My first taste of Brazilian Night life

Well dear friends I sit here after a two hour nap, a long day being slightly hungover, now listening to the rain outside. The rain for starters killed my idea of going for a dip in the pool, so instead I slept. It was much needed though after last night, a late one.

By the powers of the "I can't believe this worked out" Gods, I met up with my good friend Sjoerd from NY on his last night in Sao Paulo, my first. He invited me to a Jazz club, where his dad and his old buddies were gathering for a reunion of sorts; great music, strong drinks, all in one smokey room. There was a sense of history, culture, life, experiences, love and old kinship's throughout the night. I was fortunate to be a part of it.

The room... as I said before, it was/is an old Jazz club. His dad and his buddies used to play there over 20 years ago and have not been in a room all together since. It was a small place with marble top cafe tables, wooden chairs, small tiled floor, with old framed pictures of some of the greats... Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Art Blakey- antique gold frames with a soft yellow spotlight hitting each, which was just about the only light in the room. I shouldn't have looked up though, the ceiling seemed a little, well, scary; it looked like asbestos spray painted gold. It looked cool, added to the mystique- but I wish I didn't know what asbestos looked like... especially since my lungs have been wheezy all day! The band was set up in the front of the place, a grand piano in the corner, a bass and a set of drums... the band played, we got to see Peter deJong, Sjoerd's dad (who we will call DeJong as his buddies did all night)in his element, on cloud nine- he was beaming.

Let's talk about DeJong for a second... he is a tall dutch man, intelligent, has travelled the world, speaks a handful of languages... a bachelor, a playboy... totally charismatic, a smile that lights up his face... someone your dad tells you to stay away from, your mom blushes in front of and you can't help but admire. Very cool to say the least... and it was evident that men and women, all ages, friends and strangers alike fall into his spell. He reminds me a lot of my dad- with an added two feet, hey Sicilians are short.

People sat with FULL bottles of liquor on their table-for-two's as they waited for the great, Misty to come out and grace everyone with her powerful presence. I saw a lot of scotch drinkers... but we instead had Caipirinha which is a very strong Brazilian drink made with an alcohol which native to the land. One was enough for me, yep, 1 drink is all I had (okay a bit of another) and I felt pretty good and in the groove to the music. Sjoerd on the other hand had three... people were taking bets on who was going to carry whom home (he is one tall dude, ex D1 basketball player)... but people underestimate the north American drinking capacity, we were both fine.

After a short break the music started up again. Now with an enchanting version of White Christmas, Misty was signing the lyrics but still not present in the room... Her voice was a little scratchy, but it was clear she could belt them out at any given time not missing a note... goose bumps ran up my arm as she sang. She finally came out, mid song- gotta love how dramatic it was... she broke through the smokey spotlight with her very dark skin and bright red dress. There was sadness to her eyes, nostalgia of what was and is... as the second song came on this feeling overpowered her ability to sing, the tears poured out, the music played on, but she was silenced. The sight of all of her old friends in one room was muting, but I think it was when she saw DeJong, that it had hit her. She got herself together and graced us with a powerful, cheerful and nostalgic set. She ended with ''Baby I need your loving'' where she walked amidst the crowded tables in the packed room and people couldn't help but sing along. As the chorus was being sung for the last time, she left, with people still singing... just as dramatic as her entrance.

We hung around the joint as DeJong caught up with his old pals. And lucky, we were, to hear him on piano as Misty sat and sang beside him. The room was gone to them, as they looked into each others eyes and saw each other as they were 20 years ago, and sang together, to each other. Once again I have to say I felt privileged to share this moment even if they didn't realize it was being shared. The chemistry between them was apparent from the minute she came out. Clearly they had been, for a lack of a better word, friends- great friends.

As I sat there through out the night, De Jong and I even spoke of this... the night encompassed the theme of this trip... random nights / days that almost weren't, maybe happened by chance- or as he says everything happens for a reason... maybe so, and so I sat thinking to myself how perfectly odd of a night it was.

thank you to both DeJong's for sharing it with me. When you are in a room filled with people who love each other, the love can't help but spill, pour out... to be consumed by others. The happiness was shared and filled my soul with content, knowing strong connections can be made anywhere and can surpass any amount of time if they are true.

One last comment about the night. Misty, both DeJong's, myself and a few others sat around at table at about 3 am... there was a projection screen where the band had been. They were showing a muted movie starring Jane Fonda, in her prime, but it was trippy... dolls were biting people. P, Tan, Damien or anyone... what movie is this? It of course did not seem out of whack at all last night!