:: Reviewing Brazilian Music We Like Since September 7, 2002 ::
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Unpretentiously Pleasing The first time I heard about Paulinho Garcia was with his 2000 choro CD with Julie Koidin Dois no Choro, a nice release with some Brazilian classic choros. Following that release, Paulinho’s name continued to appear in … Continued
After the appearance of a more than satisfying debut album, it’s always a thrill to see how things evolve. This is one of those occasions. The follow up of the self-titled first album from À Deriva invites for a speculative curiosity. The music on their first cd sounded very personal and inspired and showed a high level of professionalism. Here is the sequence: À Deriva II.
Extraordinary Women Caetano Veloso’s “Gatas Extraordinárias” song captures the essence of Simone and Zélia Duncan’s live recording Amigo É Casa very well. The two performers have had a solid career with their individual albums. With this 2008 CD and … Continued
A Few Surprises The repertoire in Live at JazzBaltica might not be totally brand new, but the sound Trio da Paz creates with guest vibraphonist/composer Joe Locke is all smooth and captivating. The Trio pulls a few … Continued
Standard and New Bossa Sergio Augusto deprived us listeners from his acoustic guitar and soothing vocals far too long. In 2005, he made a triumphal come back with Tudo Que Arde, Cura. Four years later, he gives us an … Continued
A Tribute to the Music of the 1940s & 1950s Some things are definitely worth waiting for. Samba Meets Boogie Woogie was recorded in May and June 2006, but post-production took nearly two years. Finally, the album was released in … Continued
Revisiting Possibly Neglected Moments of His Career Even with a career that spans 35 years, singer Alceu Valença still comes up with nice ideas. His idea for this album is to brush up some older songs that in … Continued
Still Paralamas It’s always a pleasure to notice the release of a new CD from Os Paralamas do Sucesso. The band has been around for some three decades and still manages to come out with fresh sounding pop/rock albums. … Continued
An Exceptional Trio! Here’s an instrumental album by a remarkable trio of musicians. It’s not often that we hear a trio formed by piano, guitar and sax. But a setting like this works just fine when the musicians are … Continued
Ten Beautifully Performed Songs The year 2008 has been brightened up with a striking amount of good cds. Dez Canções deserves to be high on that list. Adriana Maciel delivers a timeless piece of work that’s characterized by very good … Continued
Leo Gandelman Lets the Stars Sing Saxophonist Leo Gandelman leaves his marks in 2008 with an outstanding album that features many of Brazil’s legendary vocalists. The craftsmanship of Leo Gandelman (Rio de Janeiro, 1956) is widely recognized. During his … Continued
A Funny Mix Introducing Randy Brecker is very easy, since the trumpeter’s curriculum vitae can be read as a “who is who” in modern popular music. He has played with everyone, while at the same time he influenced the … Continued