ELIANE ELIAS – Light My Fire (2013) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 Brazilian jazz pianist, vocalist Eliane Elias' 2011 Concord Picante debut Light My Fire is a romantic and sultry affair that showcases her knack for traditional bossa nova tunes as well as few inspired covers. Joining Elias here are a few special guests including Brazil legend Gilberto Gil, who sings on three tracks, as well as singer Amanda Brecker (Elias' daughter with trumpeter Randy Brecker) who appears on "Toda Menina Baiana." Also backing Elias are a bevy of talented individuals, including producer/bassist Marc Johnson, guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves, percussionists Rafael Barata and Paulo Braga, and trumpeter Brecker. Along with Elias' slow-burn take on the Doors' title track, she delivers a stylish version of "My Cherie Amour," adds her own lyrics to trumpeter Kenny Dorham's "Stay Cool," and even delves into Paul Desmond's classic "Take Five." Matt Collar
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MARC JOHNSON | ELIANE ELIAS – Swept Away (2013) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

No one familiar with the past work of bassist Marc Johnson and pianist Eliane Elias will be surprised to find that this album finds them working in an exploratory mode; Johnson has long been one of the most interesting bassists on the modern jazz scene, and Elias' résumé is all over the place. But the sweetness, the quiet, and the sometimes deeply haunting melancholy of Swept Away may catch listeners unawares. Elias and Johnson are joined here by the two musicians who are more perfectly suited to this type of project than any others on the scene today: saxophonist Joe Lovano (currently the go-to player for virtually every serious jazz session in New York) and the preternaturally sensitive drummer Joey Baron, a man who has made more session leaders sound wonderful over the past 20 years than any other. Baron and Johnson face a serious challenge on this program: the tempos are generally slow, the sense of swing sometimes nearly subliminal, and that puts bassists and drummers in an awkward position. But on tracks like "It's Time" and the lovely "B Is for Butterfly," they keep the thread steady and reliable without dictating a beat or drawing undue attention; when the time comes to lay down a solid groove (as on the wonderful "B Is for Butterfly"), they do so elegantly and seemingly without effort. Swept Away is the best example of what has come to be called "ECM jazz" -- quiet, spacious, and friendly, but complex as well and easily able to stand up to close listening. Rick Anderson  
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ELIANE ELIAS – I Thought About You : A Tribute to Chet Baker (2013) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Pianist and vocalist Eliane Elias pays tribute to legendary jazz trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker on her 2013 album I Thought About You. Featuring a selection of standards strongly associated with Baker, Elias mixes her native Brazilian bossa nova with swing, straight-ahead jazz, and even a few bluesy flourishes with much aplomb. The album, produced by Elias' husband, bassist Marc Johnson, also features guitarists Steve Cardenas and Oscar Castro-Neves, drummers Victor Lewis and Rafael Barata, and percussionist Marivaldo Dos Santos. Also adding more than a few moments of deft and thoughtful improvisation is trumpeter Randy Brecker.
As Baker grew up listening to the music of the '30s and '40s, many of his own choices for songs to play were informed by the great songbook of those decades. Baker also had a natural inclination toward a pretty melody and romantic lyric and he never failed to pick great songs to perform. Subsequently, Baker's recordings showcase a superb batch of tunes to choose from. Elias, who has also leaned toward playing melodic, often romantic music, is a perfect conduit for reinterpreting Baker. Here she plays such songs as "There Will Never Be Another You," "Let's Get Lost," "Just Friends," "Embraceable You," and "I Get Along Without You Very Well." Matt Collar  
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ELIANE ELIAS – Made in Brasil (2015) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Throughout her career, Eliane Elias has delivered a steady stream of sophisticated, smartly conceived albums showcasing her adroit piano skills and delicate vocal style. Her 2015 effort, Made in Brasil, is no exception and finds her celebrating her Brazilian heritage with a handful of adeptly produced Bossa Nova and jazz songs. Once again working with longtime collaborators, producer Steve Rodby and husband/producer/bassist Marc Johnson, Elias continues to forge her own niche on Made in Brasil, combining jazz, both contemporary and straight-ahead, with her longstanding love of traditional and modern Brazilian styles of music. On her previous album, 2013's I Thought About You: A Tribute to Chet Baker, Elias stuck primarily to jazz standards of the '30s and '40s. Here, she flows easily between classic Bossa Nova songs by such legends as Antonio Carlos Jobim and Ary Barroso, as well as her own original compositions. Along with acoustic bassist Johnson, backing Elias here are electric bassist Marcelo Mariano, guitarist Marcus Teixeira, guitarist/vocalist Roberto Menescal, drummers Edu Barata and Rafael Barata, and percussionist Marivaldo dos Santos. Also showcased on this vocal-heavy album are singers Mark Kibble, Ed Motta, Amanda Brecker (Elias' daughter), and the vocal ensemble Take 6. Ultimately, as with most of Made in Brasil, tracks like "Aguas de Marco (Waters of March)" w/Take 6, "Incendiando," and "Vida (If Not You)," featuring a soulful performance from Motta, are sophisticated, lushly produced cuts that straddle the line between crisp Bossa Nova, sultry contemporary R&B, and glossy crossover jazz. Matt Collar  
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ELIANE ELIAS – Dance of Time (2017) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Way back in 1991, Brazilian-born pianist Eliane Elias opened Illusions, her debut solo album, with a tune called "Choro." It offered a swinging distillation of the musical form that has been at the heart of her life-long study of samba. Since then, she's revisited her musical heritage over and over again, wedding modern jazz to post-1960 Brazilian jazz and MPB. In the process, she's developed an instantly identifiable sound as a pianist. Dance of Time follows 2015's fine Made in Brasil, a set that relied most heavily on bossa nova. Teaming again with collaborative producers Steve Rodby and husband Marc Johnson, Elias is accompanied by a stellar rhythm section: bassist Marcelo Mariano, guitarist Marcus Teixeira, drummer Edu Ribeiro, and percussionists Marivaldo dos Santos and Gustavo di Dalva on most of this set. Recorded in Brazil and New York, the date also includes a wonderful guest list that includes Take 6's Mark Kibble, Randy Brecker, Mike Manieri, Joao Bosco -- who adds his voice and guitar to a lovely reading of his own "Coisa Feita" -- and Toquinho.

The program contains readings of killer sambas such as "O Pato," Joao Donato's eternal "Sambou Sambou," the wonderful "Samba de Orly" (co-composed by Toquinho, who also sings on it, Vinicius De Moraes and Chico Buarque), and Ary Barroso's "Na Batacuda da Vida." Each of these numbers remains faithful to the originals, but Elias' arrangements, pianism, and breezy, syncopated vocals graft them so thoroughly onto swinging, straight-ahead, modern post-bop, it's difficult to accept they weren't always in the jazz fakebook. But she goes further. She injects Harry Warren's slippery pop blues "You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me," with a slow choro backbeat. She also transforms Kurt Weill's and Ogden Nash's sultry "Speak Low" into simmering, polished modern jazz with a fantastic multi-tracked backing vocal by Kibble and great soloing from Brecker. The best tunes here, however, are her own. "By Hand ("Em Maos") offers another backing vocal from Kibble, as Elias stitches samba onto bossa in a lithe, sensual groove. "An Up Dawn" is a vehicle for her intricate, syncopated chord voicings on her instrument's middle and lower registers, which create an interlocking dance of samba, tango, and bluesy ragtime. "Not to Cry (Pra Nao Chorar)" is a co-write with Toquinho -- who lends his guitar and weathered yet effective vocal in a duet. He began the tune in 1978 as a vehicle (for Elias) with the working title "Eliane." He completed it for this album with participation from the tune's muse. Their singing voices are an elegant yet earthy study in contrasts, while his lilting guitar chords pace her keyboard embellishments. Its tenderness sends the set off with a sweet whisper. Dance of Time is inspired, deftly musical, and truly accessible to a wide range of listeners from jazz to pop to Brazilian music. It's virtually flawless. Thom Jurek  
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ELIANE ELIAS – Music from Man of La Mancha (2018) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Pianist Eliane Elias follows her Latin Grammy win for 2017's magnificent Dance of Time with this set of tunes from the iconic musical Man of La Mancha. During the mid-'90s, Elias was approached by Mitch Leigh, the Tony-winning composer of her musical; he'd followed her career and greatly admired her work. Accompanied by Neil Warner, arranger for the original musical, he commissioned the pianist to rearrange songs from the show. Elias was given complete freedom to choose which songs she wished to record. She hired two rhythm sections: One featured drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Eddie Gomez; the other bassist Marc Johnson, drummer Satoshi Takeishi, and master percussionist Manolo Badrena (who plays with both groups). Elias and her sidemen recorded nine songs live in studio. Unfortunately, the completed album was shelved due to contractual issues and seemed doomed to obscurity. Leigh passed in 2014 and never saw its release. Concord rescued the album and added it to their catalog some 23 years after recording.

Listening now -- with Elias widely recognized as a jazz master -- is nothing short of revelatory. Each track has been thoroughly re-visioned, utilizing different rhythms, re-harmonizations, tempi, new intros, outros, interludes, and more. The songs here sound assured and disciplined, and are played with kinetic energy and empathy. Check the contrast between rhythm sections on the set's first two tracks, "To Each His Dulcinea," with Johnson, Takeishi, and Badrena, and "Dulcinea," with DeJohnette and Gomez. The former has a partido alto rhythm illuminated by rolling hand drums, lush Errol Garner-esque chord statements, and a popping bassline. The latter bears hints of "The Impossible Dream" within its intro. Elias combines a tender, bluesy swing with Bill Evans-style harmonics, all underscored by Gomez's gorgeous solo. The samba returns in "The Barber Song" and places Badrena alongside Gomez and DeJohnette. The samba piano intro is highlighted by Brazilian percussion instruments in interplay with the drum kit. Gomez doesn't so much hold things to the ground as push them further apart and together again. Elias' ranging solo employs an elegant use of Art Tatum's arpeggios and Herbie Hancock's rhythmic chording. "Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)" is introduced by Gomez and DeJohnette playing in Capoeira rhythm, but it changes gears quickly with a piano interlude that introduces the melody even as Elias' left hand insistently interacts with the rhythm section. While a frevo rhythm drives album-closer "A Little Gossip," it is the track before, "The Impossible Dream," with Johnson, Takeishi, and Badrena, that nearly eclipses it. Fleet pacing aside, Elias' piano is recontextualized almost like that of a vocalist in the first half, and a post-bop soloist in the latter with a deft, swinging, Brazilian rhythmic approach from her left hand. Elias' governance on Music from Man of La Mancha is eclipsed only by her playing and arranging. Her intimate understanding of the tunes is balanced by imagination and taste. Thankfully, Concord is allowing jazz enthusiasts an opportunity to hear this fine recording at last. Thom Jurek  
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ELIANE ELIAS – Love Stories (2019) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Brazilian-born pianist/vocalist Eliane Elias continues her run of well-executed sessions for the Concord label with 2019's lush and sultry Love Stories. The album follows up Elias' Grammy-winning 2017 date Dance of Time and arrives a year after she issued her long-delayed Music from Man of La Mancha. Once again, Elias is joined here by the same group that made Dance of Time, including her husband bassist Marc Johnson, drummer Ed Ribeiro, guitarist Marcus Teixeira, and others. Also on board is arranger Rob Mathes, who previously worked with Elias on her equally sumptuous 2015 album Made in Brasil and who has collaborated with an array of artists from across genres including Sting, Luciano Pavarotti, Panic! At the Disco, and many more. Together, Elias and Mathes bring their varied experiences to bear on a set of romantic ballads and breezy pop anthems. At the core of each arrangement is Elias' delicate, naturalistic vocals that recall such iconic Brazilian artists as Astrud Gilberto, Antônio Carlos Jobim, and Nara Leão. Helping set the album's romantic tone, Elias opens with a languid rendition of "A Man and a Woman," the classic theme to the 1966 French film of the same name. She then eases into an inventive reworking of the Roger Ingram and Patti Austin hit "Baby Come to Me," moving from a loungey verse into a propulsive bossa nova-accented chorus. Similarly engaging is her laid-back, Portuguese and English reading of Roberto Menescal and Ronaldo Bôscoli's "Little Boat,' which also spotlights her pristinely melodic jazz piano skills. Elsewhere, she offers urbane takes on standards like "Angel Eyes" and "Come Fly with Me," as well as several of her own atmospheric originals. Matt Collar  
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ELIANE ELIAS – Mirror Mirror (2021) FLAC (tracks), lossless

With 2021's sparkling duets album Mirror Mirror, pianist Eliane Elias joins two of her biggest influences, legendary jazz keyboardist Chick Corea and acclaimed Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés. Co-produced by Elias, her husband bassist Marc Johnson, and longtime collaborator Steve Rodby, Mirror Mirror is a bold contrast to the Brazilian-born artist's more vocal-centric albums like 2019's Love Stories and 2017's Latin Grammy-winning Dance of Time. Here, she spotlights her deep jazz, classical, and Afro-Latin musical roots as she spars in friendly musical conversation with these two piano masters: literally going head-to-head with Corea and Valdés as she recorded each track live in the studio facing her guests. Adding to the album's timely atmosphere is the loss of Corea, who passed away in 2021 soon after the album was recorded. Mirror Mirror is an album of effortless virtuosity rife with a vibrant, in-the-moment energy. Matt Collar  
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ELIANE ELIAS – Quietude (2022) FLAC (tracks), lossless

With 2022's Quietude, Eliane Elias crafts a sumptuously intimate showcase for her Portuguese vocals and bossa nova jazz balladry. The album follows her Grammy-winning 2021 production Mirror Mirror, where she went head-to-head with fellow piano luminaries Chucho Valdes and Chick Corea, the latter of whom died soon after the album was finished. That album put Elias' immense jazz, Latin, and classical keyboard skills on display. While she does play some piano here, Quietude intentionally spotlights her voice, pairing the Brazilian-born performer with several of her closest guitar friends on a handful of her favorite songs from her homeland. Here, Elias is joined by Marcus Teixeira with whom she has worked since her breakthrough 2015 album Made in Brazil. Also joining her is Lula Galvão, one of the leading masters of the Brazilian acoustic guitar tradition. There are also rhythm section contributions from percussionist Celso de Almeida and Elias' husband, bassist Marc Johnson, the latter of whom also produced the effort with Steve Rodby in São Paulo. Much of the album focuses on duets, including a hushed reading of Dorival Caymmi's "Marina" with Teixeira. Other songs, like her lyrical take on Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Só Tinha Que Ser Com Você" benefit from her lush small group sound. We also get a spritely take on Haroldo Barbosa and Geraldo Jacques' bossa nova "Tim-Tim Por Tim-Tim" which Elias recorded with the late Brazilian guitar legend Oscar Castro-Neves prior to his 2013 passing and which she hadn't released until now. Equally compelling is her affectionate album-ending duet with 79-year-old singer Dori Caymmi on his father and Nelson Motta's poetic sailing ballad "Saveiros." Matt Collar  
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