Marakablu
Rio de janeiro jazz trio
As its name implies, the Rio de Janeiro Jazz Trio is more about jazz than it is about any one of the many ethnic forms sculpted from Brazil’s fecund musical bedrock. Even so, Maracablu consists entirely of original compositions that, for the most part, maintain a distinctly Brazilian rhythmic, harmonic and melodic undercurrent though its musical fabric is woven from various strands of Sixties post-bop and modal jazz. It’s a little ironic, perhaps, that the majority of the Trio’s pieces were written by drummer Andy Potter, and American ex-pat and a mainstay of the Chicago jazz scene through the Seventies and Eighties. Stylistically, Potter’s crisp drums are everywhere on this disc. He’s forged a unique style that sits right at the nexus of the jazz drumkit tradition and Brazilian batucada. One hand sets up complicated ostinato patterns on the snare, while the other – on cymbals – provides counter-rhythms and accents. This approach is particularly successful on the less jazzy pieces, such as the darkly modal title track, and Russo’s turbulent, minor-keyed “Jade Visions.” Pianist Dario Galante and bassist Paulo Russo are highly capable, versatile modern jazz players whose deep understanding of Brazilian music is readily evident. Though Galante plays electric keys on this set, he’s not too fond of the typical door-chime sounds generated by modern digital keyboards. Even so, you know he is not playing an actual acoustic piano, either. Dario Russo has an attractive, resonant tone, and functions as a second lead voice to pianist Galante throughout most of this CD.
To my ears, this trio is most interesting when they stray the farthest from strictly bop-based forms. Seven of the nine pieces on Maracablu spring from the interstices of samba, modal and Latin jazz, and bossa nova. Some fusion leanings are evident on a couple tracks – most pointedly on the set’s sole ballad, “Treasure.” To their credit, they never lapse into vapidity or poppish insignificance. One little problem: this CD is mixed so hot that the louder moments sound a bit distorted. Otherwise, Maracablu is fine contribution in the field of Brazilian and Latin piano trio jazz
Celebrating Chico Buarque de Hollanda
Edsel Gómez
Reviewed by Douglas Browning
In the liner notes to this CD Puerto Rican pianist Edsel Gómez says, "I consider the Music of Chico Buarque de Hollanda to be a picture of the Brazilian 'Soul.' In this recording we give ourselves to the challenge of recreating that picture within a jazz perspective, striving for total creative freedom yet preserving the elements that make it sound so Brazilian." Chico Buarque is a masterful composer of songs and he sings them beautifully, but Edsel Gómez and his Brazilian group transform these songs into works of art. That's the bottom line. This superbly produced collection is a work of magic--of improvisation, of arranging, of delicacy at times and driving tightness at others. Unlike most five star CDs, which I think this is, there is not a weak or even a "just good" cut in the collection.
"Re-creation" is the proper term for Gómez's arrangement of each of the Buarque songs. For example, Feijoada Completa, which in Buarque's hands is presented as an uptempo, folklorish, and rather humorous romp, becomes with Gómez a driving, hard bop showcase for, in turn, Alcântara's fiery trumpet, Lamoglia's tenor, Dorin's alto, and Gómez's piano. Remarkably, Gómez's version, conventionally hard bop in its structure as it is, is as clearly Brazilian in its rhythm and feeling as Buarque's.
For those who have been fortunate enough to hear it, it will surely strike them as an understatement to say that Elis Regina's lush, full-orchestra version of Atrás da Porta is romantically gorgeous. On the other hand, Gómez's trio version (with the backing of Evaldo Guedes and the perfect drums of Edú Ribeiro) is a masterpiece of clean line (here the Yamaha) and breathtaking improvisation. Gómez soars and he achieves a beauty in which conception and technical mastery become one, a genuinely dramatic architecture (yes!) which Elis Regina could only envy.
Or consider Construção/Deus Ihe Pague , which I take to be the star of the collection. Buarque had produced with his Construção a political statement which, beginning simply with acoustic guitar and vocal, changes suddenly into a sustained Kentonesque orchestral blowout. There is nothing political about Gómez's recreation, but stirring it certainly is. It too begins simply, but it builds slowly and inexorably towards a full-band climax, a rapturous peak of collective and often free improvisation, by the measured addition during its first five minutes of one instrument after another (first the big Dave Hollandish bass of Guedes, then, in turn, the drums, the alto, the minor and often discordant chords of the piano, a muted trumpet, a demanding tenor, and finally an open trumpet). This is genius.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the CD is Gómez's handling of different pianos on different cuts. On tracks 1, 5, 8, and 9, the piano is a Steinway; on the other tracks, a Yamaha. The difference between the two is very much like the difference between a flugelhorn and a trumpet. Like the flugelhorn, the Steinway is lush, full, sensuous, subtle. Compared to it, the Yamaha seems almost one-dimensional, but like the trumpet it has a clear, clean precision, and it allows with its keyboard action the sort of incisiveness demanded by most uptempo jazz runs. To see this, compare the two trio tracks 3 (Yamaha) and 8 (Steinway). The marvelous thing is that Gómez improvises within the personality of the piano he plays. It is worth noting that Alcântara complements the Steinway on tracks 1 and 5 with, not a Roditi-like, but a Miles-like flugelhorn. This is genius.
Though there is no percussion on any of the tracks except for the traps (and of course the frequently percussive piano), the rhythm and overall sense of all of the tracks, even the most hardboppish, is Brazilian to the core. The heart of the music is Brasil. For that reason alone, apart from its celebration of Chico Buarque, the CD falls squarely into the category of Latin jazz. It represents, so far as I am concerned, the top Latin jazz CD of the last year or two. It is also a great work by a master of the piano who deserves to be ranked with Danilo Perez, Hilton Ruiz, and Edward Simon.
S.O.S. baixo (bass) /quase acústico
Celso Pixinga
... great new music from both veteran and new artists in the world of jazz... i haven't been as excited to open up new music than i have this week... brasilian bassist celso pixinga sent three very different... very incredible cd's for me to preview... including his latest 's o s baixo' (sos bass)... once labeled at the fastest bass player in the world (fingers of course!) by jazz critics hearing him at new york's blue note club, celso shows more than incredible ability. his compositional skills are just as fabulous... and we have 27 new tracks to blend in for our listeners...
MIKE MATHENY - radioio
Bossa Jazz
Celso Pixinga
The bassist Celso Pixinga
musical career sums up to twenty five years. The magazines “Down Beat” and
“Bass Frontier” considered Celso Pixinga the world best bass player playing
the “slap” technique, where a guitar pedal is used on the bass bringing a
havier sound to it. That “specialty” brought invitations for Pixinga to play
with some jazz musicians like the drummer Dave Weckel and the Cuban pianist
Gonzalo Rubalcaba, among others.
The CD Celso Pixinga is now releasing through Mix House entitled “Bossa
Jazz” is very peculiar. We have Celso Pixinga acompanied by the excellent
singers Rita Kfouri, Maria do Carmo Diniz, Valma Ruggieri amd Lica Ceccato
interpreting jazz standards like “It Had to be You” and “Good Enough”, Lica
Ceccato´s interpretation of her composition “No Good Bye” and some Brazilian
classics as “Lembra de Mim” of Ivan Lins and Vitor Martins, “Só Tinha de ser
com Você” of Tom Jobim and Aloysio Oliveira” and “ Só Danço Samba” of Tom
Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes. On two instrumental tracks we have “Zona Oeste
“ composed by the great bassist Nico Assumpção and “Wave” of Tom Jobim.
This disc will surprise the listeners for its peculiarity as well for its
arrangements and perfomance, where it can be shown Celso Pixinga´s strong
musical personality.
Chamber Music from the South
Paquito D´Rivera
This CD, recorded in January of 1997, is a little jewel for those who love Latin America Chamber Music; an exciting promenade along Central America, Brazil and Argentina.
Feeling and pleasure guaranteed!!
We salute the superb version of the well-known Sonata by Carlos Guastavino for Clarinet and Piano (Argentina), a classic among Argentinean Clarinetists which should be played with more frequency all over the world. The pieces by Paquito D´Rivera (Cuba) recorded on this CD (Danzón, Lecuonerias and Vals Venezolano) are three jewels of refined charm (and virtuosism, in the case of the second) that takes us to Central America combining the rhythms of the folk local music with a chamber writing of exquisite simplicity. Music that touches the soul and entertains from our Latin roots!!!
The well known Trio for clarinet, cello and piano by Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazil), a major piece in the Latin America and world chamber repertoire, is approached here with mastery and profound knowledge and respect for the style. The working is interpreted taking the advantage of the instrumental colorings impeccably tight ensemble. This is a version not to be missed; it is not common to hear this trio with this level of clarity both instrumental and stylistically.
The arrangements by Pablo Zinger of the Milonga del Angel by Astor Piazzola (Argentina), introduces as to the melancholic atmosphere of this Argentine composer who has done so much for the Tango, in an original arrangement that combine the three instruments very well. At moments, the cello and the clarinet melt into one another miraculously as if they were a single instrument. The Tanguango by Piazzolla, for clarinet and piano, presents another side of the composer with its well-known temperament and the Tango rhythms of the city.
Another charming and lovely Cuban piece is presented in the best D´Rivera style. Danzas Cubanas by Ignacio Cervantes (Cuba) for clarinet, cello and piano, arranged by Pablo Zinger (Uruguay) gives us a moment of joy and fantasy that takes us to a world unknown to many. Another pearl!!!
Osvaldo Lacerda (Brazil) is presented here with his Valsa-Choro for clarinet and piano, which combines traditional elements with more popular Brazilian parts; a prolific composer who does not present technical difficulties for the instrumentalists, and lets them achieve interesting and pleasant results pleasant to the ear without too much effort (something not very frequent among contemporary musicians).
The record is dedicated by Paquito D´Rivera to his father, the maestro Tito D´Rivera (one of the founders and main champions of the sax school in Cuba).
The unquestioned trajectory of its interpreters already presaged an interesting experience even before listening, but our expectation have been exceeded after enjoying the recording. Only words of praise are left. This a record that cannot be missing in any music lover’s collection.
The technical quality is excellent and the information (English and Portuguese) in the liner notes is complete and informative.
Thanks Paquito D´Rivera, Gustavo Tavares and Pablo Zinger (three Latin artists with international reputation) for this very valuable contribution both to the diffusion of our repertoire and to the creation of the works and new arrangements that we find in this CD!!!
Eldorado Magazine, Argentina, October 1998 (translated from Spanish) |
