Quarteto em Cy rediscovered by Sean Lennon
While vacationing in Brazil, Sean Lennon attended a gig by the vocal group and recorded one of his dad’s songs with them. Last year, he had handed out 80 Quarteto em Cy CDs among his friends
Rodrigo Faour
14/11/2000
Lined up 36 years ago, on June 30, 1964, in Copacabana, Quarteto em Cy have always been keeping up with the best of BPM. Even though they have released yearly albums, it’s been a long time since they attracted so much fan attention as they got from Sean Lennon. He landed on Rio to play the Free Jazz festival, last month, and made a point about meeting and recording with the group.
"We learned that Sean was our fan through our producer, Marcelo Fróes. He was told that Sean was coming to play the Free Jazz fest, and that he loved us and that we should send him other Quarteto em Cy albums that were hard to find in the U.S. or in Japan", says a cheerful Cynara, who immediately produced a package and forwarded it to Lennon.
On the following week, Fróes invited Quarteto em Cy to perform the song Julia (Lennon/McCartney) in a Beatles tribute-album. What they did not expect was that Sean, on being informed of the singers’ participation, would decide to participate as well - especially because he avoids talking about his father. "On the brink of the recording session, we received a phone call from Geléia Geral (Gilberto Gil’s label, who is producing the CD) saying that Sean was going to record with us. From then on, it was all happiness. We spent three days with him, and had the best rapport. On the first day, we rehearsed from 11 a.m. through 6 p.m. He ended up writing the arrangement, and eventually we learned that he had bought 80 of our CDs to give to his friends. We were touched by that piece of information", she says.
Inspired by Antonio Maria
On the second meeting, scheduled for the recording, Cynara, Cyva, Cybele and Sonia were thinking of the vocal arrangements that were supposed to be written by Daniel Jobim or Celso Fonseca – the album’s producers – , but Sean arrived at the studio telling everyone that he had it all figured in his head. "It was beautiful, because he came in and said that he wanted to set everything himself, for our recording. He picked his favorite Quarteto em Cy LP, Antologia do Samba-Canção, chose the track Se Eu Morresse Amanhã (Antonio Maria) and told everybody to keep quiet. Then he said that he wanted to record with that same spirit. Which is exactly what we did."
On the next day, Sean discovered that Quarteto were playing a private concert in a medical company, and decided to go check it out with his wife, songwriter/musician Yuka Honda. "His only request was that we didn’t tell anyone that he was there, because he is a bit paranoid about security. Then, they came to the dressing room and we exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses. On the following day, we gave him the only gift that we had: a 4-CD box set that was released on Universal four years ago."
Cynara claims to be honored with Sean’s admiration. "It gives us a lot of strength, not because he is the son of you-know-who, but because he is really prepared. I was thrilled to see such a young man with an amazing background. He was able to write the voice arrangements right before recording, and so humbly. He’d say to us: ‘I’m not sure if you’re liking it’, in a very respectful manner. He makes music that is radically different from ours, but with some features in common. I heard his new disc and I loved it. It is filled with nice harmonies, beautiful lyrics. And his nature is so cool that he regards himself as a member of his wife’s band (Cibo Matto)", she exhilarates.
An intense year, with Vinicius close by
The group has put out two CDs for the Brazilian market in 2000: Vinicius: A Arte do Encontro and MPB-4 e Quarteto em Cy – Bossa Nova, recorded in 1992 on Lisa Ono’s label, Nanã. Now, the singers wait for two other CD releases, also scheduled to come out in 2000. The first is Falando de Amor pra Vinicius, recorded live in 1981 and mastered after a cassette tape that Cynara had kept for all these years. The second is an unreleased album recorded with Vinicius de Moraes in Barcelona in the early 70s. This disc is going to be part of a Vinicius box set.
Cynara credits Vinicius de Moraes for all the good things that have been happening to the group. "We have had incredible meetings along our career. The first was with Vinicius, who gave us our name. I told Sean that when I arrived in the United States in 1967, I saw a Beatles concert, and his dad was the same age that Sean is now. And here I am, 33 years later, having a ball with that guy’s son. Vinicius was right when he said that life is about meeting people", she sums up.
"We learned that Sean was our fan through our producer, Marcelo Fróes. He was told that Sean was coming to play the Free Jazz fest, and that he loved us and that we should send him other Quarteto em Cy albums that were hard to find in the U.S. or in Japan", says a cheerful Cynara, who immediately produced a package and forwarded it to Lennon.
On the following week, Fróes invited Quarteto em Cy to perform the song Julia (Lennon/McCartney) in a Beatles tribute-album. What they did not expect was that Sean, on being informed of the singers’ participation, would decide to participate as well - especially because he avoids talking about his father. "On the brink of the recording session, we received a phone call from Geléia Geral (Gilberto Gil’s label, who is producing the CD) saying that Sean was going to record with us. From then on, it was all happiness. We spent three days with him, and had the best rapport. On the first day, we rehearsed from 11 a.m. through 6 p.m. He ended up writing the arrangement, and eventually we learned that he had bought 80 of our CDs to give to his friends. We were touched by that piece of information", she says.
Inspired by Antonio Maria
On the second meeting, scheduled for the recording, Cynara, Cyva, Cybele and Sonia were thinking of the vocal arrangements that were supposed to be written by Daniel Jobim or Celso Fonseca – the album’s producers – , but Sean arrived at the studio telling everyone that he had it all figured in his head. "It was beautiful, because he came in and said that he wanted to set everything himself, for our recording. He picked his favorite Quarteto em Cy LP, Antologia do Samba-Canção, chose the track Se Eu Morresse Amanhã (Antonio Maria) and told everybody to keep quiet. Then he said that he wanted to record with that same spirit. Which is exactly what we did."
On the next day, Sean discovered that Quarteto were playing a private concert in a medical company, and decided to go check it out with his wife, songwriter/musician Yuka Honda. "His only request was that we didn’t tell anyone that he was there, because he is a bit paranoid about security. Then, they came to the dressing room and we exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses. On the following day, we gave him the only gift that we had: a 4-CD box set that was released on Universal four years ago."
Cynara claims to be honored with Sean’s admiration. "It gives us a lot of strength, not because he is the son of you-know-who, but because he is really prepared. I was thrilled to see such a young man with an amazing background. He was able to write the voice arrangements right before recording, and so humbly. He’d say to us: ‘I’m not sure if you’re liking it’, in a very respectful manner. He makes music that is radically different from ours, but with some features in common. I heard his new disc and I loved it. It is filled with nice harmonies, beautiful lyrics. And his nature is so cool that he regards himself as a member of his wife’s band (Cibo Matto)", she exhilarates.
An intense year, with Vinicius close by
The group has put out two CDs for the Brazilian market in 2000: Vinicius: A Arte do Encontro and MPB-4 e Quarteto em Cy – Bossa Nova, recorded in 1992 on Lisa Ono’s label, Nanã. Now, the singers wait for two other CD releases, also scheduled to come out in 2000. The first is Falando de Amor pra Vinicius, recorded live in 1981 and mastered after a cassette tape that Cynara had kept for all these years. The second is an unreleased album recorded with Vinicius de Moraes in Barcelona in the early 70s. This disc is going to be part of a Vinicius box set.
Cynara credits Vinicius de Moraes for all the good things that have been happening to the group. "We have had incredible meetings along our career. The first was with Vinicius, who gave us our name. I told Sean that when I arrived in the United States in 1967, I saw a Beatles concert, and his dad was the same age that Sean is now. And here I am, 33 years later, having a ball with that guy’s son. Vinicius was right when he said that life is about meeting people", she sums up.