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Pe de Cana, Vancouver's own choro/chorinho trio band brings to the public the Brazilian popular music style and rhythm. Chorinho means "little cry" in Portuguese. The words pe-de-cana (foot of sugar cane) have different meanings - from the root that makes the popular Brazilian liquor, cachaca, to the person that likes the drink and uses it to help with digestion.

The group Pe de Cana plays fine and sweet melodies of choro music with a latin 'Brazilianese' atmosphere faithful to the choro tradition. Much of the success of this style of music came from the early days of radio, when bands performed live on air. By the 1960s, it had all but disappeared, being displaced by bossa nova and other styles. However, in the late 1970s there was a successful effort to revitalize the genre through TV-sponsored nation-wide festivals that attracted a new, younger generation of musicians. Choro music remains strong in Brazil and most recently has attracted musicians from around the world including USA's Mike Marshall.

Pe de Cana are percussionist Paul Bray, cavaquinho player Trevor Murray and on guitar Mario Silva.

Paul Bray is a dynamic and charismatic multi-talented percussionist working as a musical educator and performer in Vancouver. Paul has devoted his attention to the study of African influenced music, specializing in Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian folkloric musical styles. He has studied extensively in Cuba, and has developed a strong command of Brazilian percussion. In the performing arena Paul is a member of Pe de Cana, La Candela, Banda Brejera and the rockin' children's entertainment trio Sam's Rot'n Pot'n Pan Band.

Trevor Murray is a maritime-born guitarist. From the age of ten he acquired an addiction to Brazilian music and shifted focus to the cavaquinho instrument. In recent years, Trevor has become a valuable presence and contributor to the Vancouver music scene through work, collaboration and performance with various groups, such as Brejera, Ache Brasil, Ginga Samba, Sambalada, Trio Branquinho and Pe de Cana.

Mario Silva played his first chords at the age of 10 when he began studying at the Conservatory of Music in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Mario studied with well-known Brazilian musicians including Edimilson Capeluppi, Proveta and Celso Machado. Mario plays with various groups in Vancouver such as Pe de Cana, Brejera, Ache Brasil, Sapeca, as well as solo performances.

REVIEW:

PE DE CANA: Passionate Choro
"Heitor Villa-Lobos once said, "Choro is the essence and soul of Brazilian music”. I confidently add that Pe de Cana is the new reincarnation in choro and will share their music with North Americans like no other group has ever done.
Three talented, attractive, young men dressed in black embraced the stage and their instruments like their lives depended on it – that is the first image I have of Pe de Cana, Vancouver’s own chorinho (literally “little cry”) trio. Blending European melodies, Afro-Brazilian rhythms and the melancholic music of Brazilian Indians, their music is a melting pot very fitting of Canada. Trevor Murray on cavaquinho exudes passion; Mario Silva embraces the guitar as if it were a lover; Paul Bray melds various sounds through succinct percussion. The vitality of choro is in the passion, and this trio definitely has enough of it to share with the world.
Choro music is alive and well in Canada. Pe de Cana transports their audiences with homespun, heart-warming Brazilian folk music with a little jazz --a trio not to be missed!"
Marco Maya, lusitania.ca

Mirateca Arts Management