic, folk and pop. My early passion for Brazilian music just kept growing and that really became a life long passion. I love studying it and the feelings that it brings up in me."
"The thing is, the Brazilian language is so musical, so when it is sung, there is nothing quite like it. The country with all of its volatile history has given birth to incredible music and art and literature. There are unique modes of expression in Brazilian music that are so different from anything else."
If you like the early rhythms of bossa nova and samba, if you like a musician's passion for harmonies which definitely celebrate the sounds of Brazil, and if you like songs with words to make you think and dream, then see you Saturday night when Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo climb onboard the Sanchez Concert Hall stage.
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May 11, 2007
Palo Alto Weekly
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 Teacher is the
constant pupil
South American sound keeps jazzman
hooked for life
—Paul Freeman,
Palo Alto Weekly,
Friday, May 11
Menlo Park jazz guitarist and vocalist Ed Johnson and his band Novo Tempo celebrate the release of a captivating new CD, "The Other Road," with shows this weekend at Berkeley's Jazz School and Redwood City's Little Fox.
Johnson, who recently performed in the Pacific Northwest, plans more extensive touring this summer and fall. On the road, "The Other Road" should have wide appeal.
The album, which conveys Johnson's fervent feeling for Brazilian flavors, was two years in the making. "I wanted to expand the song forms a little more, open up the compositions a little more to feature some of the great players in the band," composer Johnson said. "I was writing with them in mind."
Novo Tempo came together over the course of a few years. Johnson initially thought of talented colleagues Kristin Strom (woodwinds) and guitarist/mandolinist Scott Sorkin, and through Strom was introduced to prominent brass man John Worley. Then Johnson met Canadian pianist/singer Jennifer Scott and her husband, bassist Rene Worst, at a music camp. Soon, drummer Mark Ivester and percussionist Jeff Busch came on board to provide rhythmic foundations.
Justly proud of the band, Johnson said, "Everyone in the group has a solo career in their own right. Everyone has confidence in themselves, their abilities. So we can just let the music emerge naturally, without any conflict of egos, all the sort of stuff that often tears bands apart."
Johnson left room for spontaneity. The band members recorded most of the tunes playing live together in the studio.
"Part of the sound generated by this group is so dependent on the feel of it when we're playing together. I really wanted to capture that on the recording."
Growing up in Palo Alto, Johnson began fiddling around on an electric guitar, playing rock and blues. "Then I had a friend who was taking classical guitar lessons and he was learning all this incredible, exotic music from South America that I'd never heard before. I was transfixed," he said.
"Around that time, the late '60s, the Bossa Nova wave had hit America, so there was no escaping hearing that. Brazilian music had already made an imprint on American culture. The music of Antonio Carlos Jobim appealed to me a lot. That's how I got into jazz."
Though Johnson became adept at many styles, it was the sounds of Brazil that held particular fascination.
"Much as so much of American music is a result of a cross-pollination of styles, that's what Brazilian music is, as well," Johnson said. "You have the Portuguese bringing the traditional, classical European model, fused together with African music, as well as music of the (native peoples). So there was quite a mix of cultures. The country has a volatile history but has borne some of the most incredible music that the world has heard.
"There's always a sort of bittersweet quality about Brazilian music that's beautiful and can break your heart at the same time."
Johnson studied with such luminaries as Tuck Andress and Bobby McFerrin. "From Tuck, I learned so much about the instrument, an approach of trying to do things that you don't think are possible."
Johnson teaches guitar and voice at Palo Alto's Gryphon Stringed Instruments. "You learn a lot by teaching. You learn how to get things clearly across to people - How do you improve your skills? How do you approach music? How do you listen to music? I try to get all those things across. It's not all how to play a G chord or the C scale," he said, it's about taking the guitar and "making it part of the family of instruments, finding a common means of expression and language with other musicians."
Johnson said it was passion that got him into music, and what kept him going later on whenever he felt discouraged. "I would think back on what got me playing in the first place - it was inspiration and expression. And that's what I try to get across to my students - always stay in touch with that."
Currently, Johnson is setting up online guitar lessons, which will be launched in the next month or so, with details at his site: www.edbjohnson.com.
Johnson constantly listens to South American music, new and old, and some quite obscure.
"Just as in America, every generation spawns a new musical style. You progress through the decades and see how the music has changed. Yet there's a unique thread that ties it all together.
"Some people are taking samba and bossa nova into new directions. Some have gone into a new style called 'choro,' which is like Brazilian bluegrass, mixed with jazz," Johnson laughed. "It's crazy, wonderful stuff."
Johnson remains a student, as well as a teacher. "I started down this path in my late teens and I still feel like I'm just at the top layer of soil."
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