This is the second page of reviews of Brazilan and Brazilian-flavored jazz albums, which is part of a much larger Brazilian Music Guide. This list includes albums by both Brazilian artists and jazz musicians outside of Brazil whose work combines jazz and Brazilian elements; these reviews are mostly of older, more "classic" albums, though I suppose as time goes on, I'll add comments on more recent records. Anyway, I hope this is useful... Dig in!!
Luiz Eca - see artist discography
Eliane Elias "Dreamer" (BMG/Bluebird Jazz, 2004)
A beautiful, if somewhat conventional, jazz-standards session, with pianist-vocalist Elias fronting a full orchestra for the first time in her decades-long career. Along with her are accompanists Paulo Braga on percussion and guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves, who keep her solidly anchored to her bossa nova roots. The album opens with a marvellously restrained, torchy version of Tony Hatch's "Call Me," and moves into more standard Brazilian fare by composers Antonio Carlos Jobim, Marcos Valle and Dorival Caymmi, balanced by North American material by Johnny Mercer, Burt Bacharach, and others. Elias herself offers a couple of fine originals, including the gospel-tinged "Movin' Me On" and the more introspective "Time Alone." The music is quite glossy and commercial, not the kind of thing I normally go for, except that Elias's voice is just so pristine, calm and understated; she packs a lot of feeling into her performances, yet does it without any hint of showiness or strain. The tone -- both musical and emotional -- is always perfect. This is a very mellow, but very substantive, album, one that surprised my by its growing hold on my imagination. Recommended!
Duke Ellington "Afro-Bossa" (Collectibles, 2005)
Brazilian Jazz - Letter "F"
Other Brazilian Styles
Main Brazil Index
