Vana's music fuses Jazz with Brazilian percussion, with soft, classically sounding piano tunes, with tambourines, shakers, and instruments called pandeiro and repinque, as well as vocalizations and hand clapping. The addition of the Mark Lambert's guitar stretched the tones to even greater diversity and brilliance. And, Vana Gierig may be the only pianist, who can actually create Brazilian vocals from his keyboard. I thought of dancing Samba with Carlos Porto, but he was nowhere to be found. An Awakening Thought, written in memory of the tragedies of September 11, 2001, was titled along a quote from Thomas Carlyle, "Thought once awakened does not again slumber; instead it unfolds itself…". (CD Notes). This piece had an evocative piano lead, followed by softly brushed drums and a soulful, murmuring bass. The music was invigorating, yet comforting, in a subtle way.

Vana used Samba School influenced "batacudas", in which every drum has a specific role, and one percussionist sends calls and responses to the others; Adriano Santos, Vinicius Barros, and Alvester Garnett created the musical image of Brazilian Carnivale. When Alvester was featured in a primal percussive passage, the crowd at Sweet Rhythm went wild. Healing in Foreign Lands was creatively spiritual. At one point in this first set, Mark Lambert even played small shakers, when the guitar was quiet and percussion was prevalent. Yet, soon after, his guitar took a Brazilian Samba up and away, with eery, high tones that drove the primitive imagery. Even later, Vana, too, joined in on Latin drums, as the piano was quiet and the Club shook.

Watch for a review of Vana: A New Day, which has much of this memorable music captured for home listening. However, the best way to hear Vana Gierig and his musicians is live. Watch Jazz Listings for Vana's next gig.