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Alex Malheiros
Azymuth: Telecommunication
by Glenn Astarita
This Brazilian trio had its roots in the 1960s but under different group monikers. They also recorded for the renowned jazz label Milestone Records, releasing several albums. To a considerable extent they were largely praised by critics via the musicians' tightknit but not over-cooked spin on jazz fusion, featuring indigenous percussion tinted with samba-like overtones. According to the press release, simultaneously, [they all] enjoyed flourishing solo careers during their downtime from the band. While guitarist/vocalist Jose Roberto Bertrami sadly passed ...
read moreIthamara Koorax: Brazilian Butterfly
by Chris M. Slawecki
Except for two ballads--the cosmopolitan Carinhoso with her Brazilian jazz fusion compatriots Azymuth, and Herbie Hancock's title track--Ithamara Koorax's ninth album is her most adventurous release. It seems constructed to honor legendary Brazilian vocalist Flora Purim and her husband/bandleader/percussionist Airto. This Brazilian Butterfly soars and flutters while multiple percussionists (often as many as four on the same song, most often led by the late and legendary Dom Um Romão, with Koorax frequently flailing away among them) knit together, pull apart, ...
read moreIthamara Koorax: Love Dance: The Ballad Album
by Chris M. Slawecki
Ithamara Koorax has released several albums in Brazil and Japan, but Love Dance is only the second US album for this star from Rio, the follow-up to her debut Serenade in Blue.
With her unmistakable voice, Koorax sings English, Portuguese, and Spanish love songs composed by such masters as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfá, Marcos Valle and Ivan Lins, plus songs by Claus Ogerman and Jurgen Friedrich (in German). Her voice manifests this diversity to its advantage: ...
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