March 22, 2016
Legendary Brazilian percussionist and composer Chico Medori is the man behind 80’s smooth jazz ensemble Grupo Medusa. Their two albums released in the early 80s blended smooth jazz sounds, popular in America at the time, with traditional Brazilian rhythms and claves. After playing drums and percussion with a series of bands, Chico started Grupo Medusa with bass player and best friend Claudio Bertrami in the late 70’s. Keen to push boundaries and explore new sounds, their music soundtracked a new hope and cultural explosion that was taking place in Brazil at the time. After decades of militarism and a long fight for democracy, a brighter future was materializing, and Grupo Medusa’s musical fusion seemed to tap into the nation’s new consciousness. In the years since Grupo Medusa disbanded, Chico Medori has continued to work tirelessly in his recording studio in Sao Paulo, producing for and playing with a wide range of artists including his daughter Graziella. The band reunited for a festival appearance in 2010 and Chico is planning to start work on new Grupo Medusa material very soon. In the meantime, BBE Music are re-issuing their spellbinding 1983 LP “Ferrovias”, so we thought perhaps it was time to pose some questions to the man behind the drum kit.
(Interview with Chico Medori conducted by Kall do Vale with additional words and editing by Will Sumsuch – January 2016)
Kall do Valle - Firstly, please tell us about your musical influences.
Chico Medori - My main influence was my brother, Valdir Medori, who used to have a band (accordion, guitar, drums, percussion and clarinet) while I was still a child. When I was about 6 years old, I listened to a lot of Brazilian music; samba, chorinho, baiâo, forró and other rhythms of Brazil, as well as waltzes and some music from the USA. The other band members came from a similar background. Amylson came from classical music to Brazilian popular music like Bossa Nova and Chorinho etc. My close friend Claudio Bertrami, who has unfortunately passed away, first learned to play the piano and later also mastered the bass, always playing Brazilian music. As a band we listened to a lot of internationally known music like the Beatles, Rolling Stones etc.
KDV - How old were you when you decided you’d like to be in a band?
CM - I started my musical career when I was seventeen. 2016 sees my fiftieth year on stage! I recorded with famous Brazilian musicians such as Toquinho, Simone, Wilson Simonal, Domiguinhos and Claudia (on the album Passario Emigrante feat. Hermeto Pascoal). I played in a lot of different bands over the years, but after playing in the Jazz-Rock band “Humauaca“ I decided to found “Grupo Medusa“ to create my very own sound, based on typical Brazilian music.
KDV - Did the other band members also play in other bands before founding Grupo Medusa?
CM - Yes, we all gathered a lot of experience in playing with other musicians, we gigged, recorded and jammed a lot with well-known musicians like Amylson and Claudio Bertrami and various Jazz, Jazz-Rock or Bossa Nova bands.
KDV - How and when did you meet each other? And how was the band formed?
CM - Grupo Medusa started as a casual meeting with Claudio (Bertrami) in a recording studio. We always met in the same studio while I was playing with a Jazz-Rock band, but soon we planned to do something completely different, going to a new musical direction. One day in the studio we talked about my ideas and initiated a meeting at Claudio's house, where I played him some of my compositions. Claudio was fascinated and even though he had never composed any instrumental music prior to our meeting, we started working together right away. Claudio composed some of our tracks himself, others we composed together. As soon as we had enough tracks, we invited Amylson Godo to listen and he joined in. A little later Heraldo do Monte joined the band to record our first album in 1980, and when we recorded “Ferrovias“ in 1982, the guitar player Alemâo also became a member of Grupo Medusa.
KDV - How did the name “Grupo Medusa“ come about? What does the album title “Ferrovias“ mean?
CM - Medusa was one of a few options, initially it was the title of one of my compositions, the band members chose this name in a little ’election.’ I came up with the title “Ferrovias“ (Railways) because I love trains! My grandfather used to work for the Brazilian railroad company and most trains in those days had been imported from the UK. Ever since my childhood I've been fascinated by trains and train stations; I can't get enough of them. I've been to France and travelled with the “TGV“ and when the train arrived at my destinations I just didn't want to get off. I took a lot of pictures...
KDV - How would you describe your music, and your sound?
CM - The music of the band is a fusion of Brazilian rhythms, from Baiâo, Forró to Samba, and some influences from African music and Jazz and other North American music. Brazilian culture, rhythm and music is the most important base of our sound.
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