Encontros: Meetings

Nilson Matta | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 11, 2000)
• Original Release Date: July 11, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Malandro Records
• ASIN: B00004U2Y2
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #478,645 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Summer in San Francisco

2. Baden

3. Amor Em Paz (Once I Loved)

4. Chorinho No. 2

5. Rosa

6. Junity

7. Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)

8. Prague in March

9. Forests (Let Them Be Free)

10. This Is for Luisa

11. O Ovo (The Egg)

Editorial Reviews

From Jazziz

Since bossa nova opened the door in the late 1950s for what's increasingly known today as "Brazilian jazz," bassists have been an important part of the instrumental mix, although they've typically been cast in supporting roles. Bossa purists will speak reverentially of such bassists as Tião Neto, Luiz Chavez, Bebeto, and Edson Lobo, but even though they labored long and skillfully, few if any of those notables established an identity as a soloist comparable to, say, Charles Mingus, Ron Carter, Stanley Clark, and a multitude of others in the jazz world.

Rio de Janeiro-born Nilson Matta is a notable exception. Co-founder - along with guitarist Romero Lubambo and drummer Duduka Da Fonseca - of the group Trio Da Paz, Matta has greatly expanded his stylistic point of reference since moving from Rio to New York City in 1985. In the company of his two Trio Da Paz compatriots, he shares the bill with harmonica and mallet master Hendrik Meurkens on Encontros (Encounters) (Malandro Records), an album that both expands the parameters of Brazilian jazz and the jazz credentials of the two leaders and their cohorts. Indeed, it's one of but a few Brazilian albums ever led by a bass player.

If Matta is ready to step out on his own, it's partly because of the enormously rewarding tenures he served in the groups of such renowned leaders as Joe Henderson, Paquito D'Rivera, Claudio Roditi, Herbie Mann, and Don Pullen. "Don, in particular, showed me how to play inside and outside without getting lost," Matta says of the late avant-garde pianist. Pullen's influence can be heard on the Hermeto Pascoal tune, "O Ovoí (The Egg)."

Matta's continued growth as an artist is evident throughout Encontros. He steps back into a supporting role on two tracks sung by Maucha Adnet and when Meurkens solos on marimba on the multi-instrumentalist's captivating composition "Prague in March." Elsewhere, he does what few Brazilian bassists before him have been allowed to do - create long-form improvisational statements.

One of the session's standout tracks, sure to command attention for its complex arrangement and strong improvisational element, is "Baden," a Matta original dedicated to the great bossa nova guitarist Baden Powell.

The arrangement of "Baden" is built around the interwoven theme of a Bach prelude, and features the leader's bass in an extended solo that ranges far outside the jazz-samba groove. Pianist Helio Alves, a revelation on this date, and co-leader Meurkens also stretch enthusiastically, responding to the song's ebullient mood. "Doing arrangements in a certain way, like on this song, is a kind of composition in and of itself," Matta explains. "You add colors on top of something already made. It's fun."

Also fun is working with a core of excellent Brazilian players who, although they now make New York City their home, still have their hearts in Rio. Drummer Da Fonseca, perhaps the best Brazilian trap drummer of his generation, plays with an uncommon mix of finesse and drive. Of pianist Alves, Matta says, "Since he arrived in New York in 1993, we've been good friends, and we played in Joe Henderson's band for three years - he's a marvelous soloist."

--Mark Holston, JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meetings --- excellent Brazillian influenced Jazz!, October 26, 2007

By 

Dayzee D - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Encontros: Meetings (Audio CD)

I love Brazillian Jazz, starting from the days of Jobim and the Bossa Nova craze (even earlier actually). Matta & Meurkens really groove in the tradition of that wistful, rhythmic and tone rich genre from Brazil. Easy listening with the mind drifting off to mellow places while great syncopated kick keeps you constantly in motion.