Elis Elis Regina

Brazilian music is held in the highest regard by aficionados throughout the world for many reasons. There are many qualities in the music that shine through from this country, with its diverse population and geography. Though there are many genres of music that have originated in Brazil, it is the overwhelming emotional content of the music that has hooked generations of listeners.

Since their debut album release in 1975, Azymuth have risen to rank alongside the world’s greatest jazz, funk and fusion artists. As young men in Rio de Janeiro, they stood out for both their exceptional talent as musicians, and their wild rock‘n’roll antics in the predominantly middle-class worlds of bossa nova and jazz. Their signature “Samba Doido” (crazy samba) sound ruptured the tried and tested musical structures of the day, resulting in what can only be described as an electric, psychedelic, samba jazz-funk hybrid.

Idolized by legions of guitarists and composers, this musician from Minas Gerais made his recording debut on Nivaldo Ornellas’ 1969album. But only in 1972, when Horta played the guitar on Milton Nascimento’s album "Clube da Esquina", did he catch the public’s attention. In the following years, Horta recorded with Elis Regina, Gal Costa, Nana Caymmi, Joyce, Edu Lobo.

The great incontrovertible truth of Brazilian vocalists in the '60s is that the more global success they enjoyed, the weaker and more insubstantial their voices. (As a test, simply compare and contrast the chart-topper Astrud Gilberto with the chart-absent Elis Regina.) Wanda de Sah was quite popular, which says most of what you need to know about her vocal prowess, both on the material she recorded with Brasil '65 as well as her solo career. But as with Astrud Gilberto, vocal weakness is hardly a barrier to entry. When given complementary musicians and arrangements - which were as common as coffee in Brazilian music circles - a thin, wispy voice could be made to sound positively radiant. DRG's 2008 pairing of Brasil '65 and Softly!, the two albums de Sah appeared on during 1965, reflects her peak year as an artist….

This historic album recorded live an important moment in Brazil, not only in music. Two months after the military coup that instituted the dictatorship in 1964, it was realized at São Paulo's Teatro Paramount. It greatly propelled bossa's penetration in Brazil's larger city and biggest consumer market; opened the gates for Elis Regina's highly successful regular TV show under the same name; was the first time when a bossa show gathered 2,000 people; was the first professionally managed show in that movement, with all artists receiving their cachets for their presentations; and was responsible for instituting São Paulo as an important focal point for bossa, until then restricted to Rio…

It is fulfilling to attend a Carmen Souza concert just to listen to her breathtaking version of “Donna Lee” alone. However, there is much more to fall in love with than Miles Davis’ chart that Charlie Parker made famous by the singer on Live at Lagny Jazz Festival. Whether it is being mesmerised by her version of the standard “My Favourite Things,” or falling prey to the charms of the magnificent chart of that other famous son of Cape Verde, Horace Silver’s “Son of My Father,” or by Ms. Souza’s and Theo Pascal’s own “Afri Ka,” the effect is the same: breathless. For Carmen Souza is one of a kind - an original as rare as a throat singer and as exquisite as a vocalist who combines the best of Billie Holiday and Elis Regina - whose time has certainly come. Carmen Souza’s star is certainly on the rise…