Oscar Castro Neves Maracuja

Oscar Castro-Neves' virtuosity in all areas of musical expression have led the Rio native into a multi faceted career which has included being one of the founding forces of the early 60s bossa nova movement, as well as a player, writer, arranger or producer for some of the hottest pop and jazz artists over the last 30 years (Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald) and a composer/orchestrator for film and television. His third JVC album More Than Yesterday is as diverse and dynamic as the artist himself, thirteen solid tunes dedicated to his wife and employing his trademark acoustic as well as a Midi nylong strong electric guitar.

A legend in the Bossa Nova world, surprisingly, Oscar Castro-Neves does not have that many cd's currently available. This is too bad, since this album is outstanding. If you are a fan of Bossa Nova, this album is a must. The XRCD format truly shines in this release. The engineering is so spacious and natural, you have to wonder if audiophile recordings get any better. The guitar plucks, and the impact of the percussion is full and present. It just goes to show that you don't need an SACD player to get master tape sound, as long as you have top notch engineering and remastering.

Oscar Castro-Neves is a fine Brazilian guitarist who is equally talented in organizing projects. Brazilian Scandals is his third solo album, featuring stars like Ernie Watts, Paulinho Da Costa, Teo Lima and many others.

The beloved Brazilian guitar legend's resumé is so chock-full of varied musical experiences – jazz, pop, film scoring, ten years with Sergio Mendes – that his brilliant solo efforts can't help but include informal homages to different eras of his life. He starts out here getting straight to the heart of the matter, paying tribute to his fellow countryman Antonio Carlos Jobim with a self-contained plucky guitar/vocal duet of "Waters of March," which includes spirited scat passages. He moves into samba mode for a lively medley of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker tunes, "Groovin' High/Whispering," deferring to Toots Thielemans' always engaging harmonica for melody as he harmonizes gently; then they switch roles.