A Nice Debut
Born in Rio de Janeiro and transplanted to Boston via the Berklee College of Music, Teresa Ines has been performing professionally since 1994. This live album showcases the many moods and styles in Ines’ voice. Like many other albums recorded live, this release captures Ines without any tricks. Whatever imperfections there are because of the live environment, Ines and her band overcome those glitches. Her renditions are warm, solid and varied. If you are not familiar with her music, Live in Boston will be a nice introduction. Besides having songs by Caetano Veloso, Lenine, Paulinho da Viola, Tom Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes, Chico Buarque and Noel Rosa, Ines also adds some of her own material.
The group that backs up Teresa Ines (voice and acoustic guitar) here comprises Hiroaki Honshuku (flute and EWI), Alon Yavnai (piano and keyboard), Gustavo Amarante (bass) and Harvey Wirht (drums). The arrangements and concepts for the songs presented in Live in Boston are the collective works of Teresa Ines and her band. As you start listening to the album, you will immediately realize the unity among these performers. They share the spotlight from song to song with careful and artistic taste. Solos are never overdone. They create a soothing environment for the soft, sensual vocals by talented Ines. She possesses a certain serenity that translates very well to soft ballads, jazzy bossa nova and lively samba.
The album opens with Ines’ own “Intro,” a vocalise piece, leading into Caetano Veloso’s “Trilhos Urbanos.” The song serves as a trampoline to feature all musicians. That was a good warm-up song for what you will experience in the rest of the album’s almost 63 minutes of music. We are then treated to Ines’ “Com Sabor,” a lovely ballad that praises the passion in women and the taste in their hearts. Throughout the album, you will inevitably think of other Brazilian female performers as you hear some vocal similarities between their voices and Ines’. Do not be fooled. Ines is a unique star of her own that inherits that intrinsic quality so common in giants such as Joyce, Zizi Possi and many others. All you need to experience Ines’ magic is to listen to her remarkable performance of Noel Rosa’s “Gago Apaixonado” or Paulinho da Viola’s “Coração Leviano.”
I cannot help but wonder what Ines would sound like in a studio recording. I hope that she will present us with a studio album very soon. You can hear some of the music in Live in Boston by checking out Ines web site.
ALBUM INFORMATION
Teresa Ines
Live in Boston
Terimus Productions (1999)
Time: 62’48”
Tracks:
- Intro/Trilhos Urbanos (Teresa Ines / Caetano Veloso)
- Com Sabor (Teresa Ines)
- Olho de Peixe (Lenine)
- Coração Leviano (Paulinho da Viola)
- A Felicidade (Tom Jobim – Vinícius de Moraes)
- Estação Derradeira (Chico Buarque)
- New Song (Teresa Ines)
- Gago Apaixonado (Noel Rosa)
- O Que Vier Eu Traço (Zé Mário – Alfaiade)
- Amores Eternos (Rodrigo Botter Maio)
- Te Olhando da Esquina (Teresa Ines – Amelia Dessimone)
This review appeared in Luna Kafé in January 2001.
