Zumbi Naná Vasconcelos

Secret Story is among the more provocative recordings in Pat Metheny's oeuvre. Combining the relaxed groove of the early Pat Metheny Group recordings, it is full of odd sounds, exotic instrumentation, and the participation of members of the London Orchestra conducted by Jeremy Lubbock. Along with regular group members bassist Steve Rodby, drummer Paul Wertico, percussionist Naná Vasconcelos, pianist-keyboardist Lyle Mays numerous guests adorn these tracks as well: bassists Charlie Haden and Will Lee, percussionist Armando Marcal, vocalist Mark Ledford, jazz harmonica legend Toots Thielmans, Gil Goldstein, and Pat's brother Mike Metheny. But what's most notable is that none of these players are constants, as this is most certainly a Metheny solo effort: Secret Story is his own song, so to speak.

Now well into its gliding Brazilian-tinged mode, the Pat Metheny Group hits the road, as this two-CD set catches the band live in Dallas, Philadelphia, Hartford, Sacramento, and Nacogdoches, TX. Percussionist Naná Vasconcelos is still listed as a "special guest," but ever since Wichita Falls, he had not only been a part of the group, he was the transforming element in the Metheny "sound," adding his various shakers, effects and ethereal vocals. Sidekick Lyle Mays gets deeper into floating, glistening synthesizer textures, but he is still able to take formidable and touching solos on acoustic grand piano. Still experimenting with new hardware, Metheny's work on a detuned guitar synthesizer gives the live "As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls" an exotic Balinese-like sound.

Danny Gottlieb (born April 18, 1953) is a freelance drummer who has performed as part of the Pat Metheny Group, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Elements. He is also a member of the University of North Florida jazz faculty, where he teaches as a full-time Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies. This great followup album has an incredible list of sidemen, featuring John Abercrombie, Trilok Gurtu, Nana Vasconcelos and many others.

The artistic range and breadth of ANGELUS is such that it stands as something of a Milton Nascimento compendium, summing up many of the stylistic milestones and personal triumphs that have made his music so enduring. In fact, when he gathers the superstar rhythm team of Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette and Robertinho Silva to perform "Novena" (as well as his famous "Vera Cruz") it is Nascimento's first recording of his very first song. But then ANGELUS is brimming with variety and talent. There's also a uniquely Milton rendition of the Beatles' "Hello Goodbye," a bouncy "Only A Dream In Rio" (with James Taylor) and the wordless mystery of "Qualquer Coisa A Haver Com O Pariso" (with Peter Gabriel).Other special guests on this record are Wayne Shorter and Jon Anderson. From the poetic grandeur of the rain forest to the dancing carnival of the big city, Nascimento's music on ANGELUS is a romantic celebration of life.

Bassist Arild Andersen may not be one of ECM's best-known bandleaders (to Americans, that is), but that hasn't stopped him from amassing an impressive catalog as one of the label's senior statesmen. Andersen himself comments in the liner notes at how fortunate and surprised he was when looking back over his catalog and realizing how many younger players graced his sides. The evidence, however, is that Andersen is too humble: his guidance is like a beacon in bringing the best out of many who would become leaders in their own right. A fine example is on "Vanilje," which opens the album and comes from the Masqualero album. Here Andersen, Jon Balke, and drummer Jon Christensen host two stunning players on the front line, young saxophonist Tore Brunborg and a fresh-faced Nils Petter Molvaer on trumpet.

Lyle Mays waited a long, long time before straying from the Pat Metheny Group to issue his first solo album, but when he did, the results were at once removed but not totally untethered to the Metheny sound and feeling. On his own, Mays' synthesizer solos and textures are close in sound to what he was doing in the Metheny group, but the turns of phrases in his acoustic piano solos reflect the heavy shadow of Keith Jarrett.

Enrico Rava - The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint & Soul Note (2010) {5CD Set CAM Jazz BXS1002 rec 1972-1994}
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© 1972-94, 2010 CAM Jazz / Black Saint / Soul Note | BXS 1002
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Creative / Trumpet

Good news! Five of Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava's Black Saint and Soul Note recordings have been reissued by CAM Jazz in one of those pretty white box sets with each LP reproduced as a separate CD tucked into a miniature record jacket. Born at Trieste in 1939, Rava later attributed his lifelong pursuit of modern jazz to the influence of Miles Davis. One might add Don Cherry and Freddie Hubbard to that equation, along with maybe Richard Williams and Lee Morgan. In order to fully comprehend what he was up to from the '70s onward, it is important to consider the artistic company that Rava kept during the ‘60s. Take a moment, for example, to ponder the blended influences of Chet Baker and Gato Barbieri.

Gilberto Gil - Z: 300 Anos De Zumbi (1995) {Warner Music Brasil 092746054-2 rel 2002}
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© 1995, 2002 Warner Music Brasil | 092746054-2
Jazz / Brazilian Jazz / Brazilian Folk / Música popular brasileira / Brazilian Traditions / Brazilian Pop

Gilberto Gil, recently named as Brazil's minister of culture, has always trodden a very individual path in Brazilian music. But even by his own standards, this is an unusual work. The Zumbi of the title is a Brazilian hero. He founded Palmares Quilombo, a place in Brazil where escaped and freed slaves could live as they had in Africa. Until closed by the Portuguese, Palmares Quilombo lasted almost 100 years. Z is a celebration of the man, conceived as a ballet, celebrating the 300th anniversary of Zumbi. The music here is actually a collaboration between Gil, the great songwriter and musician Carlinhos Brown, and Rodolfo Stroter, who was musical director for the project (however, the album appears under Gil's name).

One of Milton Nascimento's most experimental albums, Milagre Dos Peixes was originally released in 1974. Accompanied by the Som Imaginário, Nascimento presented this album in a theater show in Rio and São Paulo, with orchestra, and the result live recorded and released on a double album called Milagre Dos Peixes Ao Vivo. In one of the worst periods of military dictatorship, all lyrics were systematically censored, the reason why the album is instrumental. Not entirely, to be sure. He can be heard crying "Eu Tô Cansado" (I Am Tired), and he also sings the lyrics of "Sacramento," having the boy Nico Borges delivering "Pablo" with that mixture, so dear to Nascimento, of a poor boy's ingenuity filled with a religious aura. It can be said that this album was especially suited for the talents of Naná Vasconcellos, who adds so much life to it. A must-have classic.