Oscar Castro Neves Maracuja

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…

Cellist David Darling, best known at the time for his long stint with Paul Winter's Consort, mostly performs spacy ballads on this ECM release. Teamed up in different combinations (three unaccompanied solos, a duet, two trios and a quintet number) with Collin Walcott (who doubles on sitar and tabla), pianist Steve Kuhn, Jan Garbarek (on tenor and soprano), acoustic guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves and bassist Arild Andersen, Darling and his sidemen give the music a wide variety of sounds. However, the sleepy mood is very much in the stereotypical ECM mold, making this set mostly of interest for selected tastes.

Pianist and vocalist Eliane Elias pays tribute to legendary jazz trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker on her 2013 album I Thought About You. Featuring a selection of standards strongly associated with Baker, Elias mixes her native Brazilian bossa nova with swing, straight-ahead jazz, and even a few bluesy flourishes with much aplomb. Joining Elias are guitarists Steve Cardenas and Oscar Castro-Neves, bassist Marc Johnson, drummers Victor Lewis and Rafael Barata, and percussionist Marivaldo Dos Santos. Also adding more than a few moments of deft and thoughtful improvisation is Elias' former husband, trumpeter Randy Brecker.

Flora Purim - Stories To Tell (1974) {Milestone OJCCD-619-2 rel 2003}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 235 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1974, 2003 Milestone / Fantasy | OJCCD-619-2
Jazz / Latin / Brazilian Jazz / Fusion / World Fusion / Latin Jazz / Vocal Jazz

Excellent work from Flora Purim – one of the wonderful west coast bits of Braziliana recorded in the Fantasy Records studios during the mid 70s! The record's a perfect example of the greatness that arose when Brazil's best talents had the chance to work with some of America's best jazz and fusion players – a sublime fusion of talents that resulted in a groove that would dominate the west coast scene for most of the 70s. In this case, Flora's backed by a great group that includes Hadley Caliman, Oscar Castro-Neves, Carlos Santana, Ron Carter, George Duke, Earl Klugh, and Airto – and the set includes a great choice of breezy numbers, perfect for Flora's vocals, like "Vera Cruz", "Silver Sword", "Casa Forte", "Mountain Train", and "Search For Peace".

As a cultural ambassador to the world, Yo-Yo Ma has immersed himself in the native music of many countries and taken away charming souvenirs of his musical explorations that he shares openly and without affectation. The chief characteristic of Ma's approach is his showcasing of other talents, with a modesty and generosity on his part that makes these performances all the more appealing.

Alexandra Jackson's debut project: "Alexandra Jackson: Legacy & Alchemy" channels her 4 primary musical loves and experiences: Brazilian Music, American Jazz & Soul, NeoSoul, and London Soul Jazz ! into a music alchemy intended for contemporary audiences worldwide.

Jobim made his last Brazilian concert appearance – and the penultimate one of his life – at this warm, star-studded affair in which American jazz musicians jetted down to the Free Jazz Festival in Sao Paulo to pay effusive homage. The miracle is how easily the jazzers were able to capture the yearning essence of Jobim's idiom without really compromising their own distinct styles. Thus, Joe Henderson welds his trademark unpredictable flurries into the cool tenor sax bossa nova tradition, Shirley Horn does "Once I Loved" in her own inimitable manner that matches the mood of the song perfectly, Jon Hendricks' scatting fits the samba like a glove. The pianists go somewhat outside the idiom – Herbie Hancock's modern complexity, Gonzalo Rubalcaba's technical fireworks laced with Afro-Cuban salsa – but they stay within their orbits around the Jobim sun.