More than 100 years ago, the writer Mario de Andrade (1893-1945) coined the term ‘pianolatry’ to satirize the passion of Brazilians for the piano.
Andrade, of course, was a fan of music and the instrument, but he was often irritated by its misuse, which entered the cultural curriculum of girls looking for a good marriage (skill at the keys would indicate that they would be gifted), and made the parents of these girls tormented the music schools, swearing that they were the reincarnation of Mozart or Beethoven.
The pianist from Rio de Janeiro, Jonathan Ferr, in turn, might start a new era of pianolatry, this time for nobler reasons. Alongside Pernambuco-born Amaro Freitas and Rio-born Yoùn, he leads a team of instrumentalists who translate the language of jazz to the periphery where they came from, adding elements such as Afro-Brazilian rhythms, soul music and hip hop.
Recently, Ferr released his third album, Freedomin which he dialogues with high-ranking names in the Afro-Brazilian scene – there are guest appearances by rappers Rashid and Tássia Reis, singers Tuyo and Luedji Luna and the Englishwoman Jesuton, among others.
The result refers to Black Radio Experiment, the series by pianist Robert Glasper launched in 2012 in which jazz was the starting point for experiments with soul music and rap. (This year, the third volume of Black Radio won an R&B Grammy.)
“I’m a fan of the way Glasper works with different musical genres”, says Ferr, who got to know the American instrumentalist during one of his trips around the country. “I took him to samba, Glasper was stoked,” exults the carioca, who also points to the rhythmic combinations of Italian Ludovico Eunadi as a source of inspiration.
Freedom, however, is far from being a xerox. Ferr is a pianist with personality and tells his story there. He was born and raised in Madureira, in the northern part of Rio. songs like current e Love Won’t Die refer to Black Rio, a movement that emerged in that city in the 1970s and spread widely at suburban dances, where Brazilian samba dialogued with American soul music and funk. They are the only songs on which Ferr is the vocal soloist. “I think the record had to start and end with me,” he explains.
Ferr, in a way, tells his recent history through his works. His previous album, Treatment, from 2021, was recorded and released during the pandemic. “Freedom then comes following you heal yourself,” he philosophizes, explaining the title of the new work. “My albums are moments of personal experimentation.”
In Ferr’s case, this experimentation came regarding through rituals of self-discovery through ayahuasca and through the self-isolation he proposed when he began the process of creating the album. He moved from Rio to São Paulo, where he started dialogues with the album’s guests.
But the philosophy of Freedom – which may sound strange to some – is accompanied by a vibrant musicality, a well-engineered dialogue between the different musical universes of Ferr and guests. It’s a collection of accessible, well-played pop songs – highlights for the piano playing in The sunwhich converses with the rhymes of rapper Rashid, or the delicate singing of Tássia Reis on the sticky Dropwhere the instrumentalist assumes the electronic keyboards.
The amalgamation between pop and sophisticated songbook is intentional. “I want my music to be heard by the little lady from Acre and the guy who has ten thousand records in her collection, who both hear and understand me,” Ferr told Brazil Journal.
Jonathan Ferr is a triumph of effort.
The piano came into his life in childhood, following watching the instrumentalist Pedrinho Mattar’s programs on television. “I bought several vinyls from him weeks ago,” he recalls.
His first instrument was a toy instrument, and he had to share it with his brothers – “piano is an expensive instrument.” Ferr worked at various menial jobs to support his dream and practically begged to win a ball at the Villa-Lobos Music School in Rio.
In 2019, he released his first album, The Love Trilogy. Nowadays, his talent is recognized by the curators of the main jazz festivals in the country and in the world and he wins praise articles in the The Guardian.
But just as important as this recognition by the media is its representativeness among the people of the periphery.
Last month, Ferr was in Salvador for a presentation. While waiting for check-in in the hotel lobby, he drummed a few tunes on the nearby piano. At the end of the mini recital, he was greeted by the employees.
“They identified with a person of the same origin as them playing an instrument considered to be elite. I came to connect,” he enthused. May Jonathan Ferr be an example of a new wave of pianolatry, this time on the periphery.
Photo: Renan Oliveira
Sergio Martins
