Brazilian Music Preserved Through Classic Songbooks

This country may be the only one in the world where the word 'songbook' is a trademarked entity. What's more, the man who registered 'songbook' as a copyrighted property--Almir Chediak--has not only become a living definition of the word in Brazil, but also has emerged as one of the most influential figures in contemporary Brazilian music.
Since 1988, Chediak's book publishing company, Editora Lumiar, has released 13 'songbooks.' These books, which resemble notebook-sized tablets, contain written versions of Brazil's best-known classics, as well as biographical interviews and rare photos of their composers.
Complementing Chediak's book company is Gravadora Lumiar, a recording company set up by the 47-year-old Rio de Janeiro native in 1990. The label has released 37 titles, including 13 discs launched simultaneously with the songbooks.
Most songbooks are based on composers, but some are rooted in noted Brazilian genres like bossa nova. The songbooks retail for approximately $30; the CDs sell for about $20.
Among the globally famous Brazilian artists who have collaborated with Chediak on his songbooks and recordings are Caetano Veloso (Chediak's first project, in 1989), Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gilberto Gil, Djavan, Milton Nascimento, Rita Lee, and Dorival Caymmi.
Because the artists themselves worked with Chediak on their tunes, the stars who put out songbooks with him are now demanding that their publishing companies recognize Chediak's versions of their works as authentic and 'official.'
Given the fact that accurate sheet music by Brazilian authors has historically been in short supply, Chediak's work has been keenly noticed by Brazil's musical elite, almost all of whom have teamed with Chediak.
'Jobim always complained to me,' recalls Chediak, 'that there were more than 20 songbooks of his work published all over the world, but they were all wrong. There is nobody like the composer who knows which should be the right way to compose a song.'
The genesis of Chediak's foray into publishing began in the early '80s when he was a renowned guitar guru teaching such stars as Gal Costa, Tim Maia, Elba Ramalho, Carlo Lyra, and Moraes Moreira.
Chediak noticed that Brazilian composers did not utilize a standard form of writing guitar tablatures, or tabs. At least five were being used at the time, which confused students and performers.
This inconsistency led Chediak to author the book 'Composition And Harmony' in 1988. Chediak's tome offered a standardized method to write tabs for Brazilian music.
According to Chediak, 'Composition And Harmony' has sold 45,000 copies--a highly successful tally by national standards--and it inspired Chediak to expand on his other notions of standardization of Brazilian music.
'The idea of the songbook was born in Caetano Veloso's house,' says Chediak. 'I was teaching his son Moreno, and after the class I met Caetano, and we began to chat about all of the mistakes that could be found in the lyrics and harmonies of his published songs. Then I proposed to publish a book with the official version of his songs.'
Veloso accepted Chediak's proposal. In 1989, Chediak bowed with 'Songbook--Caetano Veloso,' a two-volume set boasting 135 of Veloso's songs.
Two unalterable principles anchor the foundation of Chediak's songbooks: First, work with the composer, and second, write the song in the most accessible way it can be read by a musician.
Composers who have partnered with Chediak have found the experience not only important but enjoyable as well. Caymmi, who was well into his 80s when he spent 10 months in 1994 with Chediak to complete his 98-song set, has fond memories of their teamwork.
'Almir is very clever and competent in the difficult work of publishing music, always putting first the fidelity to what the author has created,' says Caymmi. 'He has a great deal of respect for the original melody and harmony. And he is capable of traveling three hours just to get the photo he needed. That is why he is so highly respected by the musicians.'
Lee, whose songbook was published in 1996, concurs with Caymmi, saying that Chediak 'called me 1,000 times a day to check harmonies, and he never quits. I always look in (my) book when my memory fails me, and during those times, I thank God that Almir exists.'
As for song clarity, Chediak observes that composers often request the performed versions of work to be spotlighted in the songbooks. However, Chediak has convinced most of the standout tunesmiths that their takes 'were not the best way to put it on paper, because the one who plays (from the sheet music) must be free to give his own interpretation.'
The only artist whom Chediak did allow to retain his performed versions as part of the songbook was Djavan.
'After months of discussion,' says Chediak, 'he convinced me that the performance was the main part of his composing, and that is the way the songs appear in the book, with all of the crazy (rhythmic) divisions that he does when he sings them.'
Chediak admits that he has been much criticized for the two-volume Djavan songbooks, a compendium regarded as far too difficult to master even by experienced musicians.
The idea of creating albums relating to, but not directly derived from, the songbook format took root in 1990, when Chediak was working on a songbook of Noel Rosa, Brazil's pre-eminent composer in the '30s.
'When Noel was playing, the harmony was not well developed in Brazilian popular music,' states Chediak, 'and I kept in the book the very simple chord sequences that were used by musicians of that time. But I also asked 30 composers to create modern harmonies for 30 of the songs, so that students could see the difference among the ancient and modern harmonies of Brazilian music.'
After persuading Brazilian notables like Jobim, Gil, and Chico Buarque de Hollanda to pen updated harmonies for Rosa's music, says Chediak, getting them into the studio to cut the tracks was a breeze.
The album 'Songbook--Noel Rosa'Êhas sold 40,000 units, says Chediak, and it was awarded a Premio Sharp music prize and the Grand Prize of the Soo Paulo Critics Assn. in 1991.
Chediak says he has never lost money on any of his projects. His two companies employ 14 full-time staffers and 25 freelancers. Chediak himself is publisher of the books and producer of the albums. His companies are self-distributed, and he retains representatives in all of Brazil's major cities.
Over the years, Chediak had developed an unusual marketing strategy for his product. He accepts no sponsorship money. In addition, none of the evergreen recordings derived from the songbooks receive airplay, and none of the participating artists is permitted to perform these tracks on radio or TV. 'This way,' he says, 'the majors don't see me as a competitor.'
Nonetheless, his record release events draw plenty of attention from the media and Brazil's superstars.
In late December, for instance, Gravadora Lumiar released 'Minha Alma Canta,' a compilation of tracks recorded by Jobim from other songbooks between 1991 and '94. Also put out by Editora Lumiar was a biography of Jobim penned by Brazil's noted music journalist Sƒrgio Cabral, titled 'Antonio Carlos Jobim--Uma Biografia.'
The function celebrating the release of the two titles attracted big-name, multimedia coverage, plus the appearances of Gil, Veloso, and Nana Caymmi, daughter of Dorival.
Chediak currently is undertaking his most ambitious project yet, a songbook of Buarque de Hollanda. The four-volume songbook, featuring 216 compositions, will be accompanied by an eight-CD set. The songbook and CD set is slated to drop this year.
Further, Chediak is producing two albums by bossa nova artists: 'Johnny Alf And Leandro Braga' and 'Jooo Donato And Eloir De Moraes.' He also is working on songbooks and corresponding albums of Donato and bossa nova composer Marcos Valle.
Chediak points out with evident glee that famed bossa nova guitarist Jooo Gilberto will record a track on the songbook album of Donato, one of Gilberto's biggest influences.
Chediak is also attempting to duplicate his Brazilian success elsewhere. Three of the songbooks--those of Jobim, Djavan, and bossa nova--are bilingual (Portuguese/English) and are widely available in Europe, where Lumiar has a representative. Japan, where Brazilian music is increasingly popular, also is an important market, according to Chediak.
In the world's largest market, the U.S., Chediak is still seeking a representative for his product.

(c) BPI Communications, 1998 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED