JAZZ REVIEW : Carnival ’90 at Palladium Evokes the Spirit of Rio

It wasn’t exactly Rio, but it wasn’t bad. The Brazil Carnival ’90 Mardi Gras celebration at the Palladium had much of the ambiance, the color and the fun of Tuesday’s season-changing festival in Brazil.

The evening succeeded, in large measure, for two reasons: the first American performance of an electrifying Brazilian singer named Baby Consuelo, and the sheer enthusiasm of a crowd that seemed determined to live it up--no matter what.

Consuelo has everything it takes to become a major international singing star. Slender and attractive, she was a virtual caldron of energy, moving restlessly across the stage with the fire and fury of a Latin Janis Joplin.

Consuelo’s singing, always strikingly rhythmic, always right on the mark, had the kind of uplifting charge characteristic of Al Jarreau’s finest efforts. And her work with the band--which was led by the guitar-playing husband of her six children--sizzled with the musical interactivity of a U2.

Aside from Consuelo’s sparkling singing, however, the music moved in fits and starts throughout a lengthy, erratic program. The Embrasamba All-Stars and Viva Brazil provided solid, if unspectacular rhythms for the dancing crowd. But the subtle beauty of samba singer Joao Nogueira’s music was largely defeated by the clatter and blur of the sound system.

In the final analysis, it was the audience who provided the evening’s most celebratory moments, especially during a vibrant costume contest. Once the predictable Playboy bunnies, French maids and Mickey Mice were passed, the finalists’ outfits--shimmering with sequins, beads, feathers and huge headdresses--gave Carnival ’90 its closest connection with the magic and fantasy of Brazil’s original festival.