Nation Beat
The Ottawa Jazz Fest and Axé Worldfest present Evening of São João - Sunday, June 23, 2024
Join us to experience a celebration of Brazilian culture and heritage! Old school Forró Pé de Serra and the best of Sivuca, Luiz Gonzaga, Gilberto Gil, Alceu Valença, Jackson do Pandeiro and Dominguinhos.
Dress up in São João (San Jean) style – think urban cowboys and modern Farm girls!
7:30pm: Flavia Nascimento Forró set
10:30pm: Nation Beat - Brooklyn
We will welcome Brazilian vendors:
Expect typical festival food such as Bolo de Milho, pop corn, Macaxeira, Canjica, curau, and much more.
Festa Junina, São João or the June Festival, are a few names of this type of celebration used in Brazil - a Portuguese Catholic tradition that was introduced to Brazil hundreds of years ago. Its events are based on the European Midsummer festivities celebrating the harvest and the saints (Saint Anthony, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint Peter). Despite its religious origins, the significance of Festa Junina is that of a large social gathering with dance, drinks, and of course food.
June is also a month to honour rain, the harvest season, and marital union. These celebrations feature typical Brazilian food and participants dress up like farmers, enjoy bonfires and dance the Quadrilha, a typical square dance.
This event has the promotional support of Saravah.ca.
A non profit in Ottawa dedicated to organize and promote Brazilian culturally diverse events and to support the settlement of Brazilian newcomers in Ottawa.
Nation Beat
Featuring:
Scott Kettner - drums and percussion
Paul Carlon - sax / flute
Mark Collins - trumpet
Heather Ewer - sousaphone
Tom McHugh - trombone
Special Guest: Melanie Scholtz - vocals
Funk. Bop. Forró. Brass.
Pounded by calloused hands, blasted from tightened lips, It calls across time and continents, uplifting hearts and moving hips and feet. It’s the force that blew through Louis Armstrong in the twenties. It’s the power that gets Brazilians dancing in the streets for Carnival. It’s the freedom that sets the music on fire.
It’s Nation Beat.
When band leader Scott Kettner looks at a map, he sees a direct line that connects the rivers of northeastern Brazil to the parishes of New Orleans and the streets of NYC. It’s a connection that came to him in 1999 amid the swirling dancers, ecstatic musicians, and powerful percussionists parading in the streets during Carnival in Recife, Brazil. He was there at the urging of his mentor, NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart, to study maracatu, the region’s complex, dance-inducing rhythm. He came home with a vision, a vision that achieves its highest, funkiest, and most expansive expression to date with the release of Nation Beat’s latest offering, Archaic Humans. It’s Nation Beat in overdrive.
The spirit of jazz. The bounce of Mardi Gras. The energy of Carnival. Music that uplifts the soul and connects the past with the future. One Nation under many beats. We are Nation Beat. Dance with us. Get the Beat!