Luciana Souza's debut on Mike Mainieri's NYC label established her not just as a strong vocalist, but also a composer of melodious yet highly complex music. Seven of the 11 tracks are originals, and they're handled expertly by Souza, saxophonist George Garzone, pianist David Kikoski, bassist John Lockwood, and drummer Ignacio Berroa. Souza handles the percussion herself, and co-producer George Schuller plays drums on the closing "Embraceable You." In addition to intricate pieces like "Muita Bobeira," "3 to 2 in Overtime," and "Say No to You," and brooding, poetic numbers like "Time Does Not Wait," Souza also includes two songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim: "Bonita" and "Retrato em Branco e Preto." The latter, which translates as "Portrait in Black and White," boasts a particularly creative arrangement. On "Azul Contente," Souza is accompanied only by bass and drums -- a choice perhaps meant to emphasize her intimate connection to the song, which was written by her talented parents, Tereza Souza and Walter Santos. Singing in English and Portuguese as well as wordlessly, Souza paints beautiful pictures, gives her heavy-hitting band plenty of room to blow, and gets her solo career off to a blazing start. David R. Adler Tracklist + Credits :
Thursday, September 21, 2023
LUCIANA SOUZA – An Answer To Your Silence (1998) FLAC (tracks), lossless
LUCIANA SOUZA – The Poems Of Elizabeth Bishop And Other Songs (2000) @Mp320K
Luciana Souza moves to the Sunnyside label for her second album, an ambitious project focusing on the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979). In all, four of Bishop's poems receive original musical treatments. But in a rather bold move, Souza includes two of her own song-poems, "Daze" and "Do Tell," which stand up quite well in comparison. Six more originals with wordless vocals complete the program. Souza's partners in this endeavor -- pianist Bruce Barth, saxophonist Chris Cheek, bassist John Lockwood, and drummer Marlon Browden -- do a superb job with her delicate but often quite difficult material. Barth and Souza go it alone on two of the Bishop poems, "Argument" and "Imber Nocturnus." "Sonnet," which opens the disc and returns as a reprise, has a surprising, almost Carole King-like pop-folk vibe. The remarkable "Insomnia" finds Souza involved in a bit of semi-vocalese, capturing the night imagery in the swooping, rapid play of syllables. Admirers of this record will be interested in hearing Souza on Andrew Rathbun's True Stories, a like-minded encounter with the poems of Margaret Atwood. David R. Adler
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Tuesday, September 12, 2023
LUCIANA SOUZA – Norte e Sul (North and South) (2003) APE (image+.cue), lossless
To be an excellent singer of standards, whether jazz or Brazilian or otherwise, an artist must possess a strong yet subtle voice and work with a sympathetic band. To really endear him or herself to fans, though, he or she must also know their repertoire; not only which songs to sing, but how to sing them: which parts to embrace and which to re-imagine (and, of course, the amounts of both). Any of these skills are enough to spark a solid record, but Luciana Souza has all of them, and thus her work is usually brilliant. North and South is the third album of what Souza terms a trilogy -- the first was a tribute to poet Elizabeth Bishop, the second a collection of her arrangements of traditional Brazilian songs (Brazilian Duos). She closes out the series by balancing standards from America and Brazil (thus the title), appropriately recalling her Brazilian forebears Sylvia Telles and Elis Regina, as well as contemporary jazz singers like Cassandra Wilson or Diana Krall. The two side-openers, Jobim's standards "Chega de Saudade" and "Corcovado," are simply enchanting, but the first especially so, one of the best versions of the master heard in many years. On her own arrangement, Souza draws out the lyric even while the rest of the band cuts out for a nimble rewriting of the scales by pianist Edward Simon, resulting in a performance that's simply breathtaking. The American standards "All of Me" and "When Your Lover Has Gone" are the only disappointments here (and only in comparison), Souza giving in to an evocation of the notoriously fragile-voiced Astrud Gilberto. John Bush
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LUCIANA SOUZA – DUOS III (2012) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Though Grammy-winning Brazilian vocal great Luciana Souza's third Duos recording marks the (approximately) ten-year anniversary of her Grammy-nominated Brazilian Duos, the trilogy concludes marvelously with duets by the singer and the lineup that appears on Duos II (2005): Toninho Horta, Romero Lubambo, and Marco Pereira. Traveling the world and playing in the duet format over the previous decade has helped Souza hone her ability with intimate yet lively voice-guitar conversations rich with clarity and eloquence. Stripping away the need for busier accompaniment, she and her cohorts eagerly embrace the core of each story and its sonic moment. With the exception of a sparse, plaintive meditation on Jobim's renowned "Dindi," most of the songs run from two-four minutes, allowing for quick guitar-vocal exchanges that make their point without dallying or overstating. The opening track, the easy flowing and breezy "Tim Tim Por Tim Tim," has a simple guitar line that allows the listener to zero in on Souza's dusky tones and expansive range. The snappy "Doralise" finds her voice fluttering through her higher register and daring the accompanying guitar line to keep up. She balances percussive tunes like that with the gentler sensuality and slightly mournful touches of tracks like "As Rosas Nao Falam" and the opening segment of the medley of "Lamento Sertanejo" and (the rollicking) "Maca do Rosto." No matter the tempo, no matter the tone chosen by each guitarist, Souza's voice on these classics of her native land are mesmerizing. Jonathan Widran
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Friday, September 8, 2023
LUCIANA SOUZA – Neruda (2004) APE (tracks+.cue), lossless
It's an audacious move, putting the words of one of the 20th century's greatest poets to music. All those who are familiar with the words have their own perceptions of the images, and -- on some level -- a feeling of the settings they should have. With just voice, piano, and a little percussion, Souza imposes her own vision on the poems of Pablo Neruda, as she has before on the work of Elizabeth Bishop, and it can initially seem strange and take listeners by surprise, as on the relatively upbeat and busy "House." "We Are Many" is imagined as almost an art song. Translating poetry to song is difficult, especially this work, with no regular rhythm or meter, and that's reflected in the tidal shifts of "Sonnet 99." There's true adventure in "I Will Come Back," sung over only percussion, a jaunty beat that's a celebration of life, rather than a commiseration of death. On "Sonnet 49" she employs marimba, giving a stately exoticism to the music. Souza, who composed all the music, has an artist's ear and a real sense of beauty in addition to a moving voice. These aren't songs you sing along with; instead, their sometimes wandering melodies focus the ear on the lyrics, which is exactly as it should be. The closest this comes to a conventional structure is with the aching "Loneliness," which could translate into a future cabaret standard. Overall, this is obviously a project that comes from the heart and soul, a labor of love that proves that following the heart can bring forth wondrous things. Chris Nickson Tracklist + Credits :
LUCIANA SOUZA – The New Bossa Nova (2007) APE (image+.cue), lossless
For her sixth recording and first on a major label (Verve), Luciana Souza's concept of "new bossa nova" is melding Brazilian rhythms onto adult contemporary folk-pop MOR songs. She sings lyrics exclusively in English. The stamp of Joni Mitchell, aided and abetted by producer Larry Klein, makes this image unmistakable immediately from the first tune, Joni's "Down to You." Souza sounds exactly like Mitchell in her melancholic phrasing during "Were You Blind That Day" and "You and the Girl." She is more herself on the closer, the straight Brazilian classic by Jobim "Waters of March," the Sting-penned minimalistic romantic pleader "When We Dance," and the lone non-Latin silken-tinged "Satellite." High-level musicianship from the pristine, crystalline tones of pianist Edward Simon, restrained guitarist Romero Lubambo, and occasional saxophonist Chris Potter raises the quality a hundredfold. The tunes range from slow to midtempo; overall, this is a sultry program of romantic ballads and softly toned introspective tracks. Source material comes from the aforementioned authors and lesser-known compositions from Leonard Cohen, Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, Becker with Klein, Randy Newman, Michael McDonald, and Brian Wilson. Perhaps the selection that will draw most attention is James Taylor's "Never Die Young," with Souza and Taylor singing separate lines and in unison during the latter part of the piece. After having tackled poems of Elizabeth Bishop and Pablo Neruda, along with the Brazilian music of her homeland, this recording marks a change for Souza. It is similar to Herbie Hancock's Gershwin's World in a belief that established music needs to be either modified or updated. Souza's voice is nearly perfect, thoughtful, sweet, and beautiful, and that alone should win her new fans. Whether previous devotees can be sold by this new direction is something only time will tell. Michael G. Nastos Tracklist + Credits :
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
LUCIANA SOUZA – Tide (2009) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Luciana Souza's second project with producer Larry Klein for the Verve label is a more authentic, Brazilian-based project than her previous tribute to Joni Mitchell, and showcases further why this vocalist is one of the true original voices in contemporary music. Keyboardist Larry Goldings, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, guitarists Larry Koonse or Romero Lubambo, percussionist Cyro Baptista, and Klein on electric bass guitar offer musicality that is grand but not grandiose. On this recording, Souza sings lyrics in English or Portuguese that speak about heartfelt realms of home and togetherness with nature, in co-opted assistance with Klein, David Batteau, and in works adapted from e.e. cummings. At her best, the wise and wistful Souza sings the song of belonging "Our Gilded Home," and the slow, spirit/soul tune "Once Again" with all the patience and virtue of an angel/saint. On the other side, she is able to inject excitement and energy in equal proportions during the pure, bouncy, sharp-edged, popping "Adeus America/Eu Quero Um Samba," and the jumping out of her skin "Sorriu Para Mim." The most intriguing selection applicable to modern times is "Circus Life," an incredible, extended treatise on the constant, unexpected ups and downs of the world, with an emphasis lyric "the cure is worse than the disease" among many others -- listen closely to this one. "Fire & Wood" sports the heaviest beat from Klein and a retro sound via Goldings, whereas the opposite "Chuva" is pure and light tropicalia, a yearning song at sunset. The title track, "Tide," is more a tide pool left after a beach wash down, with Goldings and Koonse's slow 4/4 lines ebbing and flowing. Where Lubambo is a jam master urging the vocalist to ride on his cameos, Koonse throughout inspires Souza to soar, while Goldings creates magic whether playing organ, acoustic piano, or Fender Rhodes -- he is the straw that stirs this oceanic drink. Thankfully, this is not an overtly commercialized effort, which suits Souza's natural gifts, and comes easily recommended along with her earlier works. Michael G. Nastos Tracklist + Credits :
Sunday, September 3, 2023
LUCIANA SOUZA – The Book Of Chet (2012) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza pays tribute to legendary trumpeter/singer Chet Baker on her 2013 album The Book of Chet. The third album Souza has recorded with husband and producer Larry Klein, The Book of Chet also features guitarist Larry Koonse, bassist David Piltch, and drummer Jay Bellerose. Interestingly, while Souza has picked a handful of songs that will certainly will be recognizable to longtime Baker fanatics, these are definitely lesser known standards from Baker's catalog. Subsequently, there is no "My Funny Valentine" or "There Will Never Be Another You," and instead Souza delves into evocative versions of "Forgetful," "He Was Too Good to Me," "The Touch of Your Lips," and others. These are intimate, reflective recordings that capture Baker's laid-back melodicism. Matt Collar
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LUCIANA SOUZA – The Book Of Longing (2018) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Since releasing her Sunnyside debut, The Poems of Elizabeth Bishop and Other Songs in 2000, Brazilian vocalist and composer Luciana Souza has woven poetry into the fabric of her work. Subsequent recordings such as Neruda, Tide, and Speaking in Tongues have all employed this approach as the prime vehicle of creative expression for her as a singer and composer, and she shapes the poems as complementary means in generating human connection and meaning.
The Book of Longing is titled after Leonard Cohen's collection of poems, lyrics, and drawings of the same name. Here she strips down her charts to offer a new direction in ten relatively brief songs. Souza chose guitarist Chico Pinheiro and bassist Scott Colley as her accompanists (she provides organic percussion selectively), as well as her husband and longtime producer Larry Klein to helm these sessions. The program includes four works by Cohen, and one each by Edna St. Vincent Millay, Christina Rossetti, and Emily Dickinson, alongside a trio of her own songs. Her own "These Things" offers gently syncopated rhythms and minimal textures provided by strings and whispering percussion, Souza's vocals inhabit words and the spaces between them with disciplined phrasing and concision as her musicians provide a color palette that adds depth and dimension. One cannot help but hear the trace influence of Joni Mitchell on this tune. "Daybreak" hearkens back musically to her Brazilian influences, such as Tom Jobim and Dory Caymmi, as slippery bossa is kissed by chamber jazz. Cohen's "The Book" is a vehicle for Souza's canny ability to find the stillpoint inside a lyric. As Colley's bass highlights the changes, Pinheiro's chord voicings and single-string fills add an airy backdrop to her vocal, enveloping it effortlessly. Souza travels through each syllable in the tune's lyric, imparting tenderness and tolerance amid the melancholy weight of meaning it contains. On "Night Song" (also by Cohen), her wordless vocalese introduction engages in taut yet breezy interplay with her sidemen. Their intuitive soloing is fleet and creates a net for Souza, who bridges the feelings of separation and loneliness in the lyric to the unconditional love it celebrates. Dickinson's "We Grow Accustomed to the Dark" is introduced by a rugged bassline. Along with Pinheiro's guitar, they deliver riffs suggestive of blues and rock. But when Souza begins to sing, she wraps both instrumentation and words in a jazz embrace to quietly dynamic effect. Rossetti's "Remember" is a languid elegy, and Souza allows the words to penetrate her to the marrow. Her painfully intimate delivery equates the oncoming pain of death's impossible-to-bear separation with a present in which two souls are joined in the union of heartbreak and longing. Her desire and acceptance drip like honey from her lips, arresting the moment in time. On Book of Longing, Souza displays yet again, her stark and remarkable originality in works of deceptive simplicity and elegance. The empathy and equanimity she displays with her sidemen is actually the sound of musical and emotional generosity. Thom Jurek
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LUCIANA SOUZA & TRIO CORRENTE – Cometa (2023) FLAC (tracks), lossless
A collaboration between Luciana Souza and Trio Corrente, 2023's Cometa finds the acclaimed vocalist and São Paulo-based ensemble coming together in a vibrant celebration of the Brazilian musical traditions. A Grammy winner for her contribution to Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters, Souza has long been recognized for her deep grasp of Brazilian bossa nova, as well as jazz and classical idioms. Similarly, Trio Corrente members drummer Edu Ribeiro, pianist Fabio Torres, and bassist Paulo Paulelli emerged as leading ambassadors for their home country after taking home the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album with 2013's Song for Maura with Paquito D'Rivera. Together, they play with a warm and laid-back camaraderie, offering heartfelt renditions of songs by legendary Brazilian composers, as well as their own inspired originals. They kick things off with a spritely take on Dorival Caymmi's ode to his native Bahia region, "Você Já Foi à Bahia." Later, they also draw upon Caymmi's samba work with a rhythmically infectious version of "Requebre Que Eu Dou Um Doce." Equally dance-invoking performances follow, including renditions of Djavan's "Ventos do Norte" and Paulinho da Viola's "Rumo dos Ventos." There are also more languid, romantic moments, as with bassist Paulelli's yearning "Baião Joy" and their dusky reading of the Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes standard "Sem Você." Matt Collar 