It is Brazilian music folklore that almost 40 years ago, the great Gilberto Gil paid homage to the legendary Chicago band Earth, Wind & Fire with the classic "Palco."
Arthur Maia is the most storied Bass player in Brazil music history, and has played and recorded "Palco" with Gilberto Gil for over 30 years.
"Palco" is a masterpiece ... and Arthur's bass playing on the track and live in concert is iconic.
For our project, we wanted to pay homage to Gilberto Gil by exposing "Palco" to an even larger audience, while also paying homage to Earth, Wind & Fire.
Executive Producer / Producer Robert Hebert decided that 3 things had to be done: (1) get an English lyric, (2) find a way to synergize Gilberto Gil's "Bahia swing" with Earth, Wind & Fire's Chicago Jazz and Blues groove, and (3) ask members of Earth, Wind & Fire to join the track.
To approach the objective Hebert invited:
(1) Darryl Tookes to compose the "Stage" lyric, (2) Chicago Bass player Darryl Jones to collaborate with Brazilian drummer Teo Lima and percussionist Armando Marcal to create the Bahia-Chicago synergy, (3) Chicago orchestra arranger Charles Floyd to "imagine" what Earth, Wind & Fire's producer Chicago might do with orchestra, and (4) Larry Dunn and Al McKay of Earth, Wind & Fire to collaborate on the track.
But, to accomplish the Mission, Hebert asked Arthur Maia to arrange the percussion to assure that the "Stage" found the synergy between Gilberto Gil's "Bahia swing" and "Chicago Blues."
... Here is part of the story.
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