Spotlight on: Dom Salvador

As I wind down my time on the East Coast I'm trying to connect with as many NY-based musicians before I'm no longer local and it gets more difficult to arrange interviews. Dom Salvador is one such individual. As you might remember from this older post, Dom lives in New York and plays nearly daily at either the River Cafe in Brooklyn Heights or the Water Club on the East River in Manhattan. I'll be meeting with the man later today to interview him about his career and I hope to write something up for inclusion in something like Wax Poetics in the near future.

This guy is truly a legend in the Brazilian music industry, that is for the ten years he was part of it. In 1973 he left Brazil and came to New York and has been living and working here ever since. While he was in Brazil he played with and recorded with the following musicians: Jorge Ben, Elis Regina, Elza Soares, Edu Lobo, Pixinguinha, Tim Maia, Toni Tornado, Dom Um Romao, Durval Ferreira, Mamao (of Azymuth), Geraldo Vespar, and future Banda Black Rio founder Oberdan among others. Once in the US he worked with Charlie Rouse, Harry Belafonte, Robin Kenyatta, and Herbie Mann among others. In honor of this monstrous talent and a very kind gentleman, here are a few of my favorite songs from his late-60s through mid-70s.

Dom Salvador e Abolicao - Uma Vida
This is the lead song from one of the greatest Brazilian Soul albums ever. This album more than any other merges Brazilian music with North American Soul sounds. The band is composed of many future greats of the Black Rio scene, namely Oberdan. Check out this great video on Soul Spectrum Videos of Elis Regina standing in for the original Abolicao vocalist, Maria, on the same track.

Dom Salvador - Tio Macro
This is the lead-off track from Dom's 1969 solo album that first shows off a taste for Soul music. Dom informed me that Mamao (later of Azymuth) plays drums, Cassiano is on guitar and Durval Ferreira either produced the album or played some other role.

The Charlie Rouse Band - Waiting on the Corner
Charlie Rouse approached Dom to put this album together and he included a few of his songs on the album, including this number. I slept on this one for years but it popped up on the ipod a couple months ago and knocked me flat. Kinda reminds me of a rootsier Deodato brazilian-disco groove.