The Whole Music Experience

Jazz Deborah Latz   Fig Tree June Moon Productions Ever so often a new voice crosses my path, a musician so authentic, that I pause and take notice.  Deborah Latz comes to jazz by way of musical theater, but she’s no cabaret act, neither is she a smooth jazz crooner.  Latz’ zingy interpretations of jazz chestnuts as well as, her original tunes get under the skin.  Her arrangements surprise us, such as the slowed down Embraceable You which features only vocals and bass or Blue Skies with its light 70s funk.  Latz travels into foreign territory, Brazil with her original E Luxo Só and on the cover Corcovado ( Quiet Nights , Quiet Stars made famous by Astrud Gilberto).  The titular track, Fig Tree also contributes a fun and zestful performance to the CD. It’s hard to come up with any new adjectives not already used by music critics to describe Latz’s voice or style.  So I just decided to enjoy what’s on offer, 14 carefully ch...

Yamandu Costa and Hamilton de Holanda Live! Adventure Music I reviewed Brazilian mandolin (10-string) Hamilton de Holanda’s jazz ensemble in 2010 and now I see he has returned, this time in a duet with guitarist (7-string), Yamandu Costa with Live!   Here we have a live performance in front of an appreciative audience.   The songs performed by this duo caused me to applaud as I felt exhilarated listening to these two brilliant musicians wed their virtuoso talents.   I’ve been under much stress lately with trying to find a new home in Bellingham, staying in temporary housing in the interim.   I wasn’t planning on reviewing any CDs until after I settled into a new home, but this recording came to me as a nice surprise in the mail.   The music on the recording has restored my vitality and helped me to keep a positive outlook.   Brazilian music does that in general, but this live recording emits a powerful uplifting energy which can only bo...

Andrè Vasconcellos 2 Adventure Music Even though the press notes for Brazilian bassist-composer Andrè Vasconcellos’ US debut 2 mentions hip-hop and chill influences, the album sounds like lyrical American and Brazilian jazz to my ears.   I’m thankful that I didn’t hear hip-hop influences since that’s not my cup of tea.   I did hear strains of John Coltrane, especially the saxophonist’s Arab phase on the second track, Rome with its snaky chromatic piano. But then it’s not unusual to hear Coltrane influences on jazz albums, especially if saxophone takes the lead, which it does on this album. I found Balance of Relations too noisy for my taste, but I enjoyed the romantic The Old City Ballad. Bullfight (odd title for this track) offers a respite from the world too with David Feldman’s piano and Joshua Lopez’s tenor sax passing a motif back and forth.   On Puerto Madero the musicians delve into a bossa nova that sounds warm and enjoyable with Renato F...

Mike Marshall An Adventure 1999-2009 Adventure Music I’m not sure that a prolific musician such as master mandolin player Mike Marshall needs a retrospective. The musician’s output is already on this side of incredible and he’s teamed up with just about every kind of musician out there from early music to bluegrass players and Brazilian legends. His album with the Swedish trio Vasen made sense too because similar to the musicians that comprise Vasen, Marshall also knows his way around winding musical roads. On the other hand, to take in the wide scope and breadth of Marshall’s work on the Adventure Music label, lasting over a decade now, a retrospective places this musician’s work in perspective. His musical output has been phenomenal --not just in the number of albums released, but in his versatility and adaptability to varying musical genres. This guy performs virtuoso mandolin in so many musical languages that it must cause listeners’ heads to spin. I’m not talking Lind...

Jovino Santos Neto (and friends) Veja O Som (See the Sound) 2 CDs Adventure Music The music that Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Jovino Santos Neto performs and composes possesses a sunny vibration. This warm vibration won’t toast you, but leave you feeling warm and slightly tingly when listening to his new recording, See the Sound . Certainly I find Jovino’s music falling on the healthier side of things as I find much of Brazilian jazz and traditional music. On See the Sound (title derived from a quote at a recording session), involves some world travel, 20 fabulous duets with North and South American musicians, and performances not soon to be forgotten any time soon. Let’s start with the list of musical duo partners which includes: David Sanchez (tenor sax), Mike Marshall (mandocello and mandolin), Gretchen Parlato (voice), Paquito d’Rivera (C clarinet), Bill Frisell (electric guitar), Airto Moreira (voice, percussion), Tom Lellis (voice, shaker), Anat Cohen (so...

Benjamim Taubkin Piano Masters Series vol. I Adventure Music Fazioli pianos represent the Rolls Royce of keyboards. Designed and produced in Italy, this particular piano is out of the price range of non-millionaires. I had heard of Fazioli pianos, but never actually heard one until Benjamim Taubkin’s performance as part of Adventure Music’s Piano Master Series . As far as I can tell, a variety of pianists were set up in the Fazioli Studio in New York City and the results I’m certain will delight even the most discerning tastes. Marrying gifted pianist/composers with these gorgeous sounding instruments proves ingenuous. As a lover of pianos I have found great pleasure in immersing myself in Taubkin’s music. I feel spoiled by such pleasure. As I listened to the recording I thought that Taubkin must give himself goose bumps when he composes this ethereal music. I know I was feeling chills running up and down my spine while listening to this collection of songs. The melody ...

Marcos Amorim Trio Portraits Adventure Music I reviewed Marcos Amorim Trio’s Revolving Landscapes in 2008 and I was impressed with the trio’s (Jorge Albuquerque-bass and Rafael Barata-drums) laidback approach. Shimmering cymbals recalled ocean waves while the bass anchored the guitars’ flights of fancy. Portraits which marks Amorim’s fourth album with Adventure Music, sounds more laidback than the previous recording. Again, the guitars (both electric and acoustic) set out exploring Brazilian jazz terrain while the bass and drums conjure images of Rio de Janeiro’s sumptuous beaches. Amorim has captivated the press with his compositions and performances. And certainly he possesses a rich imagination in the soundscapes he creates with his guitar. While you will hear guitar solos here and there, Amorim doesn’t come off as the flashy type, but a musician who prefers to integrate his guitars with the rhythm section. His style is as the press notes cite, “elegant and graceful,” ...

Ricardo Silveira ‘til Tomorrow Adventure Music Brazilian jazz guitarist Ricardo Silveira’s ‘til Tomorrow blasts off with the adventurous  Rocket’s Tail . Silveira’s guitar dazzles as it converses with flutes and Brazilian percussion. Overall the career retrospective recording which chronicles several albums dating back to 1984 with Silveira’s debut radiates a warm and generous vibe. I’ve already listened to it several times and visualize sunny beaches and smiling laidback people. This is Brazilian jazz after all. Silveira provides clever arrangements which he handed over to an array of exceptional players. Lush horns, plenty of flute and beautiful guitar work dominate this recording. The track You Can Get What You Want portrays a snappy conversation between the guitar and horns. Two Brothers Mountain slows down the pace and creates a romantic mood. The samba Woodpecker’s Sound alternates between frantic horns, guitar and kit drum with a slow, dreamy interlude. The mu...

Hamilton De Holanda Quintet Brasilianos 2 Adventure Music If the late American bebop legend Charlie Parker had spent time in Brazil soaking up the music of Rio and Bahia, he would have composed music a lot like Brazilian mandolin player Hamilton De Holanda. The songs on Brasilianos 2 alternate between laidback and wildly frantic and the frantic ones can downright leave a listener breathless. In fact, I can sit listening to the faster pace songs and get my heart racing without aerobic exercise. It’s like eating gourmet chocolate and losing weight.  But on the musicians' part, the music itself could not be called effortless.  These players work up a sweat. The CD portion of the album features 12 tracks and the DVD features a concert in Paris that shows the virtuoso musicians in action. The highlight of the DVD for me is De Holanda’s solo performance of Astor Piazzolla’s Adios Nonino , probably one of the most complex and sad song ever composed. I have seen classical...

Mario Adnet & Philippe Baden Powell Afro Samba Jazz The Music of Baden Powell Adventure Music I spent two weeks listening to Brazilian guitarists Mario Adnet and Philippe Baden Powell’s Afro Samba Jazz and I am still savoring every minute of it. Similar to Virginia Rodrigues’ Mares Profundos (Edge Music, 2003), Adnet’s and Powell’s interpretations celebrate the much revered Baden Powell Afro-sambas. A bus load of musicians appear on the recording including Monica Salmaso, the Adnet clan, Teco Cardosa and too many musicians to name here. They bring their horns, drums, flutes, clarinets, saxophones, guitars and double bass, reminding me of carnival season 6 months premature. On first listen I experienced a memory of hearing Astrud Gilberto’s interpretation of Berimbau on a great hits album I once owned. Then of course, in 2003 I listened to Virginia Rodrigues’ Celso Fonseca’s covers of Baden Powell’s Afro-Samba classics. The sambas engage listeners with lush African po...

Ithmara Koorax & Juarez Moreira Bim Bom (The Complete João Gilberto Songbook) Motèma Music With Brazilians in the throes of celebration over the announcement about 2016 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro, it seems appropriate to review a bossa nova recording. Brazilian chanteuse Ithmara Koorax and guitarist Juarez Moreira do their own bit of celebrating the founder of bossa nova, João Gilberto. The year 2008 marked the 50th anniversary based on João Gilberto’s first bossa nova recordings. Fifty years later bossa nova feels hotter than ever and Gilberto has become a Brazilian jazz legend. The bossa nova style with its laid back groove, slightly flat and syncopated vocals and sedate guitar, seems only simple on the surface. After giving Bim Bom several listens and paying close attention to Koorax’s vocals and Moreira’s guitar, I could hear that this subtle music sports its share of complexities. The musicians, to their credit, only make it sound simp...

Benjamim Taubkin, Sergio Reze, Zeca Assumpcao and Joatan Nascimento Trio + 1 Adventure Music Trio + 1 marks another splendid release on the Adventure Music label. Brazilian pianist Benjamim Taubkin hooked up with drummer Sergio Reze, bassist Zeca Assumpcao and trumpeter Joatan Nascimento, the +1 in the group, resulting in a sizzling Brazilian jazz recording with a global signature. The opener, The Desert is Here comes with an ironic title because there is nothing dry or vacant on this lush track. A lilting piano riff is eventually picked up by trumpet, developing into a gorgeous musical conversation. Arabic tones mesh with Latin American ambiance on this long- play track. Baianinho features swinging bass and drums with a New Orleans-style trumpet motif. It is a real challenge not to stand up and dance to this piece. In the liner notes, Taubkin described the recording process. The musicians recorded 3 takes of 2 tracks for each session then the tracks that sho...

Daniel Santiago Metropole Adventure Music Composed and arranged by Brazilian guitarist Daniel Santiago, Metropole explores urban Brazil. Joined by Josuè on tenor and soprano sax, Vitor Goncalves on piano, Guto Wirtti on acoustic bass as well as, Edu Ribeiro and Marcio Bahia on drums, these musicians perform warm and breezy instrumentals. The 12 tracks with titles such as, Gregorian Samba , Salamandra and Traveling provide uplifting acoustic arrangements. Santiago has performed in the mandolinist Hamilton de Holanda’s quintet. He has performed with internationally acclaimed Brazilian musicians, Joao Bosco, Ivan Lins, Djavan and Seo Jorge. Metropole marks the guitarist’s second recording with Adventure Music. His debut On the Way received kudos from Jazziz magazine. Metropole has some relaxing moments, but overall, the jazz feels upbeat with some John Coltrane type solos on Letter to the World and plenty of soloing on the various instruments throughout the recording. The ...