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Antonio Adolfo: Finas Misturas |
How do you put a fresh and interesting spin on some old jazz
favorites? If your Antonio Adolfo, the Brazilian pianist and composer, you take
some of your own personal material and add some favorite songs from jazz
masters like John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Dizzy Gillespie and Keith
Jarrett and you infuse them with your own Brazilian imprimatur-the result is
Adolfo's latest release Finas Misturas.
Reworkings of recognized standards that are strongly associated
with their composer/performers can be a tricky business. Successful
re-imagining of songs like John Coltrane's "Naima" or Chick Corea's
"Crystal Silence" require both a thorough understanding of the
original material and the conviction that you can create something new and
complimentary to the original recording. Adolfo uses his
understanding and appreciation of the jazz tradition and incorporates the
multi-faceted elements that make up Brazilian music to create this alive and sensuously appealing album.
Antonio Adolfo is an Brazilian musician and educator who started
his own school in 1985 in Rio De
Janeiro
In the album's liner notes Antonio refers to some of the elements
that he has incorporated into his treatments of what are for the most part jazz
standards. On his own opening number the "Florestra
Azul," literally Blue Forest, but also a reference to a town by
the same name in the Bahia Northeastern region of Brazil, Adolfo uses
the sumptuous flute of Marcelo Martins, a warm-toned probing
double bass solo by Jorge Helder, along with his own Bahia influenced piano
phrasing steeped in a definitive blues sensibility to create music that
transcends category.
Another Adolfo Composition titled "Balada" is in the
style of the Brazilian Toada, with its soft guitar strums by Claudio Spiewak
and some rolling drum accents by Rafael Barata, the music is romantic,
sensitive and intoxicating.
On John Coltrane's seminal "Giant Steps" Adolfo uses
another Northeastern Brazilian form, Quadrilha, which has a relentless
driving four beat rhythm. The music takes on a Rio Carnival-inspired,
dance-like quality that may offend some purists. The treatment has its own appeal,
revealing how songs like this
continue to inspire the multi-cultural possibilities from musicians throughout the world.
Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma" is given a airy Bossa
treatment that is striped of almost all of its be-bop heritage. Guitar
solos by Leo Amudeo and Claudio Spiewak and a brief saxophone solo by Martins
are featured over the Bossa beat. Some plangent piano by Adolfo at the coda is
played with a polish and heartfelt sincerity that is nothing short of
beautiful.
"Misturando" or "mixing" in Portuguese,
is an Adolfo composition and perhaps the most freely played number on the
album. The song's moving spirit permeates the performances of the
musicians, you can hear them moan faintly in the background enthusiastically
nudging each other on as they perform. The group weaves in and
around each other effortlessly, like a flock of birds tracking each others
motion precisely, telepathically in flight. This "mixing" includes a
stirringly fluid guitar solo by Leo Amuedo and an ascending build up by Adolfo
on piano that culminates in a battery of sounds from Barata's drum kit.
Keith Jarrett's "Memories of Tomorrow" finds
Adolfo performing a duet with Anudeo's electric guitar in the medium to slow
tempo of the Brazilian style known as Toada. Amudeo's accomplished
playing is filled with sensitive and creative phrasing that converses magically
with Adolfo's teasing piano lines.
Perhaps the most fetching of the recreations on this album is
Antonio Adolfo's re-imagination of John Coltrane's gorgeous ballad to his wife
"Naima." Adolfo creates a purely Brazilian take on this one. He uses
the emotionally charged song to employ Marcelo Martin's hauntingly effective
flute ( some of the best flute work I have heard recently) over the
backing of his own piano lines and his empathetic rhythm section of Amudeo,
Helder and Barata. Rafael Barata's insertion of well timed percussive
accents is particularly effective.
Adolfo's "Tres Meninos" or Three Little Boys is a
delightful combination of styles that include elements of Baiao, Samba and
Calango. The group has a tightness that seamlessly allows them to move through
changes that could be challenging to musicians who were less familiar with each
other.
On Chick Corea and Neville Potter's lingering "Crystal
Silence" Adolfo effectively uses Marcelo Martins' warm, almost woody
sounding flute to carry the melody and create a different take on this song.
The maestro arranges the piece in such a way that
delicately intertwines Claudio Spewak's
tasty Spanish influenced acoustic guitar into the Bossa mix.
The closing song is Bill Evans' "Time Remembered," which
is transformed into a multi-layered piece by Adolfo's arrangement of Martin's wind swept flute played in tandem with his own piano lines. With
a delicate touch that mimics Evans at times, Adolfo takes his most beautiful of piano solos, made all the more interesting by the dynamism of
Helder's warm bass lines and Barata's controlled
bombastic coloration. When Martins re-enters the song, his flute solo is
an eruption of tones and sounds that breathe sensuality and
passion into each note he plays.
Antonio Adolfo's Finas
Misturas is true to its
title, a fine mixture, a fusion of Brazilian sensibilities
and rhythmic styles with jazz. A thoroughly enjoyable album that should not be missed by
anyone that likes fine music.
Here is a cut from a previous album by Antonio Adolfo titled Chora baião
, a seminal album. Dendê and Santos brilliantly re-create the humid, verdant sounds of the rain forests teeming with unseen life. Binney’s alto saxophone is not as exotic sounding as Shorter’s original soprano voice, but has its own special intensity and feeling of wanderlust. The only thing that is missing is Milton’s soaring falsetto voice.
is an exceptionally listenable album even after repeat plays. A fine debut effort from this astute Brazilian drummer.