Luciana Souza - Storytellers - Import CD

Credits:

Luciana Souza

Description:

Brazilian-born, U.S.-based diva Luciana Souza performs with the WDR Big Band led by Vince Mendoza. This is a remarkable album that combines the best of Brazilian music with thoughts on contemporary social issues. Luciana Souza is a Brazilian-born, U.S.-based singer-songwriter active in the Brazilian music and jazz worlds, and this is her 10th album with Sunnyside. She has recorded three albums in the "Brasilian Duo" series, which features numerous duo performances. With her public and private partner Larry Klein, Luciana's world of expression has expanded and deepened, with works inspired by the poetry of Chilean bard Pablo Neruda, Leonard Cohen, and others, as well as music from India and Africa. This album is a remarkable collaboration with Vince Mendoza and the WDR Big Band, one of Germany's leading big bands. The 10 songs on this album are by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Edu Lobo, Gilberto Gil, Ivan Lins, Javan, and other leading Brazilian musicians, as well as Luciana and Vince's original compositions.Vince's arrangements, no matter the situation, have sublime beauty and dynamism in the midst of refinement, and his sense of orchestration based on his understanding of the music, backed by his high compositional ability, is superb here as well. Vince's skill shines especially in the two pieces that Luciana herself describes as the essence of this work. The title track of the album of the same name, a collaboration between Jobim and Klaus Ogerman, is "Matita Pere" by Jobim, which both Luciana and Vince have placed at the center of their expression in this work, and here, as if inheriting Jobim's awareness of environmental issues that he was already aware of in the 1970s, Vince's performance of "Matita Pere" is a perfect example of this. Here, the song is expressed with a sharp introduction at the beginning of the song, as if to inherit Jobim's thoughts on environmental issues that he was already aware of in the 1970s. On the other hand, "Beatriz" by Edu Lobo and Sico Buarruchi majestically depicts the world of a song based on a myth. The cover, featuring Sebastiao Salgado's photograph of the Jurua River flowing through the Amazon, is also suggestive. Just as Jobim addressed environmental issues with his music, Salgano uses his research as an economist to address the social issues of our time, and as an expression of his art, he is an influential figure.The jacket, which has no text at all, has a great impact. The WDR's interpretation of the diverse and original harmonies, melodies, and rhythms of Brazilian music, as well as their sharp improvisational exchanges and other performances without a stitch of disruption, even on the complex rhythmic pieces that make heavy use of syncopation, are the hallmarks of a leading European ensemble. This is a remarkable work created by a singer, arranger, and orchestra representing the modern era.

Tracklisting:

1.Varanda / Solo: Rainer Bohm, piano
2.Matita Pere / Solo: Johan Horlen, Soprano Saxophone
3.Se Acontecer / Solo: Johan Horlen, Alto Saxophone
4.Beatriz
5.Choro #3 / Solos: Johan Horlen, Clarinet; Andy Hunter, Trombone
6.Meu Pai / Solo: Paul Shigihara, Guitar
7.Baiao a Tempo / Solos: Andy Hunter, Trombone; Paul Heller, Tenor Saxophone
8.Chora Coracao /Solos: Karolina Strassmayer, Alto Saxophone; John Marshall, Trumpet
9.Mar de Copacabana / Solo: Shannon Barnett, Trombone
10.Sim ou Nao / Solo: Ruud Bruels, Flugelhorn