Last Saturday, on a night that featured a large selection of acts from around the world, Rio de Janeiro-born Marcio Local took the stage at Webster Hall with a mix of samba, rock and funk clearly inspired by Jorge Benjor and Tim Maia, the ’70s Brazilian pioneers who fused the sounds of James Brown, George Clinton and Sly & Family Stone with their own home-grown beats. With a tight band behind him, he quickly got the audience to its feet as he went through mostly original material. Among the best in the band was keyboardist Leo Fernandes, who added several jazzy riffs to the tunes, which elevated them to a higher level. What the other members of the band (Dom Oliveira, cavaquinho; Thiago Silva, drums; Sido, bass) might lack in technique they overcome with great groove and feeling.
Though Local's music has a very up-tempo beat, that doesn't mean that they are all about partying. Indeed, in one of the tunes, the lyrics criticize the Americanization of Brazilian and the country's risk of losing its roots and cultural values. His songs have a strong samba foundation, but it is clear that he borrows from several other genres, running the gamut from mangue beat (a fusion of rap with Northeastern Brazilian beats), early hip-hop and other sounds.
Local won the crowd over with his charisma and great charm, and after about 40 minutes he closed with a straight-ahead samba that left most of the crowd almost breathless and pretty much eager to hear more. Hopefully, all the venue programmers present there liked what they heard—and will have this band return during the summer festival season.
