Customer Reviews

Duos II

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

 

 

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.

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.

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!

Nice easy and interesting music. Great voice, with a bit of that south american/latin feel. A no brainer for Jazz lovers.

"Neruda" was one of the most creative and interesting albums released in 2004. Among other questions, it raised this one: What can Luciana Souza possibly do for an encore?

The same question was raised in 1969 by The Who's "Tommy", the first popular "rock opera." That encore, of course, consisted of the Who going back to its roots with one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded, "Who's Next." And, in the same way, Luciana Souza has gone back to her roots with this, her second album of Brazilian duets with various Brazilian guitarists. And like "Who's Next", this one does not disappoint.

This album is recorded with Ms. Souza (sans percussion, voice only) and four guitarists: Romero Lubambo, Marco Pereira, Swami, Jr. (yep, that's his name, fellow Americans) and Guilherme Monteiro. Every cut sounds heavenly. This album will remind you of Laurindo Almeida and Astrud Gilberto, only it's better--basically because Ms. Souza is a far superior singer, IMO.

Special note to four tracks. "Trocando en Mudos" has that same sense of longing and desire that permeated the "Neruda" disc. But lest you think Ms. Souza only does "moody", listen to how she clips along with the guitarists on "Sambadalu (para Luciana Souza)" and "Chorino Pra Ele." (In fact, a great vocal exercise for a vocal jazz ensemble would be to have all of the singers double and try to keep up with Ms. Souza on the latter!)

And then there's the last track, "Voce." Rather than acoustic, Mr. Monteiro swithces to electric guitar and, with the pedals, creates this vast, open sound similar to creations of Bill Frisell or Ben Monder. The vocalization with it is tremendous. A terrific end to a terrific album. Highly recommended. RC

Duos II turned out to be a real disappointment. It takes you on a boring journey to total boredom which eventually puts the listener to sleep. She is no Astrud Gilberto.

I prefer Rosa Passos. Luciana's voice has an uneven tone throughout most of this collection. She has a nice ability to do brief scats, but to my ear they do not add much musically, sounding more like technical agility than musical expression. Somehow the album lacks soulfulness.