Carlinhos Brown

If the opening event in the summer series of six world music concerts at the Hollywood Bowl is any indication, the programs will have a lot more to do with the sheer celebratory experience of world music than the showcasing of an individual performer. "Brazil Nights at the Bowl," which takes place Saturday and Sunday, is a full-scale Brazilian gala, complete with instrumentalists, singers and dancers.

The opening performance of the Hollywood Bowl's "World Festival '99" season began with a rush of color, sound and rhythm. Viver Brasil, a 40-member collective of musicians and dancers, descended through the audience in carnival fashion, singing and dancing, their progress invigorated by the irrepressible samba rhythms of their numerous percussionists. It was an appropriate beginning for the first installment of a two-night concert series titled "Brazil Nights."

The opening performance of the Hollywood Bowl's "World Festival '99" season began with a rush of color, sound and rhythm. Viver Brasil, a 40-member collective of musicians and dancers, descended through the audience in carnival fashion, singing and dancing, their progress invigorated by the irrepressible samba rhythms of their numerous percussionists. It was an appropriate beginning for the first installment of a two-night concert series titled "Brazil Nights."

If the opening event in the summer series of six world music concerts at the Hollywood Bowl is any indication, the programs will have a lot more to do with the sheer celebratory experience of world music than the showcasing of an individual performer. "Brazil Nights at the Bowl," which takes place Saturday and Sunday, is a full-scale Brazilian gala, complete with instrumentalists, singers and dancers.

In its sixth album, the Brazilian quartet stirs up its dark, dense metallic rock with elements of indigenous Brazilian music. Several tracks feature guest percussionist Carlinhos Brown, and the sinewy grooves that underscore Sepultura's hulking sound mesh with the subtle rhythms to scintillating effect. Whether unleashing a compelling grind or providing a discreet rock framework for the chants of the Xavantes tribe, the intensity never lets up.

* Music. The Hollywood Bowl season begins June 25 with Beatles music, performed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and conducted by Sir George Martin, with a variety of guest vocalists. The June 26-27 show is "Brazil Nights" with Carlinhos Brown and his band. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland, Hollywood. $7 to $75. (323) 850-2000 or http://www.hollywoodbowl.org. * Dance. Mikhail Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project performs a 10th anniversary program of short new works from June 23-26, 8 p.m.

The Academy Awards will have more to sing about at next year's Oscars. The Board of Governors approved new rules on Thursday that will guarantee five nominees in the original song category -- a number the show hasn't seen since the 2009 ceremony. At the 84 th Oscar ceremony earlier this year, there were just two nominees - the winning “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” with music and lyrics by Bret McKenzie, and “Real in Rio” from the animated “Rio,” with music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown and lyricsby Siedah Garret.

Three music acts not only appear on the soundtrack album for "Speed II: Cruise Control" but are also in the film. UB40 is featured with a new song, "Tell Me Is It True?" (due as a single at the end of this month); Quincy Jones protegee Tamia sings a new Diane Warren song, "Make Tonight Beautiful," and plays a passenger on an imperiled ship; and Brazilian singer Carlinhos Brown is also on board.

The Hollywood Bowl might as well book Daniela Mercury for next summer's world music series festival right now. There were times during the current season when World Festival 2000, which completed its season Sunday, appeared to have lost its focus, the programming choices--with the exception of a Celtic evening--having the blandness of committee decisions.

Brazilian music producer Tom Capone, nominated this year for five Latin Grammys, died in a motorcycle crash just hours after being shut out at the Latin Recording Academy awards show, officials said Friday. Capone, 38, was pronounced dead at 3:25 a.m. Thursday after his rented motorcycle and a small sedan collided at Tyrone Avenue and Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, police said. Capone was thrown from the motorcycle. The 23-year-old woman driving the car was unhurt.

The energy level was hitting the top of the excitement barometer at Royce Hall on Saturday night even before the first infectious rhythms of "Carnaval Eletronico" were heard. A packed crowd, seemingly dominated by the Southland's Brazilian community, waited impatiently, cheering, applauding, shrieking and -- when the musicians, singers and dancers dashed onto the stage -- erupting into decibel-shattering roars of approval.

Halfway through the maiden season of the Hollywood Bowl's World Festival '99, the series is beginning to look like a distinct success. The Bowl has just released figures that place the brand-new world music program in a highly favorable position compared to similar events around the country. WOMAD, the Seattle world music festival founded by Peter Gabriel, drew 32,000 attendees for a three-day program last month. World Festival '99 has drawn 33,431 over four nights.