Manu’s first live recording, captured at 1 Studio, owned by João Paulo Diniz and André Gomes, counted on the musical direction of his ever-present collaborator, Fabio Tagliaferri. The DVD A Lente Do Homem, which is also the name of the song that most represents Manu and which he has performed the most, celebrates the first decade of his career with a collection of the first four albums, together with new material, like Festiva – a suitable opener – and the love song Making Of, which also tackles the general public’s growing interest in “how” to the detriment of “what”.
It is directed by Déo Teixeira, who stamped the DVD with an upbeat language close to the spirit of Jazz On A Summer’s Day, the documentary by Bert Stern (an ad man known for Marilyn Monroe’s last photo shoots), who filmed jazz for the first time in color, without smoke and without sadness, in 1958.
The DVD is rich with bonus material, starting with a making of that includes interviews and images from private archives, some of which show glimpses of Dr. Manuel Lafer, the physician who treats indigenous peoples. Another example is an impressive visit to Recôncavo Baiano, narrated by Mateus Aleluia, which belonged to the legendary Tincoãs that had such a clear influence on the careers of Gilberto Gil and João Donato, especially in their partnerships over the 1970s that resulted in one of Donato’s albums, Lugar Comum, (1975). One more example brings together Luiz Tatit, who has had the greatest influence on Manu’s work, and Jonas Tatit, interpreting Release, by the group Rumo, a song that inspired the track Making Of. Dori and Danilo Caymmi present a little-known version of O Bem do Mar, in Hebrew, in yet another example of the bonus material on offer. Last, but not least, we have Poesia e Prosa, played as it was originally composed (and not as it would later be recorded in the CD Ta Shemá) by Manu in partnership with Danilo Caymmi and Antonio Candido. An interview with this latter is also included in the DVD and has him discoursing on the abbreviations that led to the changes in the names of cities in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The performance counts with the participation of Dadá Sardenberg, Ná Ozzetti, Cris Aflalo, Josyane Melo, Germano Mathias and Danilo Caymmi, while, in the band, we see Fabio Tagliaferri (viola and bass guitar), Mario Manga (vocals, mandolin, cello and electric guitar), Adriano Busko (drums and percussion), Ubaldo Versolato (saxophone and flute) and Sérgio Bártolo (bass guitar).
