This CD is the 2007 Latin Grammy for MPB Album of the Year.
One instrument. One voice.
Configured at its basic level this is music in its purest form – and, to some, at its very finest. But what if it’s not just any musician? Or just any singer?
Then you have the outstanding CD ‘Ao Vivo’ from Leny Andrade and Cesar Camargo Mariano, the deserving winner of the 2007 Latin Grammy for MPB Album of the Year.
Previously available in the United States only as an import, this album finally gives non-Brazilians a chance to hear two giants of Brazilian jazz at their finest.
Designed as a natural follow-up to the duo’s critically acclaimed and widely popular album “Nós” in 1994, the artists’ latest collaboration showcases everything that have made both Andrade and Mariano such enduring contributors to the Brazilian music scene over the last 40-plus years.
Since recording her first album ‘A Sensaçâo’ in 1961, the 65-year-old Andrade has dazzled audiences with a jazzy style that has drawn comparisons to American jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Anita O’Day. Although Andrade is not as well-known in the United States as some of her Brazilian contemporaries, she has drawn raves from those in the know. Describing her voice, trumpet great
Wynton Marsalis once said of Andrade: “She is perfection.”
As for Mariano, there is little that the 64-year-old Paulista hasn’t done during a career that resulted in a 2006 Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. An arranger and producer who has worked with everyone from his ex-wife Elis Regina to classical cellist Yo Yo Ma, Mariano is also well-respected jazz pianist who is heavily influenced by both Oscar Peterson and Errol Garner.
On ‘Ao Vivo’, the two complement each other perfectly throughout the 13-song, 66-minute set, which reprises eight of the tracks from “Nós” and sees them covering an array of diverse works from composers such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Djavan and Roberto Menescal. It’s a collection perfectly suited to showcase both their musical range and their varied tastes.
Continuing to defy the stereotype that dusky-voiced singers should only attempt slow ballads, Andrade infuses the material with the energy that made her the quintessential singer of the genre known as samba jazz during the 60s and 70s. On such songs as Jobim’s ‘Voce Vai Ver’ (You’ll See) Andrade cradles each lyric with her smoky contralto even as she scats her way into a frenzy that would make Ella proud.
But then she shows an ability to scale everything back, turning a song like ‘Da Cor Do Pecado’ (The Color of Sin) into a powerful ballad that drips with heartbreak and emotion.
Matching Andrade’s musicality would be difficult for any musician to accomplish. But Mariano, whose wide and varied musical career has included a stint with the groundbreaking Bossa Nova group Sambalanço Trio (along with Airto Moreira), is more than up to the task.
With Mariano at the piano, the listener hardly notices the absence of the bass and the drums. With just a flick of his wrist and a legendarily dexterous left hand, Mariano can transform his keyboard to a rhythm instrument – then just as quickly, settle back into a melodic groove that showcases his musicality. Mariano also gets a chance to go out on his own with the solo instrumentals ‘Carinhoso’ and ‘Samambaia’, his own legendary sweeping composition which opens the album.
To say that that Andrade and Mariano are on the same musical wavelength throughout the album would be an understatement. Their sense of timing is, at times, nearly eerie. On ‘A Ilha’ (Island), for example, Mariano gives Andrade the space she needs to build the song to its emotional apex. His piano is always there and never feels as if it has been shoved into the background, yet Andrade is allowed freedom to explore all of the nuances of the popular Djavan standard.
Another nice touch is the inclusion of two compositions from one of Mariano’s musical mentors, Johnny Alf. The song ‘Ceu E Mar’ (Sky and Sea) benefits from Mariano’s sensitive playing and Andrade’s vocal creativity. ‘Choro Do Minuto (Seu Chopin Desculpe)’ (Cry of the Minute (Excuse Me, Chopin)) finds the duo in more playful form as they take the cue from the theme of the song to go on what amounts to a musical race to the finish.
Sometimes, simpler is better. For proof, you have to look no further than ‘Ao Vivo’.
