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Jazz Articles about Rafael Rocha
Antonio Adolfo: Carnaval - The Songs Were So Beautiful
by Pierre Giroux
Veteran pianist, composer, and arranger Antonio Adolfo has long been a master at capturing the essence of Brazilian music through a jazz perspective. On Carnaval (The Songs Were So Beautiful), Adolfo draws on a wide range of traditional Brazilian carnival styles-- sambas, marchinas, marchas-rancho, and frevos--to create a vibrant and richly textured album that bursts with celebration while leaving space for nuance and reflection. This is not a jazz adaptation of Brazilian music; it's Brazilian music elevated with jazz sophistication ...
Continue ReadingAntonio Adolfo: Carnaval - The Songs Were So Beautiful
by Katchie Cartwright
What prompted pianist and composer Antonio Adolfo to record, in 2025, an album of songs from the 'golden age' of Brazilian carnaval music, circa 1920-1950? He has known and loved this music since he was a child, growing up in Rio de Janeiro. “All these songs are very alive in my memory," he told All About Jazz. They were “everywhere--on the radio, in the streets, in social clubs." At the time, he saw that “there was some magic in the ...
Continue ReadingMafalda Minnozzi: Riofonic
by Katchie Cartwright
Singer Mafalda Minnozzi, who already had a solid recording career in Italy, went to Rio for a date in the late 1990s, stayed for a year, then decided to make it her home. Like many musical immigrants to that great city, she went to feel the salt air, to drink in the natural beauty and learn more about the sounds that had captivated her spirit. In her words, she was looking for something “that was not only what is written ...
Continue ReadingAntonio Adolfo: Love Cole Porter
by Pierre Giroux
Love Cole Porter is pianist Antonio Adolfo's masterful tribute to the genius of Cole Porter, capturing his musical essence while infusing it with a Brazilian flair. This release is not just a tribute but a careful reimagining, bringing his timeless melodies, intricate lyrics, and sophisticated harmonies into a new light. Accompanying Adolfo is a coterie of seasoned Brazilian musicians who have been on several of his releases, including guitarist Lula Galvao, bassist Jorge Helder, drummer Rafael Barata, percussionist Dada Costa, ...
Continue ReadingDani Gurgel: DDG19 Big Band
by Katchie Cartwright
Dani Gurgel was born into a musical family in São Paulo. Her mother Débora Gurgel (a busy pianist and arranger) and father (an amateur jazz saxophonist) met on the bandstand. Following her own musical path, Dani skirted gender biases in jazz culture that might have limited her opportunities by learning to do and play “everything," as she put it. She is quick to point out that things are “getting better," but hedged her bets by gaining proficiency in many instruments, ...
Continue ReadingAntonio Adolfo: Bossa 65
by Katchie Cartwright
In 1963, a seventeen-year-old Antonio Adolfo was already gigging professionally on the exploding bossa nova scene in Rio de Janeiro, his hometown. His career has continued unabated. For decades, he has been putting out a steady stream of admirable albums, earning critical praise and multiple Grammy nominations. His releases have often focused on the work of great Brazilian composers (Chiquinha com Jazz, BruMa, Jobim Forever), sometimes on a particular style or genre (Chora Baião, Rio Choro Jazz), on connections between ...
Continue ReadingAntonio Adolfo: Bossa 65
by Pierre Giroux
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 ...
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