Márcio Faraco: The Intimate Sounds of Francophile Bossa Nova Come to Live@365 in October

From samba to bossa nova, Brazilian music has gone global. That’s what singer-songwriter Márcio Faraco discovered when he moved from Rio de Janeiro to France more than 20 years ago. He’s made his career there, and along the way he’s developed a unique, warm, and loving take on Brazilian popular music that also embraces his adopted country’s sounds and gives a few discreet nods to jazz.

His songs are in full bloom on his seventh album, Cajuiero, and he’ll be bringing them to New York on October 30, at 7 pm, as part of Live@365, a world music concert series produced by Isabel Soffer/LiveSounds for the Department of Public Programs at the Graduate Center.

“The album’s title, Cajueiro, was very deliberate,” Faraco explains. “It’s our name for the cashew. Everybody knows the nut, but how many know anything about the rest of the tree? I think that sums up Brazilian music. People know the famous styles, but not the rest, and certainly not the way I approach it. For me, the title track is the one that brings together everything I think about music.”

And that approach reflects his own life, steeped in Brazil and its melodies and rhythms, but now very French, too. It’s a mix that finds expression in the track “Paris.”

“I live in Paris but I still spend a lot of time in Brazil,” Faraco says. “I love the city but there are times I hate it, too; it’s a real paradox. So I wanted to bring in some things with a very Parisian feel – the musette accordion, the Gypsy swing – to work alongside the samba and try to illustrate the different ways I feel about the place.”

Cajueiro is a disc that surprises and delights with its changes in direction. “Catalpa,” for instance, is a gentle stroll through a sunny garden, a duet in French with acclaimed young singer Sian Pottok, sandwiched between the thoughtful samba-chanson of “Quo Vadis” and the bossa nova of “Mundo Lelê.” It’s the Brazil of Faraco’s mind, with its innate warmth and joy, but seen through a lens of time and emotional distance.

Born in Alegrete, close to the border with Argentina, Faraco moved all over Brazil before ending up in Rio, trying to find an audience for his songs. A trip to France brought a warmer reception and he decided to stay, making a living playing the music of his heroes, people like Jobim and Gilberto, and mixing in his original compositions, hoping they’d be noticed. A meeting with Chico Barque, one of the legendary figures of Brazilian music, changed his life.

“I’d been playing in bars, but no one wanted to record me,” Faraco says. “Then Chico listened to my songs and loved them. He recommended me to a record label and appeared on my first album, Ciranda.”

Faraco might have been a late bloomer as a recording artist, but over the course of seven albums, his reputation and his musical daring have grown. He’s become a highly individual creator, one who can balance the soft melodic hooks that bubble up throughout “Fortuna” with the subtle, wise poetry of his lyrics to make a captivating, inviting whole. It’s a sound that grows with each hearing, quiet but insistent.

“I’ve never been a loud singer,” Faraco admits. “My melodies focus on the rhythm on the song, rather than any vocal power. Anyway, with microphones there’s no need to sing loud! I think you can be often be far more eloquent with a quiet voice.”

Cajueiro illustrates exactly why Faraco is often called one of the most Francophile of Brazilians. It’s the work of a man who’s grown to be comfortable in his own skin. Along the way, he’s found his past in his present.

“For a few years, I’ve had a song in my head about a Brazil that only exists in my memory,” Faraco observes. “In the end it was in Paris that I planted this very Brazilian tree, this cajueiro, and picked out the songs. Taken as a whole they sketch out a map of Brazil and France. Of my life.”

He’ll be sharing that life, in his understated style, in New York City on October 30. “When I’m on stage things are always very informal,” Faraco notes. “The performances are very intimate. Each song is a chance to tell a story, and I love telling stories.”

About Live@365:

Live@365 is presented by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and curated/produced by Isabel Soffer/LiveSounds.org. All Live@365 shows take place at the Graduate Center’s Elebash Recital Hall, an intimate, 180-seat space with classical recital hall design and superb state-of-the-art sound.

Live@365 is funded with generous gifts from the Baisley Powell Elebash Fund and the Ford Foundation’s Good Neighbor Committee.

The Graduate Center is located at 365 5th Avenue, between West 34 and West 35th Street. The venue is a short walk from the 6 train at the 33rd Street stop, the B / D / F / M or PATH train at the 34 Street Herald Square stop or the 1 / 2 / 3 trains at 34 Street Penn Station.

Tickets for all Live@365 shows can be purchased by visiting us online at Liveat365.org, by calling Showclix at 1-888-71-TICKETS (1-888-718-4253) or in person (if available), from 5:30 pm until showtime on the day of the show at the venue. Tickets to all shows are $25 or $20 for Graduate Center members, faculty, and staff. CUNY students may reserve free tickets by calling 212-817-8215. Discount tickets for non-CUNY students may be purchased in person at the event, when available.

For more information about shows, questions about the venue, and to learn more about the entire Live@365 season, please visit us on the web at Liveat365.org.

About the Graduate Center:

The Graduate Center is the principal doctorate-granting institution of the City University of New York (CUNY). As part of New York's vibrant and intellectual and cultural life, the Graduate Center presents a wide range of public conversations, panels, and performances, featuring prominent artists, writers and scholars. The fall 2015 season features events with Erica Jong, Fareed Zakaria, Reem Acra, David Remnick, Joy-Ann Reid, Paul Krugman, and many others. For more information about the Graduate Center and its public programming, please visit www.gc.cuny.edu/publicprograms.