A night in Rio

Ok, so it's not exactly Rio. But listening to the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim might be the next best thing.

On Wednesday, Phil DeGreg and friends gave a program of the music of Jobim in Werner Recital Hall at CCM. If the atmosphere wasn't exactly like midnight on the beach, the good news is that they'll repeat it again, Oct. 7 and 8 at the Blue Wisp, downtown.

With DeGreg on piano, Rusty Burge on vibraphone, Steve Whipple on bass and Stan Ginn on percussion, they opened with "Brigas Nunca Mai," which means, explained DeGreg, No More Fighting. He was our tour guide, giving details about the composer and the music.

"Double Rainbow" was a mellow jazz waltz, so sophisticated it sounded more like Darius Milhaud than Jobim. They finally struck a samba rhythm in "Retrato en Branco y Preto," with wonderfully inventive work on the vibraphone by Burge, who is some kind of genius.

The music professor explained that Jobim merged Europe with Brazil, so "Falando de Amor," that sounded like a blend of Debussy and samba, made perfect sense. "This Happy Madness" made you marvel at Burge's technique. DeGreg's piano ripples created a smoky, romantic atmosphere.

"Triste" is a bossa nova that means sadness, "but we do it kind of funky," said DeGreg. And so they did.

And you can't do Jobim without "Girl from Ipanema," but theirs was not languid. It was upbeat, and had rhythmic drive and changing meters.

My favorite was "Carminhos Cruzados." It's lush and simple, and it's also on DeGreg's Brasilia CD.