Here’s a story that unfortunately is seen all too often in music – a talented, emerging artist debuts with a wonderful recording, full of promise and great songs, then disappears from sight. Jean Felix chose family over a career as a singer, but her 15 minutes of fame expanded to include 12 original songs and one unforgettable album. Its almost as if the stars aligned for this one special moment.
Jean Felix was first discovered more than 20 years ago in her adopted hometown of São Paulo, Brazil. Like Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento and countless others before her, she rode the star making machinery of Brazil’s music festivals to a first place finish as best singer in both 1984 and 1985. Such recognition is usually an instant springboard to success, but Jean chose a different path. Like many of us, she made the difficult choice of family over career, and dropped out of sight for many years.
But the story had a happy ending. A decision to return to her passion for music resulted in a self-titled album, a tastefully arranged blend of sophisticated and urbane Brazilian pop, more in line with the classic, Beatles-influenced sound of Milton Nascimento than the more rhythmic Bossa and Samba of Rio.
Jean Felix has a deep and richly textured voice, which invites comparison to Swing Out Sister's Corrine Drewery, though she cites Des’ree, Sade, Oleta Adams and Anita Baker as primary influences. You get the idea: A modern-day pop chanteuse with a jazzy sensibility and a special ability to really get inside a song and bring its story to life.
And what songs! Like so many Brazilian singers, Felix shows a gift for song selection, or more precisely, for songwriter selection. Most of the songs on Muito Único were composed by guitarist Marcello Montes and composer José Luis Bonfá (nephew of the great Luis Bonfá). Besides being a perfect fit for her unique voice, they are the kind of instantly catchy, memorable tunes Brazilian music is rightfully famous for.
Years later, Jean Felix came back to the studio for a second recording, but the magic from her first CD had passed, and the album was never released. Today, she remains a special talent on the São Paulo club scene.
Incidentally, the Brazilian title of this release is Muito Único, or “very unique.” Here in the States, such a name must have been seen as redundant. One listen, and you’ll be delightfully aware that, in Portuguese, this isn’t the case when a singer like Jean Felix creates a once-in-a-lifetime CD.
Other Voices:
From the label:
SINGER JEAN FELIX DEBUTS WITH SELF-TITLED CD
Award winning vocalist Jean Felix brings a dynamic new sound and exciting musical direction to her upcoming self-titled US debut release. This award winning Brazilian singer is unmatched at blending traditional Brazilian rhythms, melodies, and arrangements within a contemporary jazz idiom. She molds each of these 12 tracks with a sense of authenticity that easily translates the ocean’s breeze off the Brazilian beaches into her own delicate styling.
The amazing story of singer Jean Felix begins at the top. In Brazil, the pathway to musical fame is a well-worn one. Blazed by the generation of singers and songwriters that followed the Bossa boom, scores of creative hopefuls have tested their talents in the country's popular competitions, called Music Festivals.
In 1984 and again in 1985 at the prestigious National Song Festival in São Paulo, Brasil, she was awarded the top prize as the festival's best singer. But a decision to set aside her singing career to attend to family matters allowed the opportunity that the Festival awards provided to pass.
Now, years later, Jean Felix has returned to her creative vision. Inspired by her unique singing talent, guitarist Marcello Montes and composer José Luís Bonfá (nephew of famous Bossa master, Luis Bonfá) began writing material specific for Jean. It's not often that a Brazilian star gets to shine more than once, but the message is clear: Jean Felix is an amazing woman and a worthy talent for such an opportunity.
Jean Felix was developed and recorded over several months in Sao Paulo. It opens with a smartly evocative read of "Muito Unico" (the album's title track for the Brazilian release). Penned by Bonfa and Montes, the song serves to introduce us to her vocal talent, a sensitivity and presence that is very much "in the moment." Framed by a five star arrangement and saxophonist David Richards' fluid style, the song provides a fresh definition to Brazilian MPB (Popular Brazilian Music).
The second song, "Cuide-se Bem" follows suit, with an infectious back beat to propel Jean's story line. It’s another clue as to how her unique grasp of life and music effortlessly dissolves the cultural differences of countries half a world away.
"Passagem" provides a soft Brazilian groove as she embraces the original melody to add a distinctly Brazilian feel to her vocal prowess. Fittingly, the song title translates into English as "journey," a word that Jean Felix is all too familiar with.
Born in Nazaré, in the Brazilian State of Bahia it was only a short time before the family moved to settle in the bustling mega-city of São Paulo. Early in her childhood she began to show her love for singing. What seemed to be only a child's play with her older sister Geni, soon evolved to a deeper desire to build on this musical core. Family parties, gatherings, school plays and school festivals soon became outlets to express her young talent.
Championed by her family and friends, she began to sing professionally in area nightclubs. Having no formal singing training or education, these nightly appearances became her best teacher- workshops in training.
During her family sabbatical she continued her professional activities but stayed restricted to small venues and clubs, and only on weekends. Eventually, this gave her the welcome opportunity to continue to express her singing skills and to perfect the dynamics of her voice. In 1995 she rose from her musical hiatus by solely funding this first CD with her own savings. In addition to Jean, Marcello and Bonfa, the two-year project was joined by producer, arranger and master technician, Flávio Araújo.
With barely the basics of a home recording studio, the quartet pooled their musical and technical skills to produce an amazingly high quality debut recording. In Brazil, this CD was sold mainly during her performances, as they began the search for a record contract or a major distribution deal.
Even with such limited exposure, Jean Felix and this self-titled album are recognized as a force in the Sao Paulo music scene, including several of her songs being used on a popular prime-time soap opera, or Novella. The nighttime television mini-series are the launching pad to musical success, and so it has proved with Jean Felix.
A Bahiana by birth and a Paulista through life’s road, Jean’s musical influence comes mostly from Brazilian artists such as Elis Regina, Tom Jobim, Djavan, Milton Nascimento, Marisa Monte, Jane Duboc, Gilberto Gil, and Caetano Veloso. Some of her international favorites and contributing to her influence are Sade, Joni Mitchel, Oleta Adams, Anita Baker and Des'ree.
You might be tempted to think of Jean Felix as a musical miracle- the result of an uncommon pairing of real talent and personal dedication. Songs like "Tarde," "Atras De Te Ver" and "Tempo" sparkle with an originality that hints at the musical legacy of Brazil's famous female performers- Celia Vaz, Zizi Possi, Joyce, and Leila Pinheiro.
Personal, elegant, spirited, involving, and romantic, Jean Felix is a groundbreaking introduction to a special new Brazilian talent. A career reborn to the delight of fans in two continents, and filled with the promise of her own lifelong passion for music in song.
