6 Feb 2018

Vander Lee: 20 Anos

by | posted in: CD | 0

Only 20 Years

20 Anos— On July 1st and 2nd, 2016, singer, guitarist and composer Vanderli “Vander Lee” Catarina hit the stage in Rio de Janeiro. There, at the beautiful Espaço Tom Jobim, he performed and overview of his twenty-year career as a musician. A career that’s highlighted by some of the most beautiful ballads and gentle songs. Influenced by the Brazilian music culture, but also by classical music and certainly jazz.

The music on this outstanding album shows it all. The CD starts off with a most fragile “Minha Criança.” The voice of Vander Lee immediately brings you in a certain mood of nostalgia and makes you stop with whatever it is you’re doing. The amazing accurate performing band is also a delight on its own. On this first song on the CD, Vander Lee is helped by a sampled string quartet. The band that’s actually on stage, consists of guitarist Matheus Barbosa, who does some real fine soloing and the wonderful bassist Eneias Xavier (also on a perfect sounding acoustic bass). On keyboards is Christiano Caldas, laying down a solid basis for the singer. On drums we hear an attentive Ramon Braga. The band is completed with two striking guests. The first is the amazing Marco Lobo, who’s more than a percussionist. He adds different sounds that lift the originality and sentiment of each song. Speaking of sentiments, Lui Coimbra is on cello. He’s certainly a master of good taste. His performance is a blessing for any artist, especially for a sentimental singer as Vander Lee. Lui adds a beautiful influence of chamber music.

Vander LeeThe repertoire on the CD (there’s also a DVD with extra songs) shows a nice variety. As quite normal with a retrospective concert, the music comes from his 4 earlier studio recordings, Faro (2009,) Sambarroco (2012), Loa (2014) and the most recent 9 (2016). Two guest vocalists join in for a duet. Mariene de Castro, the singer from Bahia on “Onde Deus Possa Me Ouvir,” a song that you might know by the voice of Gal Costa, who recorded it in 2002. And Vander Lee’s daughter Laura Catarina sings with her father on “Prece Preciosa.”

 

The concert turned out to be one of Vander Lee’s last ones. A bit more than one month after the recording of this music, the singer/composer/guitarist from Belo Horizonte (1966) suddenly passed away on August 5, 2016. Only 50 years old, taken away by a heart attack. The posthumous release of this concert date was made possible by crowdfunding. Listening to this amazing concert makes it clear that the Brazilian music scene lost one of his great representatives.

 

ALBUM INFORMATION

Vander Lee
20 Anos
Balaio RS 4007 (2017)
Time: 47’14”

Track list (songs with an asterisk * only appear on DVD; all tracks by Vander Lee, except where noted):

  1. Tu *
  2. Eu e Ela *
  3. Minha Criança
  4. Seu Rei
  5. Sempre Cedo *
  6. Estrela
  7. Boramar
  8. Farol *
  9. Beleza Fria *
  10. Idos Janeiros (Vander Lee – Flávio Venturini)*
  11. Sambarroco (Vander Lee – Dudu Nicácio)*
  12. Mais um Barco
  13. Desejo de Flor
  14. Nada por Nada
  15. Seu Nome
  16. Siga em Paz
  17. Prece Preciosa – w/ Laura Catarina
  18. Alma Nua *
  19. Onde Deus Possa me Ouvir – w/ Mariene de Castro
  20. Esperando Aviões
  21. Românticos (sung by the audience)*

    Extras

  22. Iluminado *
  23. A Voz *
  24. Pra Ser Levada em Conta *
  25. Idos Janeiros (Vander Lee – Flávio Venturini)