Sunday, May 07, 2017

Brazilian Octopus

For some reason, Brazilian music awash in bossa nova seems to really beckon when the daytime temperatures start to climb into triple digits.  The summer winds have blown this reissue north of equator and offers an overall fresh, playful and effervescent listening experience.  Upon initial listens, I was most struck by flights of flute which are evocative of the music that would accompany film strips in ‘70s classrooms or Jerry Goldsmith’s theme to Room 222 (an ABC-TV series that ran from 1969-1974). Subsequent listens revealed the details like a "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (from Cinderella) organ quote in “Canção Latina” and a switched-on moog in “As Borboletas.” The backstory on this ensemble is that a well-heeled São Paulo businessman gave the musicians the impetus to band together in order to play sophisticated affairs and soirées for his fashion company. The same businessman also commissioned this 1969 album for the large outfit.  Their multiple instruments converge together to make for a well balanced and proportional amalgamation of sound somewhere between Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 and Quarteto Novo.  “Momento B-8” is a go-go number that could be retroactively said to be the entire circuit board that the mid-nineties Shibuya-kei acts (Pizzicato 5 and Cornelius) fused their sound upon. The breezy and lush “Summerhill” features that aforementioned fluttery flute which evokes soft-focused memories of Roselyn Bakery commercials from childhood. This zingy album exerts a playful push and a lighter gravitational pull, but is not lightweight due to strong compositions and inventive arrangements.  It's melodically propelled by the trinity of organ/guitar/vibes and rounded off by a teeming number of other instruments. This is definitely a rewarding and refreshing half-hour for those who like bossa nova bubbling in their jazz or for those who enjoy their jazz percolating in their bossa nova with no Portuguese required.

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