Tickets are almost gone for Saturday night’s Bossa Nova Guitars show featuring Nate Najar and Phill Fest in the Side Door.
It’s a chance to hear two of the best acoustic guitarists in jazz on the same stage. Phill is the son of renowned Brazilian pianist Manfredo Fest.
At a previous incarnation of this show, I interviewed Nate about it. I’m reposting that interview here.
PalladiumPaul: Who have been your biggest influences, both as an early developing artist and in recent years?
Nate Najar
Najar: Charlie Byrd is probably at the top of the list— also Duke Ellington, Antônio Carlos Jobim, and Julian Bream. Jobim was Brazilian and largely responsible for the proliferation of Bossa Nova and Samba into the mainstream in the second half of the twentieth century.
PalladiumPaul: Did you start out on classical guitar?
Najar: No, I started out on electric guitar. I started playing at 10 or 11– I was playing blues, trying to do what the local blues people did. I saw these guys playing three chords, – doo-dee-diddly doo- I thought to myself “I want to do that.” But soon I changed direction.
PalladiumPaul: How did you get together with Phill Fest? What has the collaboration been like?
Najar: Phill’s father, Manfredo was one of the most well-known Brazilian piano players— he passed away in the late 90’s, after having a lot of success, and made his home in Clearwater in the last part of his life.
I never met Phill because I was young— I had heard him on the radio, though. Phil lives in South Florida now.
I love Brazilian music. I love the guitar, and Phill is a wonderful guitar player who comes out of that tradition. We loved collaborating, and it felt good to do a concert at home base. Phill and I have a lot of music to make going forward.
PalladiumPaul: What styles and sounds are you experimenting with these days?
Najar: This particular show, we’re focusing on a few different aspects of Brazilian Sounds, Bossa Nova, Samba, and Baion, Choro. Baion is a rhythm from the North of Brazil– characterized by a certain triplet beat, a driving sort of sound. Choro is an older musical style– the best analogy to Choro in North American music would be rag time. It’s the street music of Rio de Janeiro. It was widely played in the first half of the twentieth century.
Bossa Nova Guitars, featuring Nate Najar and Phill Fest. Nate and Phill will be joined by Patrick Bettison on bass and Jean Bolduc on drums. Show is Saturday, Aug. 10, in the Side Door Cabaret. For tickets and information follow this link or call the box office at 727 822-3590.
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