“Frevo Umbrella,” Recife, 2010, 13×19, on exhibition at The Brazilian Consulate in San Francisco. The music of frevo, created in Pernambuco, permeates the streets of Olinda, as people dance frenetically wielding colorful umbrellas and costumes.

I’ve met a lot of cool people in the world, and a few of them have been New Yorkers. One of the coolest New Yorkers I’ve met is my friend (I think we qualify as friends) Jason Gardner. He is a music & travel photographer par excellence. www.jasongardner.net

You may be saying, ahhhh sh****t, he is just writing about Jason because he’s his friend. But no! wrong you are! Jason Gardner is one of the most competent and professional photographers around. His photos have been featured in Global Rhythm magazine.  He’s shot Manu Chao, the band Antibalas and Trinidad & Tobago’s reigning diva, Calypso Rose. Putumayo Records licensed his images from Recife in their Brazilian Playground compilation for kids. Most recently he opened an exhibition called Images of Pernambuco at the Brazilian Consulate in San Francisco.

“Caboclo Portrait,” Nazaré da Mata, 2006, 13×19 The mysterious and majestic caboclo-de-lança shoulders heavy and colorful costumes and sweeps clear the path for the king and queen’s processional with a long lance.

I met Jason for the first time in 2005 (if I’m not mistaken). I was a young adventurer playing maracatu with the Estrela Brilhante Nation in Recife. Jason was everywhere, photographing the rich culture that is Pernambuco around Carnival time.

“Carnaval crowd,” Old Recife, 2006, 13×19 During Carnaval, throngs of people choke the streets at night on Rua de Bom Jesus, in the old city of Recife.

Over the years we met up many times in Pernambuco. Both of us being well connected with the artists and agitators of the regional culturesphere, we were privy to many a manifestation that a regular tourist would simply not have access to, from Jurema (mystic rite) ceremonies to parties by torch-light in the the cane fields.  I was very impressed by Jason’s wise use of the camera. He was very respectful of people and their sensibilities, yet never one to shy away from an impressive image. Not that it’s so hard in Brazil, generally people love to be photographed, but still, he had a knack of knowing when it’s ok to take a picture and when it is not.

“Smoking in Abreu e Lima,” Abreu e Lima, 2010, 13×19 About an hour north of Recife, this participant smokes ritual tobacco as a way of communicating with the orixás and enabling the deities to speak through them to the assembled members

Truly he manages to capture the essence of the land in a single picture. The images of Pernambuco are not ones that the average North American is used to. It seems the world focuses on Rio de Janeiro at carnival time. And while the fantastic images of Recife/Olinda carnival may be popular inside Brazil, they are largely unknown to the world at large. Jason has brought them to many people’s attention.

“Maracatu Dancer,” Avenida Dantas Barreto, Recife, 2005, 13×19 The festivities provide an opportunity for all to transform and become their fantasy; workers can escape for a few days, poke fun at their bosses, cross-dress, or just cross the boundaries of day-to-day society by “playing” Carnaval.

Pernambuco is a rawer side of the Brazilian Carnival, one that mashes up African, Indigenous and European traditions and spits them out in an adulterous form; yet still with generations of tradition behind them . From the scorching rural cane fields to the overbuilt urban hilltops of Recife, Jason Gardner captures striking moments.

Below are some of the pics from the exhibition.  He has already previewed these on his blog about Pernambuco, Caldão da Cultura (which means ‘culture cauldron’).

“Chewing Cane,” Nazaré da Mata, 2005, 13×19 Sugarcane is one of the largest industries in the zona da mata, the home of the caboclo (sugarcane worker) and cutting cane is a way to earn a modest living during most of the year.

“Caetita,” Nazaré da Mata, 2010, 12×12 The caetita is a clown, running and jumping before the maracatu rural procession as a sort of comic relief in the Carnaval in the zona da mata region of Pernambuco, on Sunday, when all of the maracatus gather in Nazare da Mata to parade and compete.

“Alfaia Oficina,” Recife, 2006, 13×19 This maker of maracatu drums explains, “When I make the alfaia, I connect with the soul of the drum. Every drum has a personality, and all the players understand this. You can be a good musician, play maracatu, but to really learn it is a different thing.”

Jason Gardner with Dona Marivalda, Queen of Maracatu Estrela Brilhante