Jazz Articles about Antonio Adolfo

About Antonio Adolfo

Album Review

Composer, arranger and pianist Antonio Adolfo has a discography which extends to the very early days of the Bossa Nova craze that swept through Brazil and into North America. With his deep roots in the Bossa tradition, Adolfo is an internationally recognized Brazilian jazz personage. Many of his original compositions have been covered by artists such as Sergio Mendes, Herb Alpert and Stevie Wonder among many others. He has also helped to celebrate the work of well-known Bossa players such ...

Album Review

Antonio Adolfo: Bossa 65

by Chris May
June 12, 2023

A decade or more younger than the composer / musicians in the first wave of bossa nova artists, Antonio Adolfo began recording under his own name towards the end of the 1960s. Better known as a pianist and arranger than as a composer, though he has written some notable tunes, in recent years Adolfo has carved out a niche celebrating the work of belle epoque bossa songwriters. In 2017, Adolfo sidestepped with Hybrido: From Rio To Wayne ...

Album Review

Antonio Adolfo: Octet And Originals

Read "Octet And Originals" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
September 5, 2022

Some people can probably say what they were doing the first time they heard modern Brazilian music. The first wave hit in the early '60s with Vinicius de Moraes and Antonio Carlos Jobim, but there has been a great deal of water over the dam since then. Stylistic variety, regional variations, new composers, two generations of players, technical advances in both recording and instrumental technique have all played a part in establishing Brazilian as some of the most listenable music. ...

Album Review

Daniela Soledade: Pretty World

Read "Pretty World" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
August 29, 2022

Brazilian singer and composer Daniela Soledade presents her sophomore release Pretty World continuing a family tradition of exploration into light bossa nova music. Recognized as a proponent for a new bossa nova sound, her unique hushed-styled vocals distinguish this singer from the other vocalists of the genre. Born in Rio de Janeiro where the album was recorded, Soledade co-wrote two originals ("Beijo No Arpoador" and “Nothing Compares") with guitarist and producer Nate Najar and sings lyrics in English and Portuguese. ...

Album Review

Antonio Adolfo: Octet And Originals

Read "Octet And Originals" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
August 12, 2022

Antonio Adolfo is a pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader in the Latin jazz tradition, but his music is informed by Brazilian musical styles of the samba, bossa, quadrilha and toada. This latest Adolfo release entitled Octet And Originals features all his original compositions and are played by a stellar band of musicians who have been connected with him for many years. This ten track outing starts with “Heart Of Brazil," which is a tribute to the ...

Album Review

Antonio Adolfo: Jobim Forever

Read "Jobim Forever" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
September 8, 2021

Pianist, composer, educator and arranger extraordinaire, Antonio Adolfo has been at the forefront of the samba and bossa nova genre for decades. A proponent of the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Adolfo pays tribute to the genre master on the splendid Jobim Forever. This homage focuses on the icon's work from the 1960s, selecting songs that are instantly recognizable as being a part of an era that put Rio de Janeiro on the jazz landscape. In addition to ...

Album Review

Antonio Adolfo: Jobim Forever

Read "Jobim Forever" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
September 5, 2021

Really, is there anyone who does not like Antonio Carlos Jobim (Tom)? Antonio Adolfo, the pianist, arranger, and producer behind this wonderful recording, seems to have lived in a parallel universe to many of us. He says, and it rings true, at the age of twelve, Jobim's music was “love at first sight" in Brazil. Well, it was love at first sight in New Jersey too, via Stan Getz and “A Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema"). Getz may ...