Amorosa

Rosa Passos | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0002S94NY
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,994 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #94 in Music > World Music > Latin Music > Brazilian > Bossa Nova

Track Listings

1. Voce Vai Ver

2. Wave- Solo Version

3. Besame Mucho

4. Pra que Discutir com Madame

5. Lobo Bobo

6. O Pato

7. Retrato em Branco e Preto

8. Eu Sambo Mesmo

9. Essa e Prio Jao

10. Que Reste-t-il de nos Amours

11. S'Wonderful

12. Chega de Saudade

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It's become increasingly difficult to find a Brazilian bossa nova singer not interested in electronic production values. For those yearning to hear bossa nova music played acoustically, singer Rosa Passos is the answer. Her pitch perfect voice is almost girlish and coy, but her supple phrasing shows her to be a true veteran. Her star's been on the rise since her impressive contributions to Yo-Yo Ma's Obrigado Brazil (Ma guests here as well), and now she's landed on Sony Classical for her major label debut. A tip of the hat to Joao Gilberto's classic Amoroso features four bossa nova classics from that album, two more Antonio Carlos Jobim compositions and six others. The small-group arrangements are often restrained but jazzy (channeling a little Stan Getz), while the orchestral format for three tunes is a velvety a nod to Claus Ogerman's lush arrangements of many bossa nova classics. This is an instant classic from one of the music's finest interpreters. –-Tad Hendrickson

Product Description

Asian pressing of the Brazilian bossa nova singer/guitarist's 2004 classical album includes one bonus track 'Chega De Saudade' (with Yo-Yo Ma). Sony. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars KEEPING IT SIMPLE..., September 25, 2004

By 

Larry L. Looney (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Amorosa (Audio CD)

...mostly. As another reviewer noted, the three tracks that include string arrangements are done with taste and restraint. For the most part, this album is Rosa (vocals and acoustic guitar) with her core band (Helio Alves, piano; Paulo Paulelli, bass; Paulo Brago, drums; and Cyro Baptista, percussion). There's also some very nice work on clarinet and sax from Paquito D'Rivera and Rodrigo Ursaia, respectively -- and a beautiful vocal duet with the great Henri Salvador.

The arrangements are simple and direct -- and beautifully performed, with style and feeling. The recording quality is absolutely first-rate as well -- the samples you can check out on-line are nice, but they don't do justice to the crystalline sound on this album.

Track twelve is designated as a 'bonus track' -- it was recorded about a year and a half before the rest of the album, and features a guest appearance by none other than Yo-yo Ma.

Three of the songs included here were recorded by the great master Joao Gilberto on his historic album of the same title in 1977 -- and as a further homage to his influence on her style (and his place in musical history), Rosa includes 'Essa e pr'o Joao', her co-composition with Arnoldo Medeiros.

Another standout is her wonderful performance of the lovely and humorous 'O pato'.

When I picked this up last week, it stayed in my CD player for several days -- I couldn't get enough of it. It's one of the best Brazilian discs to come my way in a long time. Highly recommended.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely, low-key modern bossa nova vocals, September 14, 2004

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Amorosa (Audio CD)

Singer Rosa Passos has been one of Brazil's best-beloved bossa nova interpreters since the 1990s, when she first came on the scene... Her work is marked by calmness and control; this is another lovely album with Passos' voice even more serene and assured than ever. There's more of an overt jazz-pop tinge to this album, and less bossa nova purism, although the songs are still largely drawn from the classic bossa canon, with several Jobim tunes, one by Carlos Lyra, etc. Passos has an all-star cast backing her up, too, with Paquito D'Rivera on clarinet, the ubiquitous Paulo Braga on drums, Cyro Baptista on percussion, and some suave Brazilians -- Rodrigo Ursaia (sax), Helio Alves (piano) and Paulo Paulelli (bass) -- filling out the sound. Plus, dig the guest stars: cellist Yo-Yo Ma, on a fine version of "Chega De Saudade" and French hepcat Henri Salvador pitching in on an old Charles Trenet tune. All in all, a real class act -- folks looking for some classy Brazilian crooning will want to pick this one up.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely, restrained, perfect bossa nova, October 17, 2004

By 

Birdman (Minnetonka, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Amorosa (Audio CD)

While Rosa Passos has been around for a few years, most of her recordings have only been available via import. How sweet it is that the A&R folks at Sony signed her for her North American "debut."

With so many labels hurling new music at the wall, hoping something will stick, it is a tribute to producer, Jorge Calandrelli, that everything you hear on this disk is just as it should be. There is no pandering to mass market tastes, and the result is absolutely beautiful.

Passos' voice is feminine and natural, alert to every nuance of the lyrics -- so much so that even old warhorses such as Jobim's "Wave" sound as fresh as the the rain forest after a summer shower.

While some of the arrangements here recall Creed Taylors productions for CTI, (especially the strings in "Besame Mucho,") they seem to fit the material and voice like a glove. Most of the arrangements, though, are for small group, with Passos' acoustic guitar leading gently.

Bossa nova afficionados will hear a number of familiar songs by Jobim, Velazquez, Silva and even Gershwin, but Passos and her group bring a sweet, sultry, sophisticated touch to all they do.

Yo-Yo Ma makes a welcome cameo appearance in Jobim's "Chega de Saudade," and the effort pays out. Recording quality is as good as you get, with instruments slightly forward, but the ambiance warm and easy on the ear.

Now ask me why we haven't heard more about this artist or this nearly perfect release?

Timing is a bit short at just under 52:00, but I'd rather long for more than pray for less.

Five easy stars for this one.