Kissed By Nature [Import]

Eliane Elias | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 24, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: RCA Victor/Bluebird
• ASIN: B00006JJ2N
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,775 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

She may be on a different label, but the beautiful, Brazilian-born, New York-based pianist-vocalist Eliane Elias is still delivering soft and swinging music hip and hot enough for North and South America. On this CD, with her longtime bassist Marc Johnson and drummers Joey Baron and Paulo Braga, Elias's elegant and elastic piano springs from the influences of Herbie Hancock, Art Tatum, and the European classical masters. That mix is heard beautifully on the hushed-toned "Apareceu" and the moving "September" and "October," which feature Randy Brecker on flugelhorn and muted trumpet. "Manhattan" is a soulful tribute to Elias's adopted hometown, and her birth country is represented by the bouncy bossa nova-choro "Luar." Along with her spare piano solos and her breathy vocals, both in English and Portuguese, Elias drops some cool, club-ready, electronica-style remixes of the title track and "Balance," courtesy of the Brazilian DJ collective Bossacucanova. Whether the groove is acoustic or electronic, jazz or samba, it's all Eliane Elias, and it's all good. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Product Description

Japanese pressing of the Brazilian jazz pianist/vocalist's 2002 album includes one bonus track 'Contigo Aprendi'. BMG. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just beautiful, November 17, 2002

By 

Jinkyu - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kissed By Nature (Audio CD)

Kissed by Nature is another display of the marvelous talents of Eliane Elias, who always produces nice music but with this release achieves a pinnacle of beauty. The lovely Brazilian pianist authored all of the songs, save a Djavan medley with some bouncier piano work. Most were written while she was by the beach in the Hamptons, and the CD title reflects the soft, pretty, reflective nature that characterizes most of the music, rather than the greater forcefulness that she often displays.

Ironically, "Manhattan" (where she resides, in fact in my neighborhoood) is the most bossa nova (and liveliest) of the compositions, with Paulo Andre Tavares' steady guitar plucking and the percussion reminiscent of the classics of Jobim and others. But the spirit of Brazil is also experienced in "Balance," a rhythmic tune with sultry vocals by Eliane focusing on the waves of Bahia, and in the more laid-back yet rich "Luar." On "October" and "September," Eliane's pretty piano and fleeting vocal presence are complemented by some fine horn work, mellow and ponderous with a jazzy texture. The title cut and "Balance" are given livelier expression in bonus tracks enhanced by excellent remixes with alluring, vibrating sound effects, produced by Bossacucanova, a Brazilian DJ team.

Eliane's piano work is delivered with masterful phrasing. Most of it is soft and sensuous, and all is plain beautiful, and the same is true of her singing. At times her vocals are wordless and ethereal, as on "Perere," or whispered, as on "A Volta" (which also has some overdubbing). I simply love Eliane's voice, and it is just as much of a treat as her superb piano work.

All of Eliane's music is enjoyable, but with Kissed by Nature I do not have to say "the better came before" because it is my favorite CD of hers that I own and one of my favorite of all. Beauty can be captured with intensity, but also with a softer touch, and it is with this that she triumphs here.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kissed By Nature: Like the First Time I Heard Bossa Nova, December 14, 2002

By 

Russell Golkow (Cherry Hill, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kissed By Nature (Audio CD)

I have been a lover of Brazilian music since the mid '60's, when, as a 14 year old, I first heard Astrud Gilberto croon her classic "Girl from Ipenema." Since then, I have collected hundreds of albums and CD's in this genre. When I heard Eliane Elias in her "The Best of Elaine Elias" and "Kissed by Nature" CD's, it was as if I were hearing Brazilian music for the first time all over again. There is a real sense of discovery in hearing Elias' sensuous, sophisticated melodies and rhythms. Her voice captures the wonderfully percussive/musical quality of Portugese lyrics sung in uniquely Brazilian style, matched perfectly by her mastery of piano, composition and arrangement. Everytime I listen to these albums, and after several weeks I remain addicted, I discover new rhythms, wonderful, brilliant harmonic progressions and much more that demonstrates that after decades, the "Brazilian invasion" is alive and well, and reinvented by this brilliant artist. For lovers of Brazilian music, these CD's are a must: buy these albums for yourself and give them as gifts -

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime, March 27, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kissed By Nature (Audio CD)

Eliane Elias has reached that point in a talented musician's life when skills have been established and true mastery begins. Her output during the past several years have shown a unique transposition of Brazilian music and American jazz. All too often such attempts sound like one form parroting or overwhelming the other but here Ms. Elias paints their colors with one brush. Her selection of musicians and her performance as composer, pianist, and singer are all flawless on this beautiful recording. This cd is a major event.