Guitarist John Pisano Feels Brazilian Beat

Guitarist/composer John Pisano likes to joke that his particular affinity for Brazilian music stems from his having been a Brazilian in a former life.

“I was in Brazil with Sergio Mendes a few years ago and when I started playing, people would look at Sergio, point at me and ask, ‘Brasileiro? ‘ ‘Is he Brazilian?’ ” the 57-year-old musician recalled at his Studio City home. “I’ve just had a feel for it (Brazilian music). I can’t put my finger on why. The feeling’s been there a long time.”

One reason is that Pisano--who leads his Brazilian/jazz quartet, Velas, tonight at Le Cafe and Monday at Alfonse’s--has heard Brazilian music, in one form or another, all his life. “One of my first recollections of music was Carmen Miranda’s Bando Carioca, which I saw in several films,” he said. “That sound stuck in my head.”

Though Pisano’s career has meandered through several styles, from strictly mainstream jazz with Benny Goodman, Chico Hamilton, Joe Pass and Ken Nordine--he was the guitar soloist on all the “Word Jazz” LPs--to Latin-ish pop fare with Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass, the guitarist has gradually become more and more consumed with the popular music of Brazil.

“My main energy has been into Brazilian stuff for years,” he said. “I have been playing it since the ‘50s, when I heard an album by (reedman) Bud Shank and (guitarist) Laurindo Almeida, of which I wore out several copies,” he said. “Through the ‘60s I was always playing it (Brazilian music), but I also did all the other stuff, too. But I was best at that. That was always my thing, to be able to play Brazilian.”

Velas--which features pianist/vocalist Frank Zotolli, drummer Everaldo Ferreria and bassist Jose Marino--is Pisano’s main musical preoccupation. The guitarist feels that the four men are an explosive combination. “When we get into our thing, it really comes off,” he said. “Rhythmically, we get a real good groove. You feel it right away. It’s not just a bunch of guys playing. It’s good most of the time.”

The band, which is negotiating for a record deal, plays originals by band members, as well as tunes by such Brazilians as Ivan Lins and Dori Caymmi. Still, the material gives Pisano ample opportunity for jazz improvisation. “What I play is basically jazz, it’s just over a different rhythmic base,” he said.

Even though Velas doesn’t tour, Pisano is in the enviable position of not having to worry about making a living from the band, or from music in general. His income is derived mostly from investments, and from royalties from tunes he wrote during his tenure with Alpert. One song, “So What’s New?” from the “What Now My Love?” A&M; LP, became a minor hit.

“When I last checked, over 50 people had covered it,” Pisano said. “(Pianist) Horst Jankowski used it as the title track for an album, Chet Atkins recorded it, Count Basie didn’t,” he added, laughing.

Working with Alpert, for whom Pisano played off and on between 1965-1983, was a boon for the guitarist.

“I’m sure glad I joined,” he said. “I don’t know where I’d be today if I hadn’t. I might have locked myself into a good studio position. But I never really enjoyed studio work. It’s not easy. There was always a pressure. I never felt real confident; there was something that made me edgy. And you’re not having a good time. I had a lot more fun with Herb. And you’re traveling, too. Seeing places, making money.”

At first, because of the type of music Alpert was playing, Pisano, who had solid jazz credentials at the time, was reluctant to join the Brass. “I told Herb I couldn’t take his kind of music seriously,” the guitarist said, “so he pursued me more, because he wanted musicians who were serious. But then I started taking that kind of music seriously when I went to the mailbox and opened up a check for $40,000. I remember thinking, ‘Well, maybe this is something, after all.’ ”

It was just before joining Alpert, when the bossa nova boom was brightest, that Pisano jumped into Brazilian music with both feet. “The first guy to really influence me was Joao Gilberto,” he said. “He played on the first and third beats in the bass, and added hot rhythms on top. Then I graduated to stronger players like Baden Powell, and I practiced with his records. It takes a little while to get this pulse. At that time, a lot of the top studio players didn’t have the concept down. In Brazil, the maid can pick up a guitar and do that same rhythm.”