Letieres Leite and Orkestra Rumpilezz look casual, swing hard

They may have been performing in a former church on landlocked Broad Street, but Letieres Leite and Orkestra Rumpilezz were dressed for a Brazilian beach. Every member of the 20-piece big band from Bahia was clad head to toe in immaculate white, most in matching polo shirts, shorts, and flip-flops (the percussionists and bandleader kept things a bit more formal).

The casual nature of the orchestra's wardrobe did not, however, extend to their performance. Brought to the Temple Performing Arts Center by the Philadelphia Jazz Project on Friday in the midst of their first U.S. tour, Rumpilezz combined symphonic precision and jazz dynamics with the rigorous electricity of Afro-Brazilian percussion. The thrilling sound that resulted teemed with brilliant colors and explosive moments.

As the outfits indicated, Leite understands theatricality as well as musicality. Their set began with the appearance of a single percussionist establishing a steady rhythm. Leite emerged next, adding a keening melody on soprano sax. The rest of the band then burst from the curtain, playing their instruments, transforming a hypnotic and contemplative moment into a buoyant parade march.

The diminutive Leite, white suit matched by shoulder-length silver hair and beard, led by energetic example. He constantly moved, from shaking caxixi in time with the boisterous rhythms to soloing on saxophones or flute, to conducting with grand flourishes of his arms or springing leaps. He could draw masterfully synchronized bursts or gentle, fluid textures from the band at will.

For the occasion of their first trip to the States, Rumpilezz also welcomed a few special guests met in their travels since their founding in 2006. Slide trumpet player Steven Bernstein, leader of Sex Mob and the Millennial Territory Orchestra, as well as an in-demand arranger and musical director, joined for the evocative "Floresta Azul," highlighted by a soaring duel with Leite's flute.

Pianist Arturo O'Farrill, who leads his own Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra in New York City, contributed a new composition that bristled with nervous energy, leading to a brief dance with the Brazilian bandleader.

The evening began with a more homegrown demonstration of Latin-inspired jazz. The Philadelphia Jazz Project's "Another Holiday for Skins" was assembled to pay tribute to Art Blakey's 1959 album Holiday for Skins. The 11-piece ensemble, led by percussionist Pablo Batista and pianist Luke Carlos O'Reilly, invigorated Blakey's material with a seamless melding of Philly swing and Latin American rhythms.