Artist.......: Luciana Souza
Album........: Tide
Label........: Verve
Genre........: Jazz
Catnr........: 001268802
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Oct-15-2009
str.date.....: May-26-2009
quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: www.lucianasouza.com
track title time
01. Adeus America & Eu Quero Um Samba 05:05
02. Fire and Wood 05:17
03. Our Gilded Home 03:21
04. Love - Poem 65 03:49
05. Circus Life 03:15
06. Once Again 04:59
07. Tide 06:18
08. Sorriu Para Mim 03:46
09. Chuva 04:34
10. Amulet 02:18
Runtime 42:42 min
Size 56,3 MB
Release Notes:
On Tide, Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza displays
all the attributes that brought her the Jazz
Journalists Association's female jazz vocalist of
2005 award. Her voice is never less than
captivating at either end of a notable vocal range
and holds the attractive mix of worldly maturity
that comes with age, and a seductive suavness.
Beautifully crafted songs with melodies which lull,
embrace, and envelop the listener reveal a
singer/songwriter at the top of her game.
Souza shares songwriting credits on seven of the
ten tunes, while husband and bassist Larry Klein
lends his pen to six. Souza's clear-toned sound and
the intimacy in her delivery suggest Joni Mitchell
as one source of inspiration, particularly on the
lovely "Our Gilded Home." Souza has covered
Mitchell's "Down to You" on The New Bossa Nova
(Verve, 2007) and gave one of the more convincing
interpretations of Mitchell's music a beguiling
version of "Amelia" on Herbie Hancock's River: The
Joni Letters (Verve, 2007). Souza certainly shares
the poet's soul that is at the centre of Mitchell's
work; however, the songs on Tide are less word
drunk and ultimately sweeter.
A couple of breezy samba numbers showcase Souza's
impressive scatting, shadowed by the lively guitar
of Romero Lubambo which brings an injection of zest
to a familiar style. Vinnie Colaiuta, whose
drumming throughout the CD is as understated and as
refined as anything he's ever done, adds skipping
brushes to these sunny tunes. Also instantly
likeable for their hummable melodies, are the
finger-snapping "Fire and Wood" which features a
lovely Fender Rhodes solo from Larry Goldings, and
"Circus Life," with an infectious vocal refrain
from Souza.
Real beauty lies in the two songs inspired by poet
e.e. cummings. In the past Souza has wrapped her
music around the poetry of Pablo Neruda and
Elizabeth Browning, and it is an idiom that she
clearly thrives in. Here she brings a dreamy,
shimmering quality to the ballads "Love Poem 65"
and "Tide;" both pieces, beautifully arranged, are
enriched by the sympathetic playing of guitarist
Larry Koonse. Two other songs co-written by Souza
prove her love of a ballad: the gently paced, "Once
Again," with simple piano accompaniment and
seductive chord changes, and "Chuva," an
incantation sung in Portuguese. The latter track is
quite sublime, and features subtle percussive
touches from Cyro Baptista.
The album closes with "Amulet," a tune written by
the great wordsmith Paul Simon especially for
Souza, and ironically it is wordless; Souza's voice
traces the melody in harmony with the guitar of
Larry Koonse, tailing away on a high note, like a
gliding bird receding on the horizon.
Souza's tremendous versatility she has recorded
with Hermeto Pascoal, Fred Hersch, Maria Schneider
and Paul Simon, with philharmonic orchestras and in
chamber settings means that the variation in styles
should come as no surprise. Yet the changes in pace
and mood of the songs, and the range of emotions
touched upon by Souza are undeniably impressive all
the same. A contender for best vocal album of the
year