A superior Brazilian jazz singer, Ana Caram takes a slight detour on this CD, stretching her repertoire while mostly still performing in a style influenced by bossa nova. One does not get to hear such songs as "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," "Smile," and "As Time Goes By" in a bossa nova setting that often. Also unusual is that Michel Freidenson plays all of the instruments other than the reeds (which are performed by Lawrence Feldman), and most of his electronic instruments sound real enough not to be an issue. The focus throughout is on Caram's lovely voice and she excels on this material, showing that it really is not what you sing but how you sing it. Recommended.
‘Come Away’ featuring Bill Cantos that follows is pure West Coast; and ‘When You’re Gone’ ventures into Whitney Houston territory. This is easy listening for those who like it REALLLY easy listening. Ballads full of saccharin and soul that sound made for those Disney moments when either someone falls in love or dies…
On his OKeh debut, Sergio Mendes uses the same large, star-studded formula he employed on 2006's Timeless, 2008's Encanto, and 2010's Bom Tempo, but goes a few steps further by engaging new material in co-writes with a number of his collaborators. Produced by Mendes (who plays piano in fine form throughout), and recorded in Los Angeles, Bahia, and Salvador, the set features a number of brand new songs rather than reimaginings of his own hits or bossa nova's most legendary songs done in contemporary style. There are a lot more Brazilian guests this time out, but that is not to say there isn't a fair share of American star power on the date: John Legend's vocal graces the shimmering 21st century bossa arrangement on "Don't Say Goodbye."
On this, the largest set ever compiled of one of the last century's most popular composers, we may not only renew our familiarity with the Concierto de Aranjuez, or perhaps with one of the other ever-melodious guitar concertos that sustain his reputation with audiences, but also discover chamber, instrumental, choral and especially vocal works which testify to a creative imagination confident in the formation of its style but never satisfied with repetition, one which responded directly to poetic and lyric inspiration, and transformed its ideas with unfailing skill and respect for the idiom under consideration.