Duos II

Luciana Souza | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 24, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sunny Side
• ASIN: B00096S3E0
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,168 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #93 in Music > Jazz > Brazilian Jazz

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Over the course of six albums filled with her beautiful voice and thoughtful interpretations, singer Luciana Souza has landed two Grammy nominations and grabbed the attention of knowledgeable jazz and Brazilian music fans. Here she follows up her breakthrough album Duos with a second installment, this time again in intimate duo settings with different guitarists. Souza dwells in her voice's mid-range, seldom going particularly high or low, yet her inflections are as rich as a well-aged cabernet wine. While these nuances take a little time to pick up, Souza's technical facility is easily recognizable and impressive – her lightning fast scat on the new choro "Sambadalu (Para Luciana Souza)" is dazzling; her timing on the ballad "Modinha" is impeccable. Generally regarded a jazz singer because of her chops, Souza is really "beyond category" (to use an old Duke Ellington quote) for bringing Brazilian folk idioms into the jazz genre, and she doesn't do it any better than on Duos II. –-Tad Hendrickson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful cd, June 7, 2005

By 

Christine Rickoff "Christine Rickoff" (Bronx, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Duos II (Audio CD)

This is a lovely collection by Luciana Souza. To me she is like Monica Salmaso, a curator of wonderful songs. Every song is elegantly presented and the liner notes are helpful in conveying the meaning to those of us who are linguistically challenged. Luciana Souza's intelligence and the beauty of her work is the antidote to the "American Idol" style of singing that sells so well, but means so little. It is music for grown-ups.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Catch Luciana at the Ojai Music Festival this June 2006, March 20, 2006

By 

G. Braitman "Gary" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Duos II (Audio CD)

I don't understand a Word of Portuguese but can listen to this recording over and again. L Souza is an extremely gifted artist who has yet to be more widely recognized in the US.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing!, May 28, 2007

By 

Kenneth Seidman - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Duos II (Audio CD)

This is such a beautiful work; it has the power to open and heal the soul. It is drawn from a deep tradition yet feels so fresh, a new exploration. Luciana sings straight from the heart so directly, so honestly, nothing is wasted; her interplay with the varied guitarists is so intimate, playful, and deep. Their contribution of course is equally astounding. Luciana incorporates her vocal jazz improvisation tastefully, elegantly, with no excess, and gives you just enough to satisfy. I must admit I preferred Duos II considerably to her first Duos disc, though there are equally beautiful places on that recording, but as a whole, this offering feels deeper, more whole and complete...Thank you Luciana and friends!