Monday, May 16, 2016

NEW MUSIC: MAURO SENISE - AMORE ATE O FIM; MAURO SENISE TOCA GILBERTO GIL; HERALDO DO MONTE; GABRIEL FROSSI / FELIX JUNIOR - NASCENTE

MAURO SENISE - AMORE ATE O FIM; MAURO SENISE TOCA GILBERTO GIL

Reedman Mauro Senise has always been one of the few musicians able to equally mix jazz and Brazilian music styles with effortless ease – not just bossa or samba jazz, but a range of different modes that have made Senise one of the key interpreters of songs from the MPB generation over the years! This set really lives up to that reputation, as it features Mauro on flute, soprano sax, and alto – playing beautiful versions of songs penned by Gilberto Gil – working in a small combo mode throughout, with instrumentation from players who include Gilson Peranzzetta on piano, Zeba Assumpcao on bass, Ricardo Costa on drums, Cristovao Bastos on piano, Jota Moraes on vibes, and Kiko Horta on accordion. All titles are instrumental – save one, which features a guest appearance by Gilberto Gil on vocals – and titles include "Expresso 2222", "Preciso Aprender A So Ser", "Amor Ate O Fim", "Refazenda", "A Linha E O Linho", "Drao", "Mancada", and "Oriente". Also includes a DVD – with a special "making of" feature on the album!  ~ Dusty Groove

HERALDO DO MONTE

Heraldo Do Monte's been playing guitar on the Brazilian scene from the late 60s onward – and over the years, his work on the instrument has really hit the level of the sublime – as Heraldo's able to effortlessly turn out flurries of notes with very individual phrasing – which results in superb records like this! The album's got a relatively unusual setting – as Heraldo plays the "viola caipira", a five string guitar with a nicely raspy sound – alongside two more seven string guitars handled by other musicians, one of whom appears to be his son – with additional percussion in the quartet, used relatively lightly – as much of the rhythmic energy comes from the guitars! The interplay between the musicians is wonderful – and wonderfully recorded – and most numbers are originals by Heraldo, with titles that include "Choro De Viola", "Docura", "Esperando A Feijoada", "Interico", "Pra Lurdes", and "Moreneide". ~ Dusty Groove

GABRIEL FROSSI / FELIX JUNIOR - NASCENTE

Two younger Brazilian music serve up a tribute to the music of older Brazilian giants – the guitarist Guinga, and sublime composer/multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal! Yet the setting here is quite different than you might expect – at least for the music of Pascoal – as the duo work with just the harmonica of Gabriel Grossi, and seven string guitar of Felix Junior – but in a pairing that still manages to open up with all the complexities of the songs! Grossi's an especially great discovery – blowing with all the vivid tonal depth of some of our few favorite Brazilian harmonicists from the past – and in a legacy that might well put him up there alongside Toots Thielemans and Mauricio Einhorn, for his ability to create sounds with the richness of a reed instrument. The set includes a few Pascoal compositions – "Balaio", "O Farol Que Nos Guia", "Suite Norte Sul Leste Oeste", and "Fatima" – plus Guinga tunes "Exasperada", "Baiao De Lacan", and "De Menor" – and originals by the duo, very much in the right spirit for the setting – with titles that include "Senhorinha", "Domingo Pascoal", and "Selva De Pedra".  ~ Dusty Groove


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