Artist.......: Claudio Roditi
Album........: Brazilliance x 4
Label........: Resonance
Genre........: Jazz
Catnr........: HCD 2002
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Sep-09-2009
str.date.....: Feb-10-2009
quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: www.resonancerecords.org/claudioroditi
track title time
01. Pro Zeca Brasil 05:01
02. E Nada Mais 05:43
03. A Vontade Mesmo 04:25
04. Tune Up 04:35
05. Rapaz de Bem 05:24
06. Dinner by Five 05:13
07. Song for Nana 03:59
08. Tema Para Duduka 10:53
09. Quem Diz Que Sabe 05:23
10. Gemini Man 07:22
Runtime 57:58 min
Size 79,2 MB
Release Notes:
Claudio Roditi has enjoyed a great level of
consistency in his career within a Brazilian jazz
format. As literate a player as there is on the
trumpet and flugelhorn, Roditi's influences
stemming from Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, and
Freddie Hubbard are evident, but a sweet patience
and virtue that he owns has been the distinctive
difference. Always surrounding himself with
exceptional, high-level players, on Brazilliance X
4 the band is as great as he has ever employed.
Expert Brazilian drummer Duduka DaFonseca, the
wonderful pianist Helio Alves, and the excellent
young bassist Leonardo Cioglia provide Roditi an
extraordinarily talented and cohesive group, one
that hopefully can continue to be a working,
touring ensemble. This is a very uniform recording
all the way through, with Roditi himself virtually
wasting no notes, richly rendering this music from
top to bottom while featuring source material from
a wide range of lesser known composers. Victor
Assis Brasil's "Pro Zeca" starts the program in a
hot and hip samba jazz, the astounding Alves
driving Roditi's quick lyric line handing off to
DaFonseca's inventive drum solo. The ultra-melodic
Roditi is at his best on the clean and clear
composition of Johnny Alf, "Rapaz De Bem," while
taking twists and turns in a more complicated piece
written by trombonist Raul DeSouza, the upbeat and
bright "A Vontade Mesmo." Durval Ferreira and Lula
Freire's "E Nada Mais" is the sleek, romantic
selection, while Joπo Donato and Paulo Sergio
Valle's "Quem Diz Que Sabe" cleverly modifies the
quick samba rhythm while retaining a simple melodic
approach. Roditi penned four pieces, including the
steamy samba "Dinner by Five" with another showcase
for the modal piano of Alves or DaFonseca's
unpredictable drumming, and the slow ballad "Song
for Nana" accented by chiming piano and Cioglia's
soulful bass. The other two contributions written
by Roditi are live in-concert pieces, as "Tema Para
Duduka" is yet another feature where the drummer
fills in the cracks between melody lines, while
"Gemini Man" bubbles with excitement as the
trumpeter's strutting and stretching trumpet urges
the band ahead in an energetic yet effortless
framework. There's also a version of the Miles
Davis evergreen "Tune Up," a fluid and patient
bossa nova adaptation. A collection of tunes quite
easy to love, this comes very close to being a
definitive modern instrumental Brazilian jazz
classic, and will stand as one of, if not the very
best recordings Roditi has produced during his
successful and fruitful career.