Paula Maya: Rio de Janeiro

It is important to understand that this is a Brazilian recording which, like singer Paula Maya, made its way to the United States. Maya, who now calls Austin, Texas home, writes, plays, teaches and sings. She has a significant number of previous recordings—nearly a dozen—to her credit, but this one is a bit different. For one thing, it is an authentic product of Brazilian Popular Music (MPB), an urban movement that dates to the 1970s, if not a bit earlier. MPB melded a variety of Brazilian sounds with jazz and rock into a distinctive blend. For another, Maya's brand of MPB is a bit different, because Maya herself brings together everything from early music in the European tradition to a touch of flamenco, much in evidence in the original track, "Rosalie." And, just as importantly, there is the Afro-Brazilian element, very much the basis of "Iemanjá" a song about the February celebration there, fitting for a country whose involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade was considerably larger than that of the United States.

Perhaps, most importantly, Maya is with friends. The musicians are Brazilian, well known there, and many are Latin Grammy Winners. So the interplay, communication and time are all of a piece—spontaneous, as it were, as the recording has very much of a live feel. This is because those shared cultural experiences were recorded and mixed Rio de Janeiro, mastered in Miami, and released on Maya's own Yellow House Records in Austin, Texas. World music, for sure. But Brazilian at heart, equally so.

"Rosalie," the opening track, is an original, a tune of long gestation and by Maya's account, rooted in her experience in early music. "Vivo Sonhando" ("Dreamer," in English) is a classic by Antonio Carlos Jobim, introduced to North American audiences by Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto in 1963, but here very different in texture. In Jobim's hands, the tune was legato, almost languorous, very much consonant with the original Portuguese, the definition of bossa nova. Here there is more of a jazz-rock feel, especially at Fernando Monteiro's guitar solo, something straight out of the Amos Garrett 1970s playbook. "Rio de Janeiro" is a vehicle for Maya, internationally-known drummer Teo Lima, and bassist Sizão Machado. and it is also a tribute to Maya's native Rio. Maya likes long lines, which suit her updated vocal style very well, as on "Mulher" (Woman) or "A Beleza" (Beauty). "Água Sagrada" (Sacred Water). In Brazil as elsewhere in Latin America, water has a totemic status, and one look at Brazil, with an Atlantic-facing coastline of nearly 8,000 km and dozens of famous beaches, is self-explanatory, although the northeast part of the country is semi-arid.

Maya has an arresting voice. She sounds as if she has listened to a bit of modern rap as well. It probably would not be far wrong to think of this as a synthesis of her eclectic background, interests and experiences, so come with no preconceptions about music that belongs in a lounge or on a smooth jazz station. In its own voice, Rio de Janeiro smokes, and invites a listener to learn more of the music, the country, its history, culture and people.

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