Les French, WMEB-Orono, ME
"Oceano is a warm breeze blowing up from Brazil - relaxed, effortless, and hip. The songs recall the best of the 60's bossa nova movement. Bryant imbues the songs with a modern touch in the production. This is an album that will appeal to fans of Latin jazz and Brazilian music. RIYL: Bebel Gilberto (3½ stars)"
 

Marin Independent Journal

IJ Weekend: Shannon Bryant Band offers sounds of love
Sandra Klein
Article Launched: 02/06/2007 07:32:55 PM PST

Embracing the essence of the bossa nova, Shannon Bryant's melodies and lyrics sway like warm breezes and gentle, tropical waves.

The perfect Valentine's Day warm-up session, "It's About Love" will take the audience on a musical journey of self-discovery and love Friday night at the Larkspur Cafe Theatre. Through contemporary pop and world music and jazz, along with dance and poetry by 13th century Sufi poet Rumi and passages from "Tao Te Ching" author Lao Tzu, the show explores the universal themes of the human conditions of love, fear, isolation, connection and celebration.
"The dancers tell a story of a love relationship and take the songs to a deeper level," says Bryant, singer and creator of the Shannon Bryant Band. "

The show starts off dreamily and mystically with the opening pieces, 'It's Love' and 'Born Innocent' and then shifts to contemporary pop and gospel and to reggae, bossa nova and samba."

Mark Armenta, who plays bass in the band, believes Bryant's inspiration might be connected to the birth of her baby last year.
"To me, this is partly an expression of what's going on for a new mother," Armenta says. "The message is how she is viewing the good side of life. We dwell on the negatives so often. Shannon is pointing out the things we may take for granted."

Bryant says she didn't make the connection between motherhood and the theme of "It's About Love."
"That's probably right É becoming a mom has been very inspirational," she says. "The song 'Born Innocent' is about the way we come into this world, and then the story drifts into the responsibilities and pressures we fall into when doing things like choosing a college and becoming an adult. And then it comes full circle in the end. Having the baby influenced my vision and helped with the clarity of the story."

Choreographer Beatriz Restrepo, originally from Colombia, has devised new moves to accompany the songs since joining forces with Bryant three months ago. Previously, only a few songs in the performance - seen previously in Marin at Servino's in Tiburon - were interpreted simultaneously by the dancers; now just about all of them are. "The choreography and dance adds strength to the songs and puts picante in the show," Restrepo says.

When composing music, Bryant moves among styles ranging from contemporary pop through the bossa nova. She says she will get an idea or an inspiration for a song and apply it to the genre she thinks is most appropriate. The late Antonio Carlos Jobim influenced Bryant's "feel" for music; he wrote "The Girl From Ipanema" and is credited as the creator of the bossa nova, which has its origins in American jazz and the Brazilian samba.

Stevie Wonder has been another inspirational source for Bryant. "He has performed a wide variety of soul, love and spiritual tunes, yet he is highly individual," Bryant says. "I like to think I am that type of composer and singer. His songs of social awareness, such as 'Higher Ground,' stir my passion for expressing such issues as social pressures in our society."

While in high school in London, Ontario, Canada, Bryant entered a speech contest sponsored by the United Nations and won the local contest. "I traveled to New York and gave my speech, titled 'Why the U.N. is Important' to the U.N." Soon after, Bryant entered show business.

One of her first gigs was with a Canadian band, the Midnight Soul Review, in which she sang backup. Then she formed her own jazz group, the Shannon Bryant Quartet, and relocated to San Francisco in 2000. "There was more energy here," she says.

In 2001, she put together the Shannon Bryant Band. Since then, her successes include representing Canada at the 2003 International Music Festival at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Gardens, performing with the London Symphony Orchestra and showcasing her music at the SunFest World Music Festival in Canada, and headlining the Sarnia Jazz and Blues Festival.
Also, in 2003, Bryant took time off from her career to work as a vocal coach with the Global Alliance on the Lwak Music Project. The Lwak, named after a Kenyan village, is a spiritual collaboration of Kenyan and American gospel artists. Once the project is complete, proceeds from DVD sales will be donated to help children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.

In 2004, in a concert sponsored by the Recording Academy Governor's Awards Celebration in San Francisco, Bryant performed on stage with Carlos Santana. She sang lead vocals in a calypso, funk-style version of "Fire on the Mountain," which was a tribute to Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. "Carlos smiled at me, not even knowing who I was, and I thought, 'Here I am on the stage with Carlos Santana!'" Bryant recalls.

"It's About Love" premiered at Club Jazz Nouveau in San Francisco in 2004 and another performance followed in 2005 at the Crocker Galleria. The latest version of "It's About Love" includes new songs and Restrepo's fresh choreography. This will be the first performance for the reworked show.
"Marin is a great place to debut something like this just because of the open-mindedness you get here," says Armenta, who with backup singer Sandy Griffith of Novato provide a Marin touch to the performance. "Musically, you have bluegrass, jazz, blues É and a great art scene. Musicians seem to be thriving here. I love it because of the freedom I have when I play. It's almost 100 percent improv for me."

Restrepo says her spiritual connection to Bryant, a San Francisco resident, was immediate. Restrepo saw a tape of previous performances and was asked to help give more life to the song lyrics.  "I feel a really nice connection with Shannon," Restrepo says. "Her songs really talk to me. They taught me realities of my daily life, and now I can share that with audiences. The dancers do a great job with their interpretations. It's a very powerful performance."

"The passion that drove me to create this show," Bryant says, "was with the hope of reminding people of the force of love that connects each of us to our world. É I see my future as continuing to write and perform songs that strengthen the spirit and take people back to the ocean and warm summer breezes so they'll feel safe and loved."

IF YOU GO
What: "It's About Love," a performance of music, dance and poetry
Who: The Shannon Bryant Band
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Larkspur Cafe Theater, 500 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur
Tickets: $20
Information: 924-6107 or http://www.larkspurcafetheatre.com/
For booking information contact: info@shannonbryant.net, 415-573-5511.
Visit http://www.shannonbryant.net for additional information