The musical stylings of Adriano George and the Groove Brotherhood got students off their feet and onto the dance floor last Thursday night in Alumni Hall. 

Adriano George and the Groove Brotherhood are a jazz band from Brazil. Adriano George is the trumpeter, while the other members of Groove Brotherhood are a vocalist, bassist, guitarist, drummer, saxophonist, trombonist and a keyboardist. The band came to Central Connecticut once back in 2010, and they were finally able to come back last week.

The Central staff members who helped organize Adriano George and the Groove Brotherhood’s visit were music education professor Coleen Casey-Nelson, history professor MaryAnn Mahony and music professor Carlotta Parr.

“This group has a really powerful story of coming from very, very difficult backgrounds to become musicians,” Casey-Nelson said. “They are very passionate about being musicians, and did not have an easy road to get where they are now.”

The band’s visit was sponsored by the Central’s Department of Music, Department of History, Mosaic Committee, the Dean of CLASS, Latin American Studies, the Ministry of Culture of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and the Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Center. Music & Arts in West Hartford also provided some instruments for the band.

“It isn’t just the music department doing this,” Casey-Nelson said. “It’s a collaboration between and among different departments. It’s an integrated experience. It’s music and its culture.”

The day started at 10 a.m. when the band performed in Welte for elementary schoolers who had come on a field trip. The kids were invited on stage to dance with the band.

At 3:05 p.m., a forum on “the history and chronology of Brazilian jazz” was held in Founders Hall. Adriano George and The Groove Brotherhood’s bassist, Ivan Correa da Costa, walked the audience through different eras of jazz music, from the beginning to now.

“The thing that we’re gonna talk about is Brazilian jazz,” Correa said. “Sometimes what comes together is the idea of fusion. But in my understanding, it’s more of an idea of taking influences.”

The band played several examples of jazz music from different time periods, with Correa explaining the structure of the music, and how they approach it.

“What’s been defining jazz is the way you play,” Correa said. “North American jazz has a lot of influence on our music. From the form of music, or the style of it. When we began [playing jazz], it was very much on the basis of a European model, AABDAC. Overtime, what began to happen is, with various influences we started to play AABA. So all of this orchestral music had a great deal of influence on our music in Brazil.”

At 7:30 p.m., the band performed in the Student Center. A dance floor was placed in-between the seating and the stage, because the band wanted everyone to enjoy themselves while listening to their music. Throughout the performance, the audience was encouraged to move their seats closer to the stage, and to stand up and dance.

“Everything is open for everybody,” Casey-Nelson said. “It’s meant to be a ‘come and enjoy’ for all.”

Eventually, the majority of the audience did make their way to the dance floor.

One student who took to the dance floor, Jason, was asked to come on stage by the vocalist of the band, Adriana Pinto Moreira. Since he was the one in the crowd who was dancing the most, he got to show off his moves onstage for one song.

Adriano George expressed his happiness that the band was able to come to Central, since usually only “big stars” get sponsorships to do projects like that.

“To be here today, we used the public offices of our state government,” George said. “We sent a proposal, and after that, they approved the project. We got a sponsor, and we are here today. It is very beautiful because the companies in Brazil make a sponsorship for the big stars, and, for us we try. But it is very difficult.”

Overall, Adriano George and the Groove Brotherhood’s visit seemed to be a positive experience for students and staff alike.