Mitchell Long: News

MITCHELL LONG QUINTET playing high energy Brazilian music and beyond!...featuring Just like the old days atTrilogy but now its called Bside. A RARE ONE TIME ONLY SHOW - DON'T MISS IT!!!

I am looking forward to being back home. I am originally a Californian boy and enjoying being in Los Angeles but I spent so many wonderful years in Boulder that I do call it my HOME! I hope that you will join me in the band if your in Boulder for a exciting musical reunion of my group featuring my great friends Bill Kopper on Guitar, Raoul de Rossiter on Drums, EricThorin on Bass and Jeff Jenkins on Piano.

HERES THE INFO:
THIS SUNDAY, SEPT. 21 - 9:30 PM
MITCHELL LONG GROUP @ B Side

COVER: $5.00

www.thebsidelounge.com 2017 13th Boulder Colorado 80302303 473 9463

7/14/08 This Monday night:

Direct from Cape Verde islands!
Exclusive one night only show!
Award winning Cape Verdean singer:

DIVA!
http://www.myspace.com/divamindelo

@ SAINT ROCKE beautiful new venue in Hermosa Beach:
www.saintrocke.com
142 south pacific coast highway
Hermosa Beach, Ca. 90254
Tel: 310 372 0035

Featuring world class musicians:
Mitchell Long - Guitar, Matt Spencer - Bass, Enzo Tedesco - Drums, Frank Fontaine - Saxophone

Cover charge will be $10.00 at the door

Show time 8:00 sharp

For more information and reservations call: Dilma Barros 310 923 3126

Happy New Year and well wishes to all for 2008. I am so excited about the possibilities for the future.

I brought the New Year in with Vinx at Genghis Cohen in Hollywood. We had an intimate and very fun show with a great crowd of Vinx lovers and a nice band with lots of percussion. Vinx never loses the magic of singing and playing powerful rhythms on his drum. He is an original, with a universal voice. What a great way to bring the New Year in. “Tell My Feet, I have made it home”

As I prepare to travel and perform in Cape Verde with Maria de Barros I feel the incredible emotion anticipating being in the cradle of Morabeza, that inexplicable and undeniable hospitality that is uniquely Cape Verdean. The best way to explain it: Sit and relax with your favorite food or drink, close your eyes and listen to some Mournas of Cesaria Evora like “Sombras Di Distino” or “Roma Crioula” Then tell me if you don’t feel it. There is something special there in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Morabeza. Sabura. Crioulo.

Before I go to CV I will be doing a show at Chaya with my favorite trio featuring legendary bassist Jose Marino and fine young drummer Cristiano Novelli. As always, go to myspace.com/mitchelllongmusic for my complete schedule and details.

Happy 2008

I hope your all doing well for the holidays. And I am looking forward to an amazing New Year! I am excited to have some nice gigs coming up. Ill be at Chaya with my Brazilian trio on the 6th of January. Then im out again with Maria de Barros to the Cape Verde islands on 8th for one week.

Go to my myspace page for complete schedual...

Happy New Year!!!

I have started a section called "WORK AS A SIDEMAN" on the navigation link: Listen to mp3 . There you will find recordings I did with other artists. There is some nice variety here to show you some of my work in different styles etc. I hope you take some time to read the notes on each tune and listen to it all.

Enjoy,

Mitchell

I finally took some time to add some of my photos from the incredible two month trip to Cape Verde with Maria De Barros. There were so many great moments and I have about 1,000 fotos that I chose from. I am still working on getting them in order and adding more info in the captions. Ill be adding more fotos from other trips soon. Hope you enjoy, and feel free to leave any comments or questions you have, I love hearing from you.

Hello from Vienna, Austria ...Its been a while since I updated the website, I have been so busy being a music man in Los Angeles I only find time on the road to write here. There have been some wonderful musical and life moments. I feel blessed to live in Los Angeles with so many great local and visiting musicians to meet, work with and listen to. I am still very excited to be involved with Maria de Barros, we are working on her 3rd record on Putomayos new label and infact we are right now touring in Austria, and eastern Europe then in the Carribean next week. I have been studying Cape Verdean music alot, and spending alot of time with Jazz as well. I will try to get my schedual, new music, and fotos especially from the trip to Cape Verde up on the web site soon. Thank you for visiting the site and any comments and suggestions are greatly apreciated. I hope you visit the www.myspace.com/mitchelllongmusic
page as well as communicate with me here. Somtimes it seems my space is more important to muscians these days than a personal website! But many people are finding me here online and I am so glad to hook up with old and new friends.

peace out
Mitchell

You may wonder as you go from island to island why the call it "cape green" because there is very little green vegetation and it looks like a dry desert with some big barren mountains... But then we went to island of Brava. And what an amazing experience it was. The only access is a one and a half hour trip from Fogo by boat and the boats only travel two or three times a week or you can rent a small and run down yaught like we did. When we arrived it looks like the other islands, but more mountainous. What a surprise as we loaded into and climbed on to the back of some pick up trucks and started up the winding typical Cape Verdean cobblestone roads. We drove up towards the clouds and into the most lush paradise blooming everywhere with flowers trees and gardens with milho verde. The simple and tranquil roads and small houses of the city of Nova Cintra are perfectly romantic. The people are simple and real. But the the varied current of electricity burned out the power amps and we had to cancel the show that night. But Maria de Barros, (whos family is originaly from Brava) showed her fierce determination to the people. They had waited for hours and hours to see her and welcome her home. so she said she would sail back the next morning to Fogo and bring replacement equipment. She even got stranded floating in the middle of the sea on the way back for 4 hours when a engine belt broke on the boat. But after all the work we were there with a full sound system and alot of heart at 8:30 pm playing one of the most beautiful shows ever. The many children swarmed to the front of the stage and literally bathed Maria constantly with beautiful flowers. It was an emotional and soulful feeling to be there in that small town square playing a free show for those many people with such soulfull faces, smiles and exuberant energy. What a great and special show!!! Maria de Barros, I will say it again: I love you ...and the band!

Tud dret means all is good. And its going great here in Cabo Verde. We have played some memorable big festival shows including the famous Baia das Gatas. Maria got down and gave one of the best shows I ever saw. And it was an incredible feeling to finally be in front of the great crowd of Cape Verdeans. There so many great acts I saw there as well, like Cesaria Evora, Sara Tavares, and so many more. We played an incredible concert in Praia, isle of Santiago. It was a pleasure to play in the capital of Cabo Verde for an audience that included the president, and many of the great musicians from the Cape Verdean community. It was an emotionally charged evening and the band played great. Maria was barefoot and brilliant. There have been so many experiences here that are beyond words. I feel so lucky to have learned about the music here in Cabo Verde. To finally be here has many times brought tears of joy and imense appreciation of a very interesting culture thriving in the middle of the sea. It is Africa, It is Brasil, It is Europe, but mostly its CAPE VERDE and constantly becoming Cape Verde. A new world with a painfull past and difficult future, but you cannot find a smile more beautiful than on the faces of the people here, and the music, the music, the music. I feel the Funana entering into my veins like a delicious and firey veneno that doesnt stop untill everyone is dancing. The mourna with so many great singers crooning with big full emotional voices. The sensual Zouk dancing into the early morning with the Kriolas. The sambas, coladeiras, chorinhos, mazurkas, batuque, etc... Its alot to take in! And there are some wizards of the guitar like some old men I saw in a cafe in Sao Vicente, Biuj with his velvet voice and fierce rythmic style or Quim Alves, the brother of Kako who playes with Cesaria. I got to rehearse his original music for possible concerts coming up in America and it was like a master class in Cape Verdean folkloric styles. He was explaining the roots and talked about the many rhythms that are rare but fantastic styles in the history of music here. I think he said Santiago has 18 different rhythmic styles. I had a treat to go see a rehearsal of a dance company here and the drumming was done by 12 to 15 years boys, but they played fast and hard like adults. The dance was traditional mixed with modern interpretations. At one point they did an exaggerated version of the Funana that was spectacular. I look forward to seeing their performance soon. The tenacity of art here is inspiring. They rehearsed in a tiny open air room that was so hot, but they didnt stop or pause, they worked relentlessly! The term starving artist here takes on another meaning. There are no grants to pay for producing shows or air conditioned studios to work in... This is a recurring theme here I see, Like a flower blossoming from a crack in the concrete. When I return home I look forward to sharing a big show of pictures from the trip.
Abraco
Me Chill

I will be on tour to Cape Verde with Maria de Barros from august 3rd until September 19th. We will be playing concerts and festivals on many different islands and recording tracks for her third release. I am looking forward to meeting the home and culture finally of this wonderful music and people I have embraced and been enchanted by. I should have some good stories for you when I get back!

Here is one way to let you know some of what I have been up to... A review of a recent show.

WORLD MUSIC REVIEW
Sounds of Brazil, via Southland

By Don Heckman, Special to The Times

Here's an idea for some of the Southland's numerous music presenters: In your quest to showcase music from around the world, don't overlook the diverse performers and ensembles available right here in Southern California.

That thought kept persisting during the performance Wednesday by Ted Falcon and the Los Angeles Choro Ensemble at the Vic in Santa Monica. One of the first presentations in the venue's dedication to unusual programming in the new "Fission Wednesdays" series, the Choro Ensemble's performance was enhanced by guest singer Katia Moraes, ukulele player Marvin Falcon and flutist Rebecca Kleinmann.

Choro is often labeled the "New Orleans jazz of Brazil" and there are similarities, most notably in the brisk rhythmic swing, the fast-paced, improvisation-like melodies and the melting pot blend of African rhythms with European harmonies. But choro icons such as Pixinguinha and Jacob do Bandolim took the music into even more adventurous arenas, in the process creating a uniquely Brazilian form of expression.

Ted Falcon, who is not Brazilian, is nonetheless fascinated by choro and has spent years dedicating himself to the music with an outsider's passion. His performance at the Vic offered selections from his new album, "Memorias do Brasil," a fascinating assemblage of classic choro and new originals driven by his mandolin and violin skills and rich compositional insights.

Among the highlights: a dynamic solo-driven romp through Do Bandolim's "Assanhado" featuring Mitchell Long's electrifying playing of the cavaquinho (a small four-string guitar), and Falcon's own "Choro Nova," with its combination of complex harmonies and shifting rhythms.

The guest performers added more spice to the proceedings. Marvin Falcon (Ted's jazz musician father) called for a musical shift of gears with a Hot Club of France-inspired jazz take on "Lady Be Good." Kleinmann's warm toned, lyrical flute offered a colorful contrast to the fast-paced clarinet work of Andy Connell. And Moraes' singing, as always, was a virtual definition of the passion that is an implicit part of Brazilian music.

I just got back from a trip to Louisiana with Maria de Barros. We had a fantastic trip, I really love this band and the music. All the elements are present; good happy people and freindship, soulfull and skillfull musicianship, great original melodies and infectious grooves, and beautiful Marias dedication and grace at the helm. Viva Cabo Verde!

We played the House of Blues with The Skatelites and The Iguanas. Then at the Festival International de Louisiane, where Cyro Baptistas rhythmic and irreverent "Beat the Donkey" and all the African bands blew my mind. This is an excellent music festival.

We are happy to have the help of Putumayo our new record company and distributor. They are a great company with my kind of taste in music, and just wonderful people.

I felt it was important to see New Orleans during Jazz Fest and the way they are coming through the storm. The hurricanes destruction was primordial scary and merciless. And lets face it, the abandonment of all these people on the Gulf Coast and in the city of New Orleans is one horrific chapter in our country. And they are not happy about it.

But the storm settles and there we were with a friend and fan we met, Denis Rufin, who had lost everything... He invited the whole band on a wonderful warm evening to his new apartment and treated us out on his lovely porch to my favorite drink: ti-punch made with Rhum agricole from Guadeloupe and so much crawfish-potatoes-corn on the cob and beer we couldnt finish it all, we then wandered down the street to The Maple Leaf where Papa Grows Funk was doing the funk louisiana thing, the real funky deal...

amen

I have been taking time off from teaching in past with touring and being so busy but I am now looking for and taking students on monday and tuesday's. Please contact me for prices and availability etc..

Another day in the musical journey that is my life and career: Recorded a Brazilian style track for rap group Jurassic 5's DJ NuMark today. It was fun, I played mad guitar and sang strong and long.

I did something like that a few months ago on Sergio Mendes new record, and the song I played on comes out this month.

Started work today with Katia Moraes on the repertoire for the carnival show at the Queen Mary, last year we shared the stage there with Jorge Benjor. I’ll play with the second carnival act (Nayzeth)

There is another show coming up at a cool music venue "The Temple bar" where I will play my original music solo, then play with an original Brazilian pop group. The third set is with Brazilian sensation Katia Moraes and our group Pure Samba.

I still have my residency gigs Thursday though Saturday at Gauchos Village in Glendale. I have been writing more songs than ever before. I am studying Jazz again and so far just sitting in with some legendary cats. I was saying when I first got here, that LA is not a Jazz town, but I stand corrected! I get to meet and see such amazing cats like vibraphonist Nick Mancini, or guitarist on tour from NYC Randy Napoleon. Jazz lives in LA.

Have to say somthing about tonight. I had the great pleasure of playing with Tita Lima. Good songs and a nice band too. I hope to continue working with her, she is a perfect artist for me, I really felt at home with her and her music. Its delicious! LISTEN: www.titalimalimao.com
Well then after we played, the venerable genius composer Dori Caymmi and effortless mastery of Joyce reigned supreme with their truly world class band. I looked around and allthough everyone was emotional and happy, I am pretty sure I enjoyed it more than anyone could have, with tears of joy when they went into Samba da Benção. Is there anyone that loves Brazilian music more than me?

No gig tonight, just chillin with the gouls and goblins. The last days or weekend was a bit haunted, but I played solo at Gauchos Village then friday and saturday with the Band Pure Samba. Saturday night was pretty cool with the Halloween Party. I love how the brazilians get in costume to the max, and always the highlight is Daniela and oya samba dancers dancing!

Played at the french restaurant "Taix" tonight on sunset blvd ...with Billy Kent, Leo Costa, Keith (bass player) Billy and us did a set then I did some of my tunes, looks like we are trying to do a regular tuesday here. Sharing the night with Billy and my original music.

Tonight was another busy night at gauchos with fernando raio on bass. always fun to play this materiel and the samba dancers are amazing

Updating the website is a fulltime job!!! But glad to be here and let you know I am here.