Luiz Millan: Brazilian Match

Brazilian Match is a tour-de-force of classic and contemporary Brazilian music written by and featuring singer-songwriter Luiz Millan. Millan's fifth album is a leader is his first for Jazz Station Records and Brazilian jazz impresario Arnaldo DeSouteiro, whose storied history includes working with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Eumir Deodato, Dom Um Romao, João Donato, and other legends, and who called Millan "a composer's composer."

"A great melodist who also happens to be a great poet, a fabulous storyteller; a painter of wonderful sonic landscapes," continued producer DeSouteiro. "He deals with the notes like a painter deals with palettes and colors. The most beautiful images and feelings flow beneath his songs."

Everything about Brazilian Match seems to overflow. It is lush, languid, lovely—and lengthy, sumptuously spreading sixteen songs across an hour (long enough for a double-vinyl LP). Thirty contributors include Grammy-winners Mark Egan, Randy Brecker, and David Sanborn; Eddie Daniels, Mike Mainieri, and other jazz mainstays; and lead and harmony vocal shadings by singers from New York, Japan, France, and (of course) Brazil.

John Tropea's rhythm guitar riff rubs and polishes the opening "Pacuiba" into a warm, satisfying glow that lends luster to Millan's smooth vocal. Milan's tone and delivery make it easy for the listener to imagine Jobim writing or singing this welcoming melody. The supple accompaniment echoes pianist and producer Michel Freidenson's previous work with other Brazilian singer-songwriters such as Ivan Lins and Djavan. But Tropea's trademark bouncy yet thoughtfully soulful guitar sound snatches this spotlight.

"Full Moon" (in English) rises on lovely vocal harmony by the New York Voices, as the accompaniment grows from a single acoustic guitar into a romantic sound full of candlelight and moonbeams. Millan sings the bonus version in Portuguese ("Lua Chea") in a vocal so romantic it sounds reverent, and his tonal and emotional reflections of Jobim when Millan strains against the limits of his vocal range are uncanny. Both sides of this English/Portuguese pairing feature Danny Gottlieb (drums) and Mark Egan (fretless bass), reunited rhythm counterparts from classic late 1970s recordings by the Pat Metheny Group.

"Still Looking at the Moon" swings open on Burt Bacharach-sounding horns, with tones that are soft and round and yet somehow stab the heart with pointed poignancy and sadness. Freidenson sketches a similar horn arrangement into the bonus track "Farrapos de Lua" with even more powerful results; Chico Oliveira's double-tracked and solo turns on trumpet and flugelhorn in both these songs deliver some of the best (instrumental) singing of this set. (Brecker's horn dances in "Morungaba" like a pixie chasing the sound of Herb Alpert with The Tijuana Brass.)

"Sopro de Esperança" sounds most beautiful of all. Every instrumental performance—but especially the acoustic guitar (Jorge Pinheiro), flute (Teco Cardoso), and piano solo—seems to shine and sparkle in the mix like rays of sunlight. Drummer Edu Ribeiro masterfully brushes his snare and cymbals to stitch together rhythmic patterns with quiet brilliance.

Even with so many cooks, Brazilian Match serves up great soup.

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