:: Reviewing Brazilian Music We Like Since September 7, 2002 ::
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The Seduction of Piano and Voice. I have seen and heard several releases of piano and voice through the years. The minimalist approach is always very seductive, especially when one artist seems to be an extension of the other. … Continued
A Natural Merge The flute has a special place in Brazilian music. A Bossa Nova arrangement that includes a flute solo is far beyond cool and perfectly embodies what is so Brazilian in that track. Whether it is Altamiro Carrilho, … Continued
Shining Stars The wait is over, finally. When the Brazilian Trio released its debut Grammy-nominated album, Forests, I was very impressed by such an impassioned release. Knowing how busy each artist is — Helio Alves, Nilson Matta and … Continued
Comprised of Helio Alves (piano), Duduka da Fonseca (drums, percussion) and Nilson Matta (bass), the Brazilian Trio is carrying on the tradition of the piano-bass-drum trios with impeccable productions. This group’s discography is available in Spotify. You can subscribe to … Continued
The Sum of Its Parts With years of experience in the New York City Brazilian jazz scene and having played with a who’s-who list of Brazilian artists, three very talented musicians got together to release Forests, a heavy Brazilian … Continued
The Force of Samba Close to his 2007 release, New York Samba Jazz Quintet, Hendrik Meurkens wasted no time with this energetic follow-up, his 17th solo album. As the CD name implies, you can be sure you will find here … Continued
Acoustic Pressure If you liked Kees Schoof’s review of Sambajazz Trio’s Agora Sim!, here is another release honoring the traditional piano-bass-drums ensembles. With just the right amount of original pieces and classic Bossa Nova — the album is equally … Continued
Two Masters Another beautiful concept, Para Gershwin e Jobim unites two great modern composers in a fine album. Produced, arranged and directed by Mario Adnet, the album is a true gem of musicianship and performance. Some of Adnet’s usual collaborators … Continued
An Impressive Album First off some trivia. Pedra Bonita has received four releases to date. The original album was first released in Japan in 1994 (BMG Victor). According to Adnet’s site, that album version lists only 15 tracks. “Ainda Não” … Continued
Symphonic Jobim Even if this recording had not won a 2004 Latin Grammy, it would still certainly be considered a magnificent production of Mario Adnet and Paulo Jobim. Using the original arrangements created by Claus Ogerman, Tom Jobim, Eumir … Continued
Paradise Found The first time I heard Pamela Driggs was in Brasília’s album River Wide (Kokoppelli Records KOKO 1304, 1995). Brasília was based in New Mexico and included, besides Driggs, her husband Romero Lubambo on guitars, Phil Markowitz and Phil … Continued
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