Another year has ended. With the world still dealing with what seems to be an unending pandemic, Brazilian music is no exception to having suffered because of COVID. Based on the music I have acquired and listened to in 2021 (about 65 releases), 20% were singles, including songs by Adriana Calcanhotto, Fátima Guedes (technically an EP), Gustavo Campos, Marcos Sacramento, Ordinarius, Quarteto do Rio, Roberta Sá, and Zé Manoel. Another trend I noticed in my purchases were live and studio recordings done in past years and only now being released, such as:
- Uma Noite para Ângela Maria (a 2019 tribute celebrating Ângela Maria‘s 90th birthday);
- Celso Fonseca‘s beautiful solo, and home recording from 20 years ago, Nossa Música;
- Guinga, Mônica Salmaso, Teco Cardoso e Nailor Proveta’s Japan Tour 2019;
- Mônica Salmaso & José Pedro Gil’s 2019 Estrada Branca – Vinicius de Moraes e José Afonso;
- Rosa Passos‘ 2001 show Dunas – Live in Copenhagen;
- Toquinho & Jazz Sinfônica’s 2008 reissue and
- Zé Renato‘s 2004 show Orlando Mavioso (Ao Vivo).
Of course, there is no scientific basis to my notes above. Again, I stress they are only based on my personal purchases.
So, what were a few of the noteworthy and new music of 2021? Here are my top five best and notable albums released in 2021. In pure Brazilian alphabetical order fashion (by first names), here they are.
The first one that I want to mention came out in the middle of the summer. I actually wrote a separate review back then. Think of it as an early Christmas gift for all of us. I am talking about Antonio Adolfo‘s Jobim Forever. I will save repeating myself here and letting you read the full review in the link above. Incidentally, Antonio Adolfo was nominated for a 2021 Latin Grammy award in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album for his tribute to Milton Nascimento, Bruma: Celebrating Milton Nascimento.
Then, just before Christmas, Fernanda Cunha and Reg Schwager joined talents for Late Night, a soulful, intimate, and captivating album. All music is by Schwager with Cunha’s lyrics. Cunha (vocals) and Schwager (guitar, electric bass, arrangements) had previously collaborated in some of her albums (you can see her discography here), but with Late Night, they solidify this long musical friendship with a remarkable year-end release. Joining them in Late Night are musicians Tom Szczesniak (piano, electric piano, accordion), Pat Collins (acoustic bass), Edson Ghilardi (drums, percussion), Michel Lambert (drums), Allison Au (alto sax), and Masashi Usui (tenor sax). The stirring bolero opener “Dança do Amor” is simply irresistible and an invitation to slow dance. In “Quero Só Viver em Paz,” Cunha invites you to walk down one of the hills of Rio singing a Noel Rosa samba. The title track, “Late Night,” is unhurried and fiery with Usui’s tenor sax solo. To me, that is an instant classic in Cunha’s repertoire. Schwager is comfortable and at ease in what is definitely a well-known territory for him. Brazilian music runs in his veins. All songs are in Portuguese except for the closer, “October Song.” Together, Cunha and Schwager add a collection of timeless songs to their repertoires and the Brazilian songbook. Here’s to impassioned music and excellent artistry!
Early in 2021, guitarist, composer, arranger Gabriel Santiago opened the year with another of his excellent productions. Upright is bold, pleasing, and features a set of nine original Santiago’s music. In a trio format, Santiago does some vocals and plays electric and acoustic guitars, Rhodes, keyboard, and synths. The trio is completed by Brazilian musicians Thiago Rabello (drums) and Frederico Heliodoro (electric bass). You should expect some very vibrant solos and a few mellow tunes. All in all, it is a remarkable album to please guitar lovers all over the world. Gabriel Santiago continues to keep a very busy schedule with concerts and performances in jazz clubs as well as masterclasses in some US universities. In the fall of 2021, he toured California, Texas, and Colorado performing music from this and other previous releases.
No other month appeared to be as busy for new releases as December. Right at the beginning of the month, Trio Corrente returned with a very fine album, Sincronia. The album is a celebration of the trio’s twentieth anniversary and marks the trio’s seventh album. To refresh your mind, the trio is Edu Ribeiro on drums, Fábio Torres on piano, and Paulo Paulelli on bass. It is hard to say anything about Sincronia without thinking of superlatives. The mixture of genres is phenomenally presented in a homogeneous package. Whether a choro or baião, the trio’s jazz arrangements shine from the first to the last track. My only gripe about the release is that it is so very short clocking only 33 minutes of stellar performances. Go on and create a playlist as I did with all their albums to enjoy such great musicians. Also, if you visit their website, there are two bonus tracks for this album.
Now I have the pleasure to introduce Zé Marcos in the MúsicaBrasileira pages. His album Linha de Chegada is his very first solo effort. Zé Marcos wrote all 14 tracks (four were co-written with other musicians) and also did the percussion arrangements in half of them. He does all vocals and plays acoustic guitar and cavaquinho. He did not hold anything back on this superb samba and choro album. I kept asking myself why I liked this album so much to include it in this retrospective. Then, while listening to it over and over during the past week, some lyrics really resonated with me. In the song “Rainha da Festa,” a homage to all cooks, he sings about the “rich memory and stories of a culture watered with special seasoning and traditional flavors.” He even mentions a wood fire-burning stove. That tradition and cultural history is the music you hear in Linha de Chegada. The album is pure joy and beautiful simplicity at its best. It’s authentic Brazilian samba. Zé Marcos had help from a number of excellent musicians in this outstanding album. In particular, four special guests were featured: Fábio Gouvea (7-string acoustic guitar), Conrado Paulino (electric guitar), Jotagê Alves (clarinets), and Luiz Anthony (mandolin and all arrangements).
Here it is hoping for a better and more productive 2022. Let us all hope that artists can return to the studio and concert halls to give us their music.
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