Suely Mesquita: Sexo Puro

Sexo Puro is a very special album by singer and songwriter Suely Mesquita, who has worked with Fernanda Abreu, Pedro Luís and Zeca Baleiro to name a few. These names give a clue about the open mind Suely has for music. She makes "new music," in a very special way. The more you listen to this album, the more you'll like it. The instrumentation is amazingly well balanced and well chosen. No synths nor samplers were used. So yes, it is possible to make very contemporary music that way. Makes it more "timeless,s" too.

The CD has many highlights. It all starts with "XXI." Here you can already hear how tasteful this music is put together. And how well everything is recorded! The jazzy acoustic bass lines (Bruno Migliari) and the guitar licks (Paulo Muylaert, known from Aquarela Carioca) carry the beautiful voice of Suely. Pedro Luís e a Parede add color with their eccentric voices and percussion. Another highlight comes with "Interesse" (Pedro Luís - Suely Mesquita). The song opens with light percussion and a deep sounding bass (Mário Moura, who worked with Ney Matogrosso and Lenine among others). The vocals are wonderful and fit perfectly in this setting. The remarkable piano by Carlos Fuchs searches its own way through the composition. It's amazing that such a good pianist is so little known. Carlos Fuchs has classical training. His father played classical piano; his mother violin; and his grandma helped him study the piano. Influenced by Chopin, Rachmaninoff; and also by Keith Jarrett, Jobim and Chico Buarque. And all that you can hear is his wonderful piano playing on this album! Next is "Prazer, Prejuízo e ócio", a very creative song about creating... The composition has very defined lines. But the saxophones (all played by Antônio Saraiva) are allowed to wander about free within those borders. It's how Charles Mingus worked, and this song has (for me) a clear touch of the late great bassist. Wonderful arrangement and strong composition. "Gazelle" is also a noticeable piece of work. Only accompanied by piano and percussion and sung in French, the singer brings an ode to beauty. Normal I prefer Brazilian singers to sing in Portuguese, but the French of Suely is quite different than that from (say) Gilberto Gil! She makes it sound beautiful and here the language adds to the silent beauty of the song (or if you want: the wilderness). Carlos Fuchs shines again on the piano. "Porcelana" continues that beauty. A wonderful bossa with a crystal clear voice of our singer. This piece of beauty goes straight to your heart. The fretless bass (Mário Moura) fits perfect, as does the acoustic guitar by Sérgio Tannus. Not to speak of Carlos Fuchs... again! Next is a strange medley kind of set. "Sapatinho de Cristal", that has a lazy Cássia Eller kind of sound hanging over it, and "No Boteco." Pure fun. The lazy and seductive voice of Suely wakes up, jumps up with the first tones of "No Boteco," an uptempo samba, complete with cavaquinho (Rodrigo Campello, who also did the arrangement). "Samba" is a cute composition with a danceable chorus line. That leads to "Aristocracia," with playful vocals and refined percussion. Another treasure is "Maldade da Memória," a very Brazilian sounding blues with a minimal instrumentation (guitar, bass and percussion). "Pisca" (Zeca Baleiro - Suely Mesquita) flows over from the blues to a more aggressive rock kind of song. Sérgio Tannus opens very bluesy on the electric guitar. Suely proves her voice has many colors. The song evolves to a quite heavy rock, but still beautiful. Great guitar solos, no-nonsense drumming by CA Ferrari. The CD closes with a moving "Filhote da Ditadura." The song starts very friendly and sweet, but anger about the innocent unawareness of the dictatorship takes over and reaches a climax at the end of the song. Makes me wonder what would have happened with the vocalists (Suely and guest Mathilda K—vak) and the studio if the song took a few minutes longer...

So, in short the album is an exceptional piece of work. Well balanced, wonderfully recorded and a extraordinary vocalist! And since this is a CD by a lyricist, you get very well taken care of lyrics, too! Shame it took so long for this first CD to come out! Hope the second one won't take that long...

For information on how to obtain this CD, please contact Suely Mesquita.

Kees Schoof

Suely Mesquita Sexo Puro SMSP01 (2002) Time: 48'11"

Sexo Puro is a very special album by singer and songwriter Suely Mesquita, who has worked with Fernanda Abreu, Pedro Luís and Zeca Baleiro to name a few. These names give a clue about the open mind Suely has for music. She makes "new music," in a very special way. The more you listen to this album, the more you'll like it. The instrumentation is amazingly well balanced and well chosen. No synths nor samplers were used. So yes, it is possible to make very contemporary music that way. Makes it more "timeless,s" too. The CD has many highlights. It all starts with "XXI." Here you can already hear how tasteful this music is put together. And how well everything is recorded! The jazzy acoustic bass lines (Bruno Migliari) and the guitar licks (Paulo Muylaert, known from Aquarela Carioca) carry the beautiful voice of Suely. Pedro Luís e a Parede add color with their eccentric voices and percussion. Another highlight comes with "Interesse" (Pedro Luís - Suely Mesquita). The song opens with light percussion and a deep sounding bass (Mário Moura, who worked with Ney Matogrosso and Lenine among others). The vocals are wonderful and fit perfectly in this setting. The remarkable piano by Carlos Fuchs searches its own way through the composition. It's amazing that such a good pianist is so little known. Carlos Fuchs has classical training. His father played classical piano; his mother violin; and his grandma helped him study the piano. Influenced by Chopin, Rachmaninoff; and also by Keith Jarrett, Jobim and Chico Buarque. And all that you can hear is his wonderful piano playing on this album! Next is "Prazer, Prejuízo e ócio", a very creative song about creating... The composition has very defined lines. But the saxophones (all played by Antônio Saraiva) are allowed to wander about free within those borders. It's how Charles Mingus worked, and this song has (for me) a clear touch of the late great bassist. Wonderful arrangement and strong composition. "Gazelle" is also a noticeable piece of work. Only accompanied by piano and percussion and sung in French, the singer brings an ode to beauty. Normal I prefer Brazilian singers to sing in Portuguese, but the French of Suely is quite different than that from (say) Gilberto Gil! She makes it sound beautiful and here the language adds to the silent beauty of the song (or if you want: the wilderness). Carlos Fuchs shines again on the piano. "Porcelana" continues that beauty. A wonderful bossa with a crystal clear voice of our singer. This piece of beauty goes straight to your heart. The fretless bass (Mário Moura) fits perfect, as does the acoustic guitar by Sérgio Tannus. Not to speak of Carlos Fuchs... again! Next is a strange medley kind of set. "Sapatinho de Cristal", that has a lazy Cássia Eller kind of sound hanging over it, and "No Boteco." Pure fun. The lazy and seductive voice of Suely wakes up, jumps up with the first tones of "No Boteco," an uptempo samba, complete with cavaquinho (Rodrigo Campello, who also did the arrangement). "Samba" is a cute composition with a danceable chorus line. That leads to "Aristocracia," with playful vocals and refined percussion. Another treasure is "Maldade da Memória," a very Brazilian sounding blues with a minimal instrumentation (guitar, bass and percussion). "Pisca" (Zeca Baleiro - Suely Mesquita) flows over from the blues to a more aggressive rock kind of song. Sérgio Tannus opens very bluesy on the electric guitar. Suely proves her voice has many colors. The song evolves to a quite heavy rock, but still beautiful. Great guitar solos, no-nonsense drumming by CA Ferrari. The CD closes with a moving "Filhote da Ditadura." The song starts very friendly and sweet, but anger about the innocent unawareness of the dictatorship takes over and reaches a climax at the end of the song. Makes me wonder what would have happened with the vocalists (Suely and guest Mathilda K—vak) and the studio if the song took a few minutes longer... So, in short the album is an exceptional piece of work. Well balanced, wonderfully recorded and a extraordinary vocalist! And since this is a CD by a lyricist, you get very well taken care of lyrics, too! Shame it took so long for this first CD to come out! Hope the second one won't take that long... For information on how to obtain this CD, please contact Suely Mesquita. Kees Schoof
Track listing
XXI (Suely Mesquita - Paulo Baiano) Bebe Chuva (Suely Mesquita - Glauco Lourenço) Interesse (Suely Mesquita - Pedro Luís) Prazer, Prejuízo e Ócio (Suely Mesquita - Celso Fonseca) Gazelle (Suely Mesquita - Carlos Fuchs) Porcelana (Suely Mesquita - Dudu Caribé - Kali C.) Sapatinho de Cristal (Suely Mesquita) / No Boteco (Rodrigo Campello - Suely Mesquita) Samba (Suely Mesquita) Aristocracia (Suely Mesquita - Luís Capucho) Maldade da Memória (Suely Mesquita) Pisca (Suely Mesquita - Zeca Baleiro) Filhote da Ditadura (Mathilda Kóvak - Suely Mesquita)