{"id":251617,"date":"2019-07-07T07:00:33","date_gmt":"2019-07-07T10:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=251617"},"modified":"2019-07-05T19:14:31","modified_gmt":"2019-07-05T22:14:31","slug":"brazilian-bluesman-to-release-sufi-infused-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/brazilian-bluesman-to-release-sufi-infused-album\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazilian bluesman to release Sufi-infused album"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Bluesman Adriano Grineberg from S\u00e3o Paulo is about to release his third solo album. The music is influenced by the East and Sufism, a branch of Islam popular in West African countries like Mauritania.<\/p>\n

With a career spanning 20 years, Grineberg \u2013 who\u2019s opened for B.B. King in S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 is a researcher of blues music. According to him, Sufism is a core element of the genre. The culture of countries like Mali, Niger and Mauritania, as well as of the Tuaregs (Sahara Desert dwellers) informed the blues rhythmically, melodically and poetically.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a blues musician and my last album, Blues for Africa<\/em>, features influence from Africa and its extensions. The music of Islam in North Africa travelled to the United States, and it\u2019s the Islam-influenced music of the Sufis. Sufism is a key element of Middle East music, which doesn\u2019t employ the tempered scale that\u2019s used in Greek or classical music,\u201d said Grineberg.<\/p>\n

One vocal technique on showcase in his album is the slide or portamento. \u201cThe note slides, the melody keeps moving, it doesn\u2019t linger in any one note. It\u2019s a very widespread thing across the Middle East, and the melodies travelled to North Africa through the amalgamation of Sub-Saharan African peoples which embraced Islam,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

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Adriano Grineberg is about to release his third solo album<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Grineberg\u2019s soon-to-be-released CD 108<\/em> features a syncretic combination of religions and spirituality. There are songs in different languages, including Old Persian, Pakistan\u2019s Qawwali, India\u2019s Hindi, and Sub-Saharan Africa\u2019s Yoruba, in reinterpretations of candombl\u00e9<\/em> chants. \u201cI descend from many races,\u201d says the musician, part of whose family descends from places in the Middle East. \u201cI did musical research, and through the blues I found the influence of Sufism. It\u2019s a conflation of the spiritual paths that I\u2019m on. Sufism is very big in India, for instance, and closely related with Hinduism. Pakistan is also a very Sufi country, said the bluesman, who\u2019s been to both countries.<\/p>\n

He also travelled to Mali, one of the nations that appealed to him the most. \u201cIt\u2019s the most welcoming country, and one of the poorest in the world. These people are noteworthy, because in Mali, in Mauritania, that\u2019s where the blues was born, that\u2019s the DNA of the blues. And nowadays they have the so-called \u2018desert blues,\u2019 a style which brings the roots back to the desert,\u201d said Grineberg, whose goal is to go to some Arab country.<\/p>\n

Even though he hasn\u2019t written a song in Arabic yet, this is a challenge he wants to take on for his next record. \u201cThe track on this album that\u2019s closest to Arabic is \u2018Alla Hoo,\u2019 a poem about the Prophet Muhammed. It\u2019s a text from the Koran,\u201d said Grineberg, whose music is also infused with Brazilian styles. \u201cNortheast Brazil is permeated by Moor culture. The Northeast\u2019s bai\u00e3o<\/em> is really similar to African blues. This goes to show how influential Arab culture is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen to the track \u2018Alla Hoo\u2019:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/07.-Allah-Hoo-2.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Another connection between Arab traditions and the blues is orality. \u201cHistory in Africa is passed on orally, just like the tales, or causos<\/em>, from Brazil\u2019s Northeast. And blues music is passed on orally through storytelling. When you sing the blues, you\u2019re telling a story. It has to do with the expansion of Islam, which transformed all of Africa,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

108<\/em> will be released July 27 at Sesc Belezinho in a concert featuring eight brand new songs. Apart from the blues, Grineberg will play regional rhythms from Maranh\u00e3o, India, Pakistan and Middle East.<\/p>\n

Quick facts <\/strong><\/p>\n

108<\/em> album launch
\nJuly 27, 9 pm
\nSesc Belezinho \u2013 Rua Padre Adelino, 1,000, Belenzinho
\nFind out more: https:\/\/www.sescsp.org.br\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a live performance of a track from the Blues for Africa<\/em> album:<\/p>\n