Customer Reviews

Brazilian Cafe

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Putumayo's "Brazilian Cafe" is a strong successor to last year's "Cafe Cubano." Putumayo's cafe series began blandly with "Italian Cafe" and the decaffeinated "French Cafe",but with a Latin twist,these cafe albums are like a flavorful mocha. Sonically, "Brazilian Cafe" is much like "Acoustic Brazil." It's at once relaxing and invigorating. There are recipes in the back for a Brazilian coffee pudding and cafezinho (the Brazilian equivalent to the Italian shot of espresso)

"Brazilian Cafe" opens with Djavan's "Embola Bola (Caterete)",a song that honors traditional dances. Marcio Faraco's song is a reminiscence about his grandfather's house. Ceumar's "Feliz e Triste" is bittersweet,while Toco's "Outro Lugar" is a calm piece. Rosa Passos' "A Little Night Music" gives a sense of the early evening serenity. Marcia Salomon sings a festive,rhythmic song about waiting for Carnival. Arranco de Varsovia's "Force of Imagination" is a samba about the power of musical creation. The strongest songs are Carlinhos Cor Das Aguas' "Internal Time" and Katia B's electronica "Viajei."

"Brazilian Cafe" is at once sweet, serene, invigorating and joyful. It seamlessly blends acoustic guitar with jazz, bossa nova with samba, electronica with vocal music. It's one of the most delightful releases of 2009. It also serves a good cause. 1% of the proceeds from the sale of the album goes to the Homens Brazilian Association, which defends the rights of Brazilian children and adolescents.

Drink down the delicious Brazilian java!

Putumayo, which brought us the excellent anthology Samba Bossa Nova [still my favorite of their Brazilian series] and a softer collection in Acoustic Brazil, now sends us along the middle path of relaxed, sensuous sambas and bossa, often with jazzy arrangements, in Brazilian Café. The mood is mellow and sweet, soft and gentle; only the final two tracks lift us out of the seats to dance. Otherwise, we are just happy to listen. While two artists are revisited--Márcio Faraco and Rosa Passos--we are treated with ten other contemporary stars. Djavan and Toco and Katia B, a chum of Bebel Gilberto, are represented with popular modern arrangements. Others are more traditional with a guitar base to small ensembles, such as with Alexandre Lećo and Marcia Salomon. Music to enjoy coffee? Yes, indeed. And breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and late at night. Who does not enjoy urbane Brazilian music? Putumayo releases are always a good introduction to world musical styles and a lead to specific recordings. However, this album lasts merely 41 minutes, which is too short for an anthology. 1/2 star demerit.

I'm a big fan of South American Music. As a whole, I'm a big fan of Putumayo Present products. Brazilian Cafe doesn't disappoint. Smoothy, jazzy, and calming, I often enjoy this CD while working on photography related activities. Excellent mood music with a splash of energy.

Various Artists
"Putumayo Presents: Brazilian Cafe"
(Putumayo, 2009)
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A mellow, acoustic-oriented set of modern Brazilian ballads. For the most part this is a collection of less well-known artists, which I personally appreciate, since I'm always on the look for something new to explore. The album kicks off with a relatively restrained track by the MPB superstar Djavan, and after that the next most famous artist is guitarist-vocalist Rosa Passos. All the tracks are quite nice, and this is another wonderfully listenable collection from Putumayo, not gooey or cloying crossover stuff, but a rather classy collection that knowledgeably explores the contemporary Brazilian acoustic scene. The current trad-samba revival is represented by Teresa Cristina and Ana Costa (two great artists whose work is well worth tracking down) while more pop and bossa-oriented music is also well represented. Nice record; definitely worth a spin! (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue Guide To Brazilian Music)

Quality, complex compositions... Look forward to feeling transported to a place of purest sunlight, warm breezes, lush flowers and turquoise water... This CD is one lovely song after another. Very romantic- I have purchased other putamayo CD's but not one of them is as consistently great as this one. Put this CD on for a drive through the countryside, a dinner party with good friends are as an inspiration for creativity.

Enjoy!

This cd is nice to listen to and is relaxing, but it does have that generic sound. I think I'll stick with buying cd's/music by the original artists.

i have falled in love with putumayo work, no matter what style of music he is presenting he puts a great mixture together. love love love it.

I bought this from Amazon as a gift for a friend who loves everything "BRAZIL". She loves the music and said it makes her feel as if she's back in Brazil. I'm glad she enjoys it, so I say it's a good buy.

Love this product and the seller is super to work with. We'll do more business in the future!