Night out in the Parks

Luiz Ewerling & Amada – Night Out in the Parks – Washington Square Park – August 14, 2026

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Luiz Ewerling was born in 1958 in Southern Brazil and started playing the drums at age six, making his first television appearance two years later. What took him so long?

 He moved to the U.S. In 1984, bringing his roots with him, and possibly his drums, though he may have upgraded since then, judging by how good they sounded in the park.

The group was a joy to hear. As I know nothing about Brazilian music, I recorded a little on my phone and sent the recording to a knowledgeable friend, who gave me the following soundbite:

“The music is of a style called MPB, for Música Popular Brasileira, which first emerged at the end of the 1960s and mixes bossa nova with pop and so-called Tropicalista tendencies. I could also hear certain influences from Milton Nascimento and his crowd. Nice vocals too.”

As to those vocals, the singer was not Amada (which means beloved or loved one in Portuguese), but rather Ana Everling. As far as I know the similarities of her last name and Luiz’s is coincidental, as she is from Moldova, which is about 6500 miles from Brazil.

I found a good video of her with the band at the Old Town School of Folk Music that is very representational of their performance in the park. I have no idea what the translation of the lyrics might be, but they can’t possible sound as good in English.

Night out in the Parks – Project Inclusion String Quartet – Lake Shore Park – August 19, 2021

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The last time I wrote about Project Inclusion’s concert in the park was July, 2018. Things have changed, and stayed the same. That time there was a musician from Havana, this time from Venezuela. Both times there were string players from a place much less interesting, Texas.

One of them, violinist Audrey Lee, told us that she had never been to Chicago before, and, though she loved it, would soon be returning to her current home in Durant, Oklahoma, where she teaches music. I’ve never heard of Durant, and I’m sure there are several good reasons for that.

I thought I also had never heard of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, where she teaches, but it turns out that Dennis Rodman went to school there, as the Savage Storm (still known as the Savages when Rodman was there) participate in half a dozen men’s and women’s varsity sports, including, for both, rodeo (one of the 73 schools that do!), which makes me wish that the quartet had played some Copeland, rather than the so-so selections they chose.

The program listed one of the songs as The Walzing Cat. I’m pretty sure they meant The Waltzing Cat, unless the song was about a German feline that went on a road trip.

During another piece, they told us it was okay to get up and dance. No one did. During the encore pop mash-up, they said it was okay to sing along. No one did. But the weather was nice.