Marcos Valle & Stacy Kent Ao Vivo

Victor Assis Brasil was the best Brazilian jazzman of his generation, having being praised by international critics. Brasil showed early evidence of talent for music, excelling at the harmonica and the drums. At age 12 he gave his first concert at the harmonica. In 1961, at age 16, he was presented with an alto saxophone. In 1965, while already a professional, Brasil recorded his first album, Desenhos, with highly favorable reviews, consolidating his pioneering role as a Brazilian jazz musician. His next conquests were the achievement of third place at the 1966 International Jazz Contest in Vienna, Austria, and of the Best Soloist award in the Berlin Jazz Festival, which granted him a scholarship to the Berklee School of Music (Boston, MA)…

One of the first and most talented proponents of the Vanguarda Paulistana movement (urban classically trained musicians of the city of São Paulo who added erudite experimentations to pop music), Arrigo Barnabé is an internationally awarded composer/arranger with an expressive contribution to Brazilian music…

Recorded live in Brazil in 1990 and not released in the U.S. until now, "Tom Canta Vinicius" (translate "Tom Sings Vinicius") is Tom Jobim's tribute to his songwriting partner Vincinius de Moraes. While de Moraes was not nearly as famous as Mr. Jobim, his standing as a bossa nova original is secure, having helped pen several of the best-loved songs of that genre. Many of those were performed in this concert, including my favorite bossa tune, "Insensatez," one of the most beautiful songs of all time. Jobim was accompanied by his son Paulo, Danilo Caymmi and the Morelenbaums. In fact, Paula Morelenbaum sung most of the lead vocals - and did a magnificent job. Tom sang a few numbers alone or in duet with Paula, in his sometimes thin or fragile-sounding voice (but not really a problem, because you can feel his love for the songs). The sound quality for the recording is excellent - intimate and natural, like they're playing in your living room.
Vinicius de Moraes was the lyricist for many of Antonio Carlos Jobim's most durable melodies. This lovingly performed concert was recorded at Rio's Centro Cultural do Brasil with just a chamber-sized selection of players from Jobim's band of family and friends. A few well-known pieces are included - there is a very touching rendition of "Insensatez" that makes this often-played tune seem freshly minted - but most of the selections are among the less familiar fruits of the collaboration, along with a few songs that de Moraes wrote with Carlos Lyra and Toquinho. Some of de Moraes' own music is performed here as well, and selections like the stunning "Serenata do Adeus" prove that he, too, had a haunting way with a melody. Cushioned by the deep, soulful cello of Jaques Morelenbaum and by Danilo Caymmi's flute, with guitarist Paulo Jobim often the sole rhythmic component, Jobim's own rough, vulnerable voice and piano are offset by the clear, cool vocals of Paula Morelenbaum. Between numbers, Jobim offers his own running memoir in Portuguese, yet he could also flash his sense of humor - following de Moraes' "Canta ao Tom" with a parody co-written with Chico Buarque called "Canta do Tom" or playing a mischievous piano lick at the end of "The Girl From Ipanema." ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide

A true heavyweight, Caetano Veloso is a pop musician/poet/filmmaker/political activist whose stature in the pantheon of international pop musicians is on a par with that of Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and Lennon/McCartney. And even the most cursory listen to his recorded output over the last few decades proves that this is no exaggeration.
Born in 1942 in Santo Amaro da Purificacao in Brazil's Bahia region, Veloso absorbed the rich Bahian musical heritage that was influenced by Caribbean, African, and North American pop music, but it was the cool, seductive bossa nova sound of João Gilberto (a Brazilian superstar in the 1950s) that formed the foundation of Veloso's intensely eclectic pop.