Jazz Articles

Paulinho Garcia: My Very Life

by Javier AQ Ortiz
April 19, 2010

My Very Life, by Paulinho Garcia, is a release from Chicago Sessions--a subscription label service “featuring the best Chicago jazz artists." Many years ago Garcia realized that it pays to be a toucan in a land of penguins and he has been leaving his mark in the Windy City--and beyond--ever since.

This recording finds Garcia under a somewhat different spotlight. For example, although his recent solo work and his recordings with Two for Brazil do not feature much of his ...

Paulinho Garcia: Portrait in Black and White

by Javier AQ Ortiz
April 18, 2010

Paulinho Garcia milks much from sheer simplicity. The liner notes state that he recorded Portrait in Black and White “as if I was in my own living room." Garcia succeeded. Accompanied by his Spanish guitar, this release is characterized by its overall openheartedness and cool intimacy.

His cozy voice travels through a well-trodden repertoire of Brazilian and jazz compositions singing in English and Portuguese with “Adiós mi Sueño" being the sole exception in Spanish. His slightly accented English ...

Paulinho Garcia: Tempo Feliz

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
April 17, 2007

In Chicago and Japan, among other exotic places, guitarist/vocalist Paulinho Garcia is well-known and beloved as one half of the multi-recorded group “Two for Brazil" (with tenor saxophonist Greg Fishman). He's also a third of “Three for Brazil" (with Fishman and celestial Polish jazz vocalist Grazyna Auguscik) as well as the leader of his own band, Jazzmineiro.

A resident of Chicago for over two decades, the Brazilian-born Garcia brings the same distinctive sound to all of his musical configurations: his ...

Two for Brazil: Take Five

by Janna L. Gadden
January 18, 2004

With the recent surge in popularity of world music, Latin jazz, and salsa, this Brazilian offering is a very timely and tasty arrival on the jazz marketplace. Two for Brazil is a duo composed of Paulinho Garcia, originally from Brazil, on guitar and vocals, and Chicago native Greg Fishman on saxophone and flute. This is the follow-up to their previous release, Standards. They have performed together since 1998, and their musical rapport is immediately evident in this collaboration. As they ...

Two For Brazil: Take Five

by Javier AQ Ortiz
September 25, 2003

Quick and to the Point : Rewarding Brazilian jazz.

Although over-enthusiastically hailed as a Dave Brubeck-Paul Desmond resurrection in the liner notes, this Take Five isn’t umbilically linked to its illustrious namesake. It is, however, first-rate Brazilian jazz that stands on its own with ease, featuring an infectious emotive largesse, melodic pervasiveness and two festively brilliant reinterpretations of both “A Night in Tunisia,” as well as the title cut itself.

Two For Brazil is Paulinho Garcia and Greg Fishman. They ...

Dois no Choro: Juntos

by Javier AQ Ortiz
March 19, 2003

Quick and to the Point: Classical music meets Jazz on gilded Brazilian streets..

A recording partially sponsored by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, Juntos (“Together”) is a Brazilian choro -inspired musical collage that reinterprets the work of some luminaries such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astor Piazzolla, Heitor Villa-lobos, and other composers. The date’s leader is the main author featured, nonetheless.

Juntos offers a rare opportunity to listen to musicians such as pianist Maria ...

Two For Brazil: Plays the Standards

by Javier AQ Ortiz
March 18, 2003

A caipirinha is a Brazilian drink that is as citrically tangy as it is sweet, as punchy as it is smooth. Such flavoring is reflected on Plays the Standards.

Two for Brazil is, as its name suggests, a duo: tenor/flautist Greg Fishman and guitarist/vocalist Paulinho Garcia. Although their playing is extremely economical by necessity, its emotive effectiveness fills up the date with luscious melodically percussive sensuousness. A delightful guitar-flute junction beautified by mature, earthy and relaxed vocals on ...