Andrea dos Guimarães: Desvelo

Modern Tradition

When I heard the second album of Conversa Ribeira (Águas Memórias, 2013), I was struck by the beautiful sound of the trio. At least for one third, the voice of Andrea dos Guimarães was responsible for that. The singer from Minas Gerais (but now living in São Paulo) has a pure sounding voice, a voice that makes her able to underline the quality of Brazilian music tradition. On Desvelo Andrea continues to surprise in a pleasant way: she proves to be an exceptional pianist as well. The album was recorded live in the recording studio. Only piano and vocals. Andrea carefully worked her way to the recording of this album, which houses a few gems of Brazilian popular music and two of her own compositions. What makes the album so beautiful is that singing while accompanying herself on the piano, doesn’t interfere in any way with the performance on the piano. It’s like she’s standing next to a pianist: the vocals and the piano both highlight the beauty of each song!

The repertoire is inspired by the music Andrea grew up listening to. From classical MPB to jazz and pop music. One of the most surprising songs on the album is the eccentric “Cocoon” (Casulo) from Icelandic singer Björk (from her album Vespertine, 2001). Andrea sings wordless vocals that represent the original vocals in a remarkable way. Not an easy task, and it shows the cleverness of Andrea as a vocalist! But there’s also the nostalgic MPB classic “Começar de Novo.” This Ivan Lins / Vitor Martins composition gets a very fragile treatment. This time the song marks the quality of Andrea as arranger. A musician to the backbone! The most sentimental moment comes when Andrea invites her father Alcides Nunes to sing with her on the lovely Ataulfo Alves composition “Meus Tempos de Criança.” It was during her childhood that Andrea was influenced by the musical heart of her family. Mother playing and teaching piano and father singing with a beautiful soft voice. It must have formed Andrea to where she’s going now.

This CD is the first of a triptych of albums that summarize the musical ambitions of the singer, pianist, composer and arranger. The two other albums will feature arrangements for chamber music and Andrea’s own instrumental compositions.

The recording is superb and also the artwork of the CD package deserves a thumbs-up. The release of the CD was financially helped by crowdfunding. These are new time for the production of music. It worked perfectly for Andrea and pleases us, the music lovers, with a gift of beautiful music. Absolutely recommended!

ALBUM INFORMATION

Andrea dos Guimarães
Desvelo
Independent ADG0001 (2014)
Time: 41’14”

Tracks:

1. Ciranda dos Meninos (Andrea dos Guimarães)
2. Começar De Novo (Ivan Lins – Vitor Martins)
3. Lata D’Água (Joaquim Antônio Candeias Júnior – Luiz Antônio)
4. Rio De Lágrimas (Lourival dos Santos – Piraci – Tião Carreiro)
5. Meus Tempos de Criança (Ataulfo Alves)
6. Retrato Em Branco E Preto (Chico Buarque – Antônio Carlos Jobim)
7. Seis Horas Da Tarde (Milton Nascimento) / Asa Branca (Luiz Gonzaga – Humberto Teixeira)
8. Estrada Do Contorno (Andrea dos Guimarães)
9. Acalanto (Chico Buarque – Edu Lobo)
10. Ela Desatinou (Chico Buarque)
11. História de Pescadores I (Canção da Partida) / História de Pescadores II (Adeus Da Esposa) (Dorival Caymmi)
12. Casulo (Cocoon) (Björk Gudmundsdottir – Thomas Knak)