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Jazz Articles about Duduka Da Fonseca
Diego Figueiredo: I Love Samba
by Jack Bowers
One upside to Brazilian-born guitarist Diego Figueiredo's latest album, I Love Samba, is that the title says it all. In case you are unfamiliar with Figueiredo, you should know that he not only loves samba, he also plays samba--quite well--and has entertained audiences in more than sixty countries around the world doing exactly that. And while he is only in his mid-forties, I Love Samba brings the number of CDs Figueiredo has under his belt as leader of his own ...
Continue ReadingBruna Black: Vã Revelação
by Richard J Salvucci
Bruna Black is yet another one of those performers who started as something other than a singer but got there as soon as she could. Supposedly, she was a semi-pro basketball player, although that is not easy to run down. She certainly is a singer and a good one. Her repertoire in this recording is all in Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, and as melodious as anything to be found. When Astrud Gilberto came on to the scene in 1964, she did ...
Continue ReadingDuduka Da Fonseca Trio: Rio Fantasia
by Dan Bilawsky
After 15 years in operation, the Duduka Da Fonseca Trio remains one of the most vital Brazilian combos in the business. Since forming this Rio de Janeiro-based unit with pianist David Feldman and bassist Guto Wirtti back in 2009, the celebrated leader/drummer/composer has created an impressive body of work highlighting a triangular symbiosis like no other. With Plays Toninho Horta (Zoho Music, 2011) and Plays Dom Salvador (Sunnyside Records, 2018), Da Fonseca paid tribute to two giants of the genre ...
Continue ReadingTrio Da Paz: 30
by Howard Mandel
Only very special collaborations last 30 years, and rarely do they become more exciting and together over the decades. Trio da Paz, however, is one such long-lasting and still lightning band. The team of drummer Duduka Da Fonseca, guitarist Romero Lubambo and bassist Nilson Matta, all Brasilian jazzmen of New York City, is just as dashing today as when the three first met in 1985. So 30 , their seventh album, wastes no time glancing back. Rather, Trio ...
Continue ReadingDaniela Soledade: Pretty World
by Edward Blanco
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. ...
Continue ReadingJanis Mann & Kenny Werner: Dreams of Flying
by Dan Bilawsky
Janis Mann has quietly but steadily amassed an impressive body of work over the course of more than two decades. For this, the vocalist's eighth album, she brings studio and stage into beautiful alignment with different, intimate configurations hinging on the constant presence of pianist Kenny Werner. The majority of this music was recorded in 2016 at New York's Samurai Hotel Recording Studio, with key collaborator Werner and, more often than not, the rhythm combo of bassist Drew Gress and ...
Continue ReadingRoseanna Vitro: Listen Here
by C. Michael Bailey
Roseanna Vitro is a singer's singer in the same way as Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae. She is a studied practitioner of the jazz vocal arts, an interpreter, performer, educator. Her repertoire, taste, and vocal chops are beyond compare. Vitro's ability has evolved horizontally and vertically over 14 recordings and nearly 40 years. The singer's most recent release, Tell Me The Truth (Skyline, 2018), was thematically devoted to the rich music of the American South where Vitro capably migrates from ...
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