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Antonio 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 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 ...
Continue ReadingAntonio Adolfo: Bossa 65

by Chris May
A decade or more younger than the composer / musicians in the first wave of bossa nova artists, Antonio Adolfo began recording under his own name towards the end of the 1960s. Better known as a pianist and arranger than as a composer, though he has written some notable tunes, in recent years Adolfo has carved out a niche celebrating the work of belle epoque bossa songwriters. In 2017, Adolfo sidestepped with Hybrido: From Rio To Wayne ...
Continue ReadingAntonio Adolfo: Jobim Forever

by Edward Blanco
Pianist, composer, educator and arranger extraordinaire, Antonio Adolfo has been at the forefront of the samba and bossa nova genre for decades. A proponent of the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Adolfo pays tribute to the genre master on the splendid Jobim Forever. This homage focuses on the icon's work from the 1960s, selecting songs that are instantly recognizable as being a part of an era that put Rio de Janeiro on the jazz landscape. In addition to ...
Continue ReadingAntonio Adolfo: Jobim Forever

by Richard J Salvucci
Really, is there anyone who does not like Antonio Carlos Jobim (Tom)? Antonio Adolfo, the pianist, arranger, and producer behind this wonderful recording, seems to have lived in a parallel universe to many of us. He says, and it rings true, at the age of twelve, Jobim's music was love at first sight" in Brazil. Well, it was love at first sight in New Jersey too, via Stan Getz and A Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema"). Getz may ...
Continue ReadingAntonio Adolfo: Jobim Forever

by Pierre Giroux
It might be expected that everything one might want to say or write or play about Antonio Carlos Jobim and his music would have been done already. Apparently not. Pianist and friend Antonio Adolfo wanted to go back to the period of the 1960s, to record those Jobim compositions that Adolfo fell in love with as a teenager. Hence the music covered by Jobim Forever comprises those well known ear worms that lit up the bossa nova movement. ...
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