Doing His Own Thing
Of course keyboardist Humberto Barros is best known for his work as a sideman in one of Brazil’s most famous pop bands Kid Abelha. Being with them for more than a decade definitely links his name to the band. And what’s even more, Kid Abelha wouldn’t be the same without him. Humberto became part of the sound of this commercial success. Meanwhile the keyboardist lent his talent to artists like Zeca Baleiro, Lenine, Paulinho Moska, Leoni, Rita Lee and Ritchie, to name only a few. It helped Humberto to form an own musical direction in which he obviously feels very comfortable. This solo project shows that very clearly. Humberto Barros easily produces the sound that reflects the images he has in mind for each particular composition, a quality, by the way, that earned him a place among the favorite sidemen for various artists. Also, as a sideman, Humberto cleverly knows how to value the input of his fellow musicians on this cd.
On O Mundo Está Fervendo (The World Is Boiling) Humberto Barros fully lets himself go on his own ideas; music often inspired by the turbulent time we live in. The keyboardist is accompanied on half of the tracks by like-minded musicians. Guitarist Cristiano Crochemore (Porto Alegre), who has his own blues trio, gets the opportunity the do his thing, impressively forming an extension to Humberto’s sounds and ideas. Marcelo Linhares, who also worked with singer Rita Ribeiro, is the bassist. The rest of the instrumentation is taken care of by Humberto. Only Juliano Zanoni is added on drums on the catchy pop song “Já Fugi.”
The repertoire is by the hands of Humberto Barros, except for the Chico Buarque classic “Quem Te Viu, Quem Te Vê,” one of the four instrumentals on the disc. On this tune Humberto performs all instruments, and he shows us the quality of Buarque’s compositions by giving it a jazzy rendition.The song nicely flows over in one of the cd’s best moments “A Roleta, o Mar e a Nossa Fé.” Wonderful bass lines (Marcelo Linhares), organ, piano and slide guitar (all by Barros, as well as drum sampler) accompany the somewhat lazy voice. It’s maybe the best example of the alternative approach Humberto Barros strives for. That approach is underlined by the following instrumental tune “Já Vai Amanhecer,” where guitars, an accordion and synthesizer impressively play around the melody of an acoustic piano. The tune recalls various images and is the perfect moment to go through the illustrations Humberto made for this cd. Each song gets one. The cd also has three multimedia clips as a nice extra.
With O Mundo Está Fervendo Humberto Barros delivers a very good album, dominated by tasteful instrumentation, clever composing with a perfect mix between pop, jazz and alternative music. A true joy!
ALBUM INFORMATION
Humberto Barros
O Mundo Está Fervendo
Nikita Music NK 3032-2 (2006)
Time: 52’23”
Tracks:
All compositions by Humberto Barros, except where noted.
- A Noite É uma Criança (Humberto Barros – Leoni)
- Eu Moro Perto de Você
- Você Não Queria Mais me Matar
- Cinelândia (Gafiékno)
- Estou Bem
- Aqui Jazz
- O Mundo Está Fervendo
- Já Fugi
- Quem Te Viu, Quem te Vê (Chico Buarque de Holanda)
- A Roleta, o Mar, e a Nossa Fé
- Já Vai Amanhecer
- Confusão
