Born in São Paulo, guitarist Toco (Tomaz DiCunto) got his start with musical and television productions during the late 90’s in Brazil before moving to Italy to quickly become a staple of Italy’s Schema label and the fantastic ‘New Bossa’ sounds they’ve created - first with Nicola Conte and lately with Rosalia de Souza’s debut CD ‘Garota Moderna'.
So its no small wonder that his debut CD is a five star winner, bridging the styles of Vinicius Cantuaria’s laid-back sensibilities with the indelible spirit of Toquinho and Vinicius de Moraes at their best. This classy album adds S-Tone’s Stefano Tirone to the mix, allowing Toco's breezy acoustic guitar, emotive vocals and classic songwriting style to flow like rain off a palm leaf.
Like Cantuaria, Toco’s music is framed with auditory nuance. Samba rhythms dance lightly around his melodies, but not as flimsy imitations. These songs stay faithful to Brazil’s musical roots, acting as bedrock upon which Stefano Tirone’s electronic programming and production touches are layered.
And just like Toquinho and de Moraes, Toco’s compositions create their own momentum, carrying us along as the songs unfold. There’s as sense of quiet energy here, and the impressions it brings are satisfying and delightful.
But don’t get the impression that this album is in any way lightweight: Toco’s group follows his ‘less is more’ approach with arrangements that allow the players to share the spotlight without detracting from the song.
This helps to make each tune familiar and memorable after the first listening, to be freshly enjoyed again and again. Our only beef? At little more than half an hour, time spent with Toco passes by too quickly – we’d like to hear more. Then again, there are many CDs out there where many of the songs are passed over to get to the few good ones.
Happily, that’s not the case with ‘Instalação do Samba’!
