DESCRIPTION:
Nova Bossa Nova

Guilherme Franco - drums & Band Leader
Sergio Brandao - bass
Eddie Monteiro - accordion/vocalese
Diego Urcola- trumpet
Joe Ford - alto, soprano sax
Achan Inoue - piano

Guilherme Franco was born November 25, 1946 in São Paulo, Brazil. He is a percussionist in the jazz and World fusion music genres.
Guilherme Franco has recorded on the albums of many jazz performers such as McCoy Tyner, Lonnie Liston Smith, Don Pullen and Woody Shaw. He was a member of Keith Jarrett's "American Band" and Paul Winter's Paul Winter Consort.
In 1981 Franco started a samba school in NYC and a power samba group called "Pe De Boi" (a Brazilian slang term for a good musician, literally meaning "foot of the bull"). As a result he began playing many gigs in the NYC underground scene of the 1980s with the likes of David Byrne and David Johansen among many others. Franco has also been employed by longtime friend, drummer and cinema executive Richard Baratta to work in the film industry in New York.
Guilherme Franco currently resides in São Paulo, Brasil. He is said to practice music 14 hours a day

Nova Bossa Nova

They are a veteran crew. They are an eclectic bunch. They fuse a hard-core be-bop horn section with a thumping Brazilian rhythm section, creating a unique, exciting sound. They are, simply, Nova Bossa Nova.The founding members of the group, Guilherme Franco (drums) and Alberto Beserra (bass), are both natives of Brazil. They had to travel to Japan, however, in order to become acquainted with one another and with each other's music. It was 1975. Franco was on tour as a member of the McCoy Tyner Group and Beserra, who was living in Japan (as he still does) caught his future friend perform in concert. Then it was Franco's turn to watch Beserra play, at the club where he was a featured artist. By the end of the night, the two were jamming side-by-side, and making plans to form a band together. 20 years later they have done just that.Claudio Roditi, a native of Brazil, is essentially a jazz trumpeter, and a very good one at that. Eddie Monteiro, while not from Brazil, brings a lot of that country to his unique accordion/vocalese. Bob Mintzer, on the tenor sax, has gained renown as an orchestrator, the leader of his own big band, and as a member of the Yellowjackets. Joe Ford, on the flute, the alto and the soprano sax played with Franco during the McCoy Tyner days. Pianist Atsushi Inoue frequently collaborates with Beserra in Japan.In 1996, Nova Bossa Nova signed an exclusive recording contract with New York's Arkadia Jazz. If all holds to plan, we will be hearing a lot more from this exciting band, which unites the melody and improvisations of jazz with rhythms of bossa nova.
Led by drummer Guilherme Franco and bassist Alberto Beserra, who propel their band with catchy rhythms, Nova Bossa Nova builds on the fusion of cool jazz and various Brazilian rhythms, which gained momentum in the U.S. in 1962 when Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz issued Jazz Samba. Capturing the bossa's laid-back essence, NBN sprinkles their inventions with hard-swinging modern tinges, with fine solo moments from Japanese pianist Achan Inoue and accordionist Eddie Monteiro (whose accompanying vocalese adds flair to the session). Nine tunes, mostly written by the co-leaders, are inspired by commonplace situations. While everyone shines, the stars are the incomparable hard-bop front line featuring tenor saxist Bob Mintzer (of Yellowjackets fame), trumpeter Claudio Roditi (Brazilian native who has performed and recorded with numerous groups including Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra), alto/soprano saxophonist Joe Ford (veteran player with bands of McCoy Tyner and Jerry Gonzalez's Fort Apache Band). With its distinctive 1990s edge and fine solo work, Jazz Influence is a carnival-a buoyant, intoxicating session that invites repeated listening.