For the uninitiated, Rosa Boêmia is sultry summer samba, sans singing. The Rochester three-piece’s name translates from Portuguese to English as “bohemian pink,” and they play choro, an upbeat, classical style of Brazilian music with roots in 19th-century Rio de Janeiro.
If you’re unfamiliar with choro (as I was), “Rosa do Inverno” is a great entry point. On nine instrumental pieces, the compositions conjure a mood that, like jazz, reflects one of the more positive parts of the colonial encounter. The music draws on African rhythmic traditions and European forms, leaving lots of latitude to improvise. Although choro translates roughly as “little lament,” the pieces here are anything but sad; they’re bright and buoyant.
The force behind Rosa Boemia’s compositions is Ken Luk, a musicology faculty member at the Eastman School of Music, who plays the bandolim (a Brazilian/Portuguese mandolin) and other instruments. In lieu of traditional drumming, Darien Lamen plays the pandeiro, a Brazilian percussion instrument that sounds like a louder tambourine. Bernardo Marcondes Rodrigues rounds out the trio on seven-string guitar, giving them a distinctly Brazilian foundation.
Rosa Boêmia has flair and demands to be heard, but the music is easy listening, virtuosic and relaxed. Captive to Latin rhythms, listeners might hear New Orleans on this album and Rosa Boêmia would sound right at home in that city. Lucky for us, they call Rochester home.
A standout track is “Um Pouco, Não,” in which guest flautist Laura Lentz adds a graceful overlay to the ensemble while the rhythm keeps the piece moving. The blend of polish and improvisation, along with the music’s larger Creole inheritance, comes through on “Não o Gato, Por Favor,” featuring guest violinist Marcos Kreutzer. African rhythms intertwine with European harmonies to create something neither tradition could have come up with on its own.
