Ryan Keberle's Collectiv Do Brasil: Sonhos Da Esquina

Trombonist Ryan Keberle fell in love with Brazilian music. It happens. Who has not experienced infatuation on an encounter with Getz/Gilberto (Verve, 1964), from saxophonist Stan Getz and vocalist, guitarist & tunesmith Joao Gilberto. But for Keberle, it was the music of Elis Regina that led him to travels to Sao Paulo in 2017, and a hook-up with Paulista musicians Felipe Silveira, bassist Thiago Alves and drummer Paulinho Vicente, who support the trombonist on Sonhos Da Esquina.

A trombone with a three-player rhythm section is not your run-of-the-mill small jazz ensemble. It is usually a saxophone out front, or maybe a trumpet. But J.J. Johnson should not be overlooked, with early albums such as Blue Trombone (Ais, 1957) and First Place (Columbia, 1957), both featuring the blue- ribbon rhythm section of Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass along with drummer Max Roach.

What Johnson proved from the early fifties onward was the trombone's potential for suppleness and fluid elocution. Keberle, on the relentlessly beautiful Sonhos Da Esquina follows right along that path, deeply engaged in the cool Afro-centric rhythms and fluid quartet interplay, with the piano, bass and drums accompaniment as accomplished and gorgeous as that of Johnson's high-profile sidemen back in '57.

The choice of tunes nods to Milton Nascimento and Toninho Horta, and Keberle adds three of his own compositions, including the sad and longing "Campinas," the introspective "Carbon Neutral" and the majestic and slightly ominous title tune.

Sonhos Da Esquina is Brazilian music at its best—an enchanting listening experience.