Caymmi weaves Brazilian rhythms into supple cloth

Guitarist-singer-songwriter Dori Caymmi doesn’t surface often for public performances, devoting most of his time to producing and arranging for other performers. And that’s a shame, since the Brazilian-born artist, the son of Dorival Caymmi (who wrote some of Carmen Miranda’s greatest hits), is one of the Southland’s authentic originals.

Caymmi -- who has lived in Los Angeles since the ‘80s -- played a rare engagement Friday and Saturday at La Ve Lee in Studio City, leading a quintet in a program mixing his original songs with familiar bossa nova items and occasional standards (including a distinctly offbeat rendering of the “Pink Panther Theme”).

On Saturday, the primary focus centered upon the supple interaction between Caymmi’s gruff but appealing vocals and his harmonically mesmerizing guitar playing. On every number, from his remarkable reworking of “Samba de Uma Nota So” (“One Note Samba”) and his linkage of “Desafinado” with the classic “Aquarelado Brasil” (“Brazil”), to the atmospheric sounds of a pair of originals, “Spring” and “The Amazon River,” his capacity to create colorful tonal clusters over a surging undercurrent of rhythm was a constant source of amazement.

Caymmi, who won a Latin Grammy award in the best Brazilian song category this year for “Saudade De Amar,” was aided in his set by a sterling group of players.

Drummer Mike Shapiro and bassist Jerry Watts produced samba-drenched rhythms, saxophonist Scott Mayo added a series of warm-toned solos, and -- best of all--keyboardist Bill Cantos countered Caymmi’s vocals with his own energetic scat efforts, sung in unison with his keyboard improvising.