It’s sad to hear of the recent passing of Brazilian drummer Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti. I’m not 100% certain of this, but I believe Azymuth – Conti and his musical collaborators Bertrami and Malheiros – were the core backing band on one of my all-time favourite albums, Marcos Valle’s sublime Previsão do Tempo.
I’m not going to pretend I’m an expert on Conti or his career. I only know he and his Azymuth buddies contributed to a wonderfully rich musical tradition, in which samba and other trad’ Brazilian forms were alloyed with pop, jazz, funk, soul (even disco!).
I have a number of albums featuring Mamão’s percussive skills, and my own group, Capricorn, performed an Azymuth track in our set for many years (thanks Rod Norman, for suggesting we do that!), namely Jazz Carnival.
Mamão, thanks for all the fantastic music. May you rest in funky serenity and soulful peace!