Grupo Um

Grupo Um were a Brazilian jazz fusion trio who existed between 1975 and 1983. Composed of brothers Lelo Nazario on keyboards, drummer/percussionist Ze Eduardo Nazario, and bassist Zeca Assumpção, they formed in 1975 while serving as the rhythm section in Hermeto Pascoal's band. Under his tutelage and encouragement, they discovered a potential for composition, arrangement, and improvisation. Their independently recorded debut album went unreleased until 2023, but their subsequent catalog releases have all won acclaim. The trio formed in 1974 as the siblings began coming into their own with Pascoal. A rather stunning example of their work with him can be heard on Viajando Com o Som, which went unreleased until 2017. The trio recorded their debut (now titled Starting Point) over two days at state-of-the-art Vice-Versa Studios with revered engineer Renato Viola. Musicians communicated with engineers through cameras and a monitor, allowing the group complete immersion in the process. Though the album's release was thwarted, copies were heard by many musicians on the Brazilian scene; all of them marveled. Lelo Nazxario, convinced of the album's worth, stored the tables properly in his home studio's vault, where they sat for 47 years. Undaunted, Grupo Um recorded their sophomore effort, Marcha Sobre A Cidade, in late 1978; it saw issue in 1979 with Mauro Senise contributing sax and flute. An expanded lineup released Reflexões Sobre a Crise do Desejo on Philips in 1981, with electric keyboardist Felix Wagner, and bassist Rodolfo Stroeter replacing Assumpção on all but one cut; Senise remained too. Given the respect shown them by fellow musicians, Grupo Um became a prime touring attraction in Brazil. A Flor de Plastico Incinerada appeared in 1983, with the expanded lineup stylistically traveling in startling new directions, wedding their trademark, samba-drenched fusion to vanguard jazz improvisation, funk, classical, and Brazilian folk styles. The album saw a remastered, expanded reissue in 2010. Grupo Um, who could not gain traction inside the Brazilian music industry, disbanded soon after. All of its original members -- and several subsequent ones -- found careers as first-call session players. In 2015, the original trio reunited at the Jazz Festival a Fábrica do Sesc Pompeia. They delivered an energetic set that combined their funky, samba-inflected fusion, modern free jazz, and electro-acoustic music. The show received a standing ovation. The following year, the independent Selo SESC SP label released that gig as the highly sought-after Uma Lenda ao Vivo. In 2023, England's Far Out Recordings released Starting Point, Grupo Um's previously unissued 1975 debut. The music reflected the trio's bracing, electrified, boundaryless musical voice. Their work with Pascoal offered sonic and stylistic templates built on and transformed into a creative approach that deeply influenced Marcos Resende & Index's self-titled debut, Cesar Mariano & Cia's Sao Paulo Brasil, and Azymuth's self-titled 1976 offering.
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