Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz: Lado B Brazilian Project 2

In a time of disembodied digital-only releases, luxuriously well-crafted albums like Catina DeLuna and Otmaro Ruiz's Lado B Brazilian Project 2, with physical disk, album notes, lyric translations and evocative graphics, can really be the balm.

The project was born in 2015 with the release of Lado B Brazilian Project (Self Produced), which received a Grammy nomination in 2016. The idea was to interpret what we might call Great Brazilian Songbook—classics by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chico Buarque, Dorival Caymmi, Ivan Lins, Ary Barroso and their ilk—but focusing mainly on B-sides rather than greatest-hits and giving them an infusion of LA jazz.

Raised in São Paulo, DeLuna was gigging as a solo pianist at age 16 and went on to become a busy jingle pianist and singer. She received her undergraduate music degree at UNICAMP University, then moved on to Northern Illinois University for her master's, finally relocating to Los Angeles, where she has remained.

Ruíz grew up in Caracas, also studying music from an early age. In a household where both parents were medical doctors, he tried biology first, but gigs overwhelmed studies and he changed paths, moving to LA, earning a masters in jazz performance from CalArts and touring with headline artists in a range of genres, from rock and pop to jazz and Latin Jazz, including Brazilian mixtures with Hubert Laws, Dianne Reeves, Nana Caymmi and Dori Caymmi.

Apropos of Nana and Dori, Lado B Brazilian Project 2 contains two playful pieces by their father Dorival Caymmi, with "Vatapá," given as an elegant miniature for voice and piano, a chorinho of sorts to close the program. "Vatapá" is an ode to the essential Bahían dish of African origin, with lyrics that describe how to cook it. Like dancers, DeLuna and Ruiz are closely attuned to one another in a mercurial arrangement that flutters, swinging lightly and freely changing tempos, feels and harmonies. Ruiz' solo is a perfectly unfettered little piano fantasy.

The set presents two by Jobim as well, opening with Ruíz's verdant setting of "Passarim," his orchestrations resonating with Jobim's mid-'80s Banda Nova: lots of women's voices, piano, flute and the distinctively Brazilian sound of berimbau lightly popping out of the percussion section. He raises Jobim's tempo slightly and inserts jazzy soli sections with Bob Sheppard's sensuous flute doubling DeLuna's pitch-perfect wordless vocals to create a particular flute-voice hybrid that washes alluringly into the second piece in the program, Ruiz's dreamy arrangement of Buarque's "Lua e Mar." Bruno Mangueira's acoustic guitar comes in with an engaging solo and Carol Robbins' harp dances in virtuosic flourishes, like a dolphin or the spirit of Hollywood swimmer Esther Williams—bringing a splash of Tinseltown glitter to the mix.

The "Lado B" idea includes not only B-sides but also works by composers deserving of wider recognition, including Delia Fischer, whose 2024 project Beyond Bossa (Origin Records, 2024) was a collaboration with jazz journalist and lyricist Allen Morrison. Fischer's "Aluvião" (Floodwaters) is a standout track, with Ruíz shining as both arranger and soloist. The percussion-forward orchestration captivates with unexpected touches of marimba and flashes of flute, while DeLuna's solo voice, in conversation with a full mixed choir, floats over running piano figures supported by Edwin Livingston's mobile bass and Edu Ribeiro's energizing drumming, which drive the flow throughout.

Ruíz and DeLuna's treatment of Lins and Vitor Martins' agonizing "Choro das Aguas" (Cry of the Waters) is another highlight, with Pedro Cadore's voice responding to and entwining with DeLuna's, Sheppard's saxophone crying above and merging with the flute, the piano running relentlessly beneath in increasingly polyphonic textures that are rich and emotional. And with a final coup de saudade, the album's penultimate tune, Claudio Nucci and Luiz Fernando Gonçalves' haunting "Meu Silencio (Velho Companheiro)," expresses the profound sadness of losing an old friend.

From artful packaging to graceful arrangements and emotionally nuanced performances, there is much for fans of Brazilian jazz to savor in Lado B Brazilian Project 2.

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