Riff: Bossa Nova Is there anything that evokes summer more than the “The Girl from Ipanema,” the jazzy bossa nova tune from 1962? It is reported to be the second most recorded song in history after “Yesterday” by the Beatles.
Written by Antonio Carlos Jobim with Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes, the version Americans know best was recorded by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto and sung by Joao’s young wife, Astrud.
“Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking. . . when she walks she’s like a samba that swings so cool and sways so gently. . .” and so it goes, forever cementing the image of lovely youth in our minds.
In search of such a musical vibe, I unearthed Austin’s Sahara club on the east side of town.
Home to highly percussive and world music sensibilities, the club books the band “Bossa Nova with Paula Maya” every fourth Friday. She is an award-winning Brazilian pianist, singer and songwriter from the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro. The South Zone is the birthplace of Bossa Nova and Antonio Carlos Jobim himself, the composer of “The Girl from Ipanema.”
Tall and lovely herself, Maya will release her eleventh album “Mar Da Minha Terra,” which translates to “Sea of My Land,” this month. Watching her perform is akin to a three-month stay in the sprawling city of Rio itself, with its many moods and rhythms. She effortlessly moves from jazz, samba, bossa nova and back, chilling the mood and ratcheting it up again with every new number. To learn more about this artist, visit paulamaya. com.
World music lovers should add the Sahara Lounge to their bucket list. Owned by musician Eileen Bristol and her son, Topaz McGarrigle, it is a smallish laid-back place on Austin’s east side that boasts a bar, pool table, stage and outdoor seating area. For 33 years, it operated as TC’s lounge. For those who go way back, Bristol was one of the founders of the Austin Waldorf School in 1980 and, later that decade, worked at Onion Creek Farm in Dripping Springs.
Bristol bought the bar in 2011, dubbed it the Sahara and now performs weekly with “Zoumountchi” and other Africa Night house bands on electric bass.
Each Saturday during the popular Africa Night, you’ll hear afro-beat, afro- pop, Cubano, Cumbia, Ska, Brazilian Funk and Rock as well as Reggae. Add Friday night Hispanic, Latino, Latin-American or Latinx bands – whatever term you prefer – and you’ve got the music of the world within earshot.
The Sahara offers a free African buffet during Africa Night, free parking, a diverse crowd, and most of all, a relaxed vibe. To learn more, visit saharalounge. com.
Roam: Deep Eddy When the city empties to the countryside for the holidays, locals can either hunker down and wait out the invasion or put on a brave smile and join in the melee. But there’s another strategy out there to consider – why not visit the city from where many of the visitors fled?
That was my move this week as I headed to the iconic Deep Eddy pool tucked away in Austin’s downtown area.
In handsome condition after its renovation in 2011, the pool is touted as the oldest swimming pool in Texas. A stunning mosaic mural traces the pool’s journey from a place where indigenous people soaked to its incarnation in 1902 as a private resort with a zip line and a merry-go-round twirled by a horse. Females over the age of 12 who wanted to swim were required to wear stockings while in the water.
In 1915 the property became the Deep Eddy Bathing Beach with such features as springboards, a Ferris Wheel, a flying trapeze and a 40-foot diving tower. Wikipedia tells us that “Lorena and Her Diving Horse” was a popular attraction. Lorena, astride her most trusting steed, dived off a specially built platform into a tank below.
In 1935, the City of Austin purchased the property for $10,000. Shortly thereafter, a rare flood of the Colorado river filled the pool with tons of mud and boulders.
Today the 600,000 gallon freshwater pool is fed by two wells from the Edwards Aquifer. About three times the size of an average community pool, the pool is 100 feet by 200 feet, with a depth from four to eight feet.
Slightly warmer and more intimate than Barton Springs, Austin’s 3-acre, spring-fed pool in Zilker Park, Deep Eddy is divided into two sections – one half has lanes for lap swimmers, and the other is open for splashing, wading and cooling off.
Both sections are watched over by five lifeguards, one of whom was Chloe Williams, who bucked my preconceived notion of a lean and leathery-skinned lifeguard. Young, female and ivory skinned, she met my questions with an open and friendly manner.
“Every pool has a dynamic,” said Williams, who told me this was her second season as a guard for Austin City pools. “Deep Eddy’s dynamic is friendly and very welcoming. Even if people are swimming laps, they tend to be easygoing. No food or drinks, except water, are allowed in the pool area so the vibe is peaceful as people enjoy the water and stretch out on their towels between swims.”
Austin lifeguards like Chloe are assigned to a region and rotate among pools in their region. “Most of our training as lifeguards center on prevention,” she continued. “From there, we deal with medical crises like heat stroke, stroke, hypo- and hyperglycemia and other issues that may arise with swimmers.”
Lifeguards rotate 20 or 40 minute shifts around the pool with ‘down duty’ tasks, like maintaining the bathrooms and other chores that keep the area safe and clean.
Knowing that Deep Eddy’s lifeguards were alert and trained only added to the pool’s appeal. Indeed, the soft splash of the water, the smell of coconut-scented sunblock and the murmur of the conversations around me soon lulled me into a welcome summery trance as I napped in the dappled shade. For the $5 Senior fee to enter (residents of Austin pay a mere $2), I’d say this was a sweet way to cool off and enjoy a big city attraction away from the crowds on my home turf.
Rave: Hometown Raves In a casual conversation last week, it was revealed that Sip! on the Square was one of Managing Editor Madi Telschow’s hometown raves. Besides its convenient location on the square and friendly people behind the counter, it provides the kind of
“bites” for people on the go and offers a diverse list of drinks. In addition to the Italian sodas, she said, the customized Mayan Mocha and “Matcha Squared” always deliver the flavor she likes.
For me, my rave is the Leaning Pear’s Caprese panini sandwich on crispy focaccia. Rarely one to eat a sandwich, this one is worth it every time. It’s the dense grilled bread that makes all the difference.
Share your hometown rave, and I’ll add it to the list. Email me at tkend r i c k@ w i m b e rleyview. com.
