Eduardo Andreozzi

Eduardo Andreozzi is a kind of long lost link in the woven chain mail connecting jazz and Latin music. By the '40s it was clear that there would be such a thing as Latin jazz; by the '80s it was well proven that a kind of gelatin could result from the combination as well. The jazz forensic lab has come up with Latin clues on the New Orleans scene, but what about a man who, also in the early '20s, changed the repertoire of a Rio de Janeiro dance orchestra from Latin music to jazz? Andreozzi studied in Rio from 1917 through 1919, but obviously had American jazz sides stashed in his notebooks, and a radio serving up something other than samba. The Odeon label prolifically recorded his developing experiments between 1919 and 1924, sides that someone might just find if a major earthquake churns up everything that was ever lost in the country of Brazil. The bandleader's reputation as a pioneer was based completely on this radical introduction of essentially foreign repertoire, since he did not perform as a soloist and have some kind of instrumental virtuosity to fall back on in order to drive the message home. From the mid-'20s Andreozzi began to bolster his reputation outside his homeland. He toured Europe off an on for more than a decade, collaborating with bandleader Gregor Keleklian and cutting sides for Grammophon in Berlin. Trumpeter Mickey Diamond's jewels of inspiration were on display throughout tracks such as "Big Bad Bill." The band even had its own kazoo player, the shining Sydney Sterling. The names of these sidemen lead to speculation that the Brazilian bandleader was somehow involved in the trading of precious stones as well as making music. He was much less active on the music scene following the Second World War. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide