Brazilian Jazz Brings Life to La Ve Lee

“Is this the Brazilian music place?”

This latest phone call Monday night was actually just another that opened with the same question. And restaurant-club owner Eddie Arbi has long since accepted this definition of his La Ve Lee, even if he opened up the business more than a decade ago to spotlight the Mediterranean food he spends his nights in the back preparing.

But a few years ago Arbi and his longtime friend, jazz-pop vocalist Al Jarreau, were thinking hard about what sort of entertainment would help La Ve Lee survive in the always competitive restaurant wars. Their search for music with an ethnic flavor that wouldn’t overwhelm diners ultimately brought them to Brazilian jazz.

For two years now, La Ve Lee has presented Brazil’s rising musical stars, such as the current engagement of Afro-Brazilian vocalist Sonia Santos, and has inevitably developed into one of the city’s top showcases for the South American musical style. “It’s a tough business,” Arbi said. “That’s why you have to have something to follow with it, something unique.”

This philosophy, he said, is a reflection of his memories of the glamorous nightclub scenes from 1940s movies, where entertainers would gracefully sing, dance and joke with an audience. With Santos, he said, he’s found it again. The cast member of the “Oba Oba ‘90” Brazilian entertainment revue performs an involving, upbeat set of music and dance, all while dressed in colorful African-style clothing.

La Ve Lee’s musical focus has paralleled, and fed into, a widening popularity of Brazilian jazz, one that has recently even seen the introduction of a Brazilian music hot line to keep track of all the activity.

Drummer Aziz Bucater, who has been La Ve Lee’s house percussionist for the last seven months, said he has probably appeared on at least 100 Brazilian jazz albums and has toured Europe and South America as backup to artists such as Benito de Paula. But he said he was surprised at the level of support found for his music in the Los Angeles area.

“I think people like the emotion of the music,” Bucater said. “It’s less technical and has more feeling.”

La Ve Lee, 12514 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, offers Brazilian jazz at 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Afro-Brazilian vocalist Sonia Santos, of “Oba Oba ‘90,” performs through August. A $10 cover Fridays through Sundays for those not dining. No cover Wednesdays and Thursdays. There is a two-drink minimum. Call (818) 980-8158.