Heart of Brazil’s Sound Beats On in L.A.

The rich, endlessly varied treasure trove of Brazilian music provides yet another splendid reward this weekend in the Brazilian Summer Festival ’96 at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre. The event is the latest in a string of Southland performances--including recent appearances by two brilliant composer-performers, Ivan Lins and Gilberto Gil at the House of Blues--illustrating the enormous range of music originating in South America’s largest nation.

What makes the festival particularly fascinating is the fact that its talented lineup of artists features almost all local Brazilian performers, a testimony to the quality and the quantity of Brazilian music in the Los Angeles community.

Saturday’s program is subtitled “A Day in Rio de Janeiro” and showcases the colors and sounds of the samba, with dancers and musicians re-creating the mood of Carnival. Performers include singer Claudia Villela, the samba musicians and dancers Josias & Sambrasil, the unique Cheremoya Escola de Samba--an ensemble that simulates the rhythms and the dances of Rio’s famous Carnival samba clubs--and a tribute to Brazilian jazz great Moacir Santos by keyboardist Rique Pantoja and his quintet.

On Sunday, the focus moves to the African-tinged beats of Bahia in northern Brazil, with appearances by Meia Noite and his stirring Midnight Drums Band, including dance demonstrations of a variety of typical Bahian rhythms. The high energy of Lula & Afro Brazil and return performances by the Cheremoya Escola and Pantoja fill out the bill.

festival also will have Brazilian arts and crafts booths and traditional Brazilian menus at the food concessions. Information: (818) 566-1111.

On Record: The music of Madagascar, the large island 250 miles off the coast of southeast Africa, is not quite like any other in the world, reflecting the country’s unusually far-ranging cultural heritage. “Beneath Southern Skies” (Shanachie) by the traditional Malagasy ensemble Tarika Sammy, uses such unfamiliar instruments as the valiha, a harp made from a bamboo tube strung with metal strings, and the jejy voatavo, a gourd-mounted instrument with adjacent sets of strings. The songs, most of them written by band members, contain echoes of Polynesian vocal harmonies (the first inhabitants of Madagascar were from the South Pacific) underscored by gentle rhythms played on rattles, shakers and resonant bamboo sticks.

A new recording spotlighting the roaring bass voice of Mahlathini with the Mahotella Queens, “Stoki Stoki” (Shanachie), marks the South African group’s 30th anniversary. . . . And Johnny Clegg, who plays the Universal Amphitheatre Aug. 7, can be heard on two just-released retrospectives, “The Best of Johnny Clegg & Savuka” (Priority/EMI) and “A Johnny Clegg and Juluka Collection” (Putumayo).

Sounds Around Town: Plaza de la Raza’s 1996 Con Sabor Latino summer series, “Noches Tropicales,” continues through July with three outstanding programs. Timbalero Rudy Regalado serves up his special salsa next Friday. On July 19, Johnny “La Maquina” Martinez provides cha-cha, mambo and Latin jazz. And July 26, Orquesta M.C. #1, a three-time Golden Globe winner, turns up the Cuban heat. Plaza de la Raza is located at 3540 N. Mission Road. All tickets are $10. Information: (213) 223-2475.

LunaPark’s varied world music programming for the month includes the Afro-Latin funk of Caravana on Saturday, the Afro dance music of Bateke Beat (July 13), the Brazilian steel drums of Meia Noite and Midnight Drums (July 20), and the mambo music of Mango Bang (July 27).

In other events, Brazilian composer-percussionist Mayuto Correa will make a rare appearance at the Jazz Bakery tonight and Saturday with an eclectic nine-piece ensemble he calls “Geniuses 2000.” . . . Duchicela, a group specializing in the music of the Quichua Indians of Ecuador, will give a free concert at the California Plaza July 12 at noon. . . . The amazing multi-octave voice of Yma Sumac reverberates through the House of Blues on July 16. . . . Samba queen Christiane Callil and her energetic Brazilian dancers, the Girls From Ipanema, return to the Century Club for a one-night appearance July 20. . . . Peruvian Independence Day will be celebrated by the Peruvian group Inca, the Afro-Peruvian singer Pepe Vasquez and the La Combinacion salsa band at the Ford Amphitheatre on July 28. . . . The Chieftains, the venerable Irish ensemble whose collaboration with Van Morrison on “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” won a Grammy this year, perform at the Universal Amphitheatre on July 29 with Nanci Griffith.