Brazilian Current Ebbs and Flows

When a concert of Brazilian music can’t trigger much more than some mildly enthusiastic applause and a minimal amount of dancing in the aisles, something hasn’t gone quite right.

With Ivan Lins as a headliner, and veteran jazz and bossa nova singer Leny Andrade on the bill at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday, one might have hoped for a more vigorous response. But it wasn’t until Lins climaxed his set with the spirited, all-join-in melody and rhythms of “Tristeza” that the moderate-sized crowd finally began to stir.

That’s not to say that samba dancing in the aisles is the sole criterion for a first-rate program of Brazilian music. But the ambience of outdoor amphitheaters such as the Bowl and the John Anson Ford have in the past generated extraordinary blends of superb music and energetic entertainment from acts such as Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and, in fact, Lins.

As it turned out, this concert did include some dazzling music. But it arrived early, in the stunning opening set by singer Monica Salmaso. Her program was a masterful collection of styles and sounds, moving from traditional music into a gorgeous resetting of the Beatles’ “Blackbird.”

Salmaso’s voice is one of the most attractive to arrive from Brazil in recent memory. But beyond her wide vocal range and warm, velvety timbre, she also worked within musical settings that were filled with subtle creative aspects. Much was made of open space, of minimal percussive sounds and the juxtaposition of differing musical elements--all coming together into a propulsive platform of rhythm and sound to support Salmaso’s imaginative renderings. She is an artist to be watched, one with extraordinary potential.

Andrade’s approach was different--understandably, since she comes from a generation of singers that venerated Ella Fitzgerald and American jazz. But despite her articulate scatting and constant enthusiasm, much of her set had a dated, even lounge-act quality.

Lins’ performance was similarly lacking in impact, at least initially. Nor was his flow particularly aided by the odd scheduling that interrupted his set for a few songs by guitarist-singer Dori Caymmi (who sounded, as always, first-rate) and singer Leila Pinheiro (who did not). It wasn’t, in fact, until the two sparkplugs in Lins’ ensemble-- pianist Marcos Brito and drummer Teo Lima--kicked into action that the music rose to the level one anticipates from this gifted veteran.