Machado de Assis

Gifted his first saxophone by his aunt at the age of fourteen, only four years later the inherently gifted and determined young musician Victor Assis Brasil recorded his debut album, with a second to follow only a year later. The prodigious young carioca was subsequently granted a place to study at Berklee College of Music, where he played alongside the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Chick Corea and Ron Carter. It was also during this period he recorded Esperanto and Toca Antonio Carlos Jobim with Roberto Quartin, upon returning to Brazil in the summer of 1970.

This session is from August, 1970 and features Victor Assis Brasil on alto and soprano sax, Don Salvador on the keyboards, Helio Delmiro on guitar, Edison Lobo on the bass and Edison Machado on the drums. While Victor is usually bookmarked as the Coltrane of Brazil, here he plays extremely skilled soul jazz of the Stanley Turrentine or David Newman school. Overall, this CD has beautiful interpretations of Jobim themes, plus one written by Victor.

Singer and songwriter residing in Sao Paulo (SP), Sophia Ardessore releases her first album, Porto de paz, on June 12. On the scene since 2009, the artist transits the universe of samba-jazz in this disc recorded with musical production and arrangements by bassist Fi Marostica.