Customer Reviews

Poems of Elizabeth Bishop

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

 

 

I heard a tune from this CD on the radio, and I ordered it because Chris Cheek, the tenor player, really caught my ear. He is all over this disc, and plays beautifully. As does the pianist Bruce Barth.

What emerges, though, is Luciana Souza's beautiful voice, infused with lightness and unpretentious ease, and the great ability to navigate the difficult terrain of the fascinating but challenging music presented here.

For weeks, this was the only disc I listened to, and I played it for every musician and listener I know.

Each listening reveals something new. The virtuosity of the performers, and the care with which they treat the material. The compositions themselves (written and arranged by Ms. Souza). The compelling lyrics, mostly poems by Elizabeth Bishop, some by Ms. Souza. The cohesiveness and interplay and artfulness of the ensemble, who charge this music with an energy that can only happen when musicians move and breathe as one.

A musician friend observed that Ms. Souza was brilliant not only as a writer and performer, but as the assembler of an ensemble talented and sympathetic enough to bring this music to life so beautifully.

There is so much to hear here. You may be captivated first by the pianist, or the saxophonist, the great bassist and drummer, or the beauty of the singing--but gradually, something else will emerge that you love, that you didn't notice before--and you'll never hear it the same way again.

Singing in English, Brazilian-born vocalist Luciana Souza leads this jazz-drenched tribute to American poet Elizabeth Bishop, who lived as an expatriate in Brazil for nearly two decades in the 1950s and '60s, and was a figure of considerable controversy in Brazilian literary circles. On some of these tracks, Souza's amorphous, scatting approach may obscure the lyrics, although on other songs, particularly the slower ballads, Bishop's verses lend themselves admirably to musical interpretation. In addition to the adapted poems, this disc also features several straight jazz instrumentals, generally of a free-form, exploratory nature. An interesting project, and one which may help draw new attention to this contemplative, notoriously unprolific, and somewhat tragic writer.

North & South was the first CD I bought. Luciana's voice surprised me. I have never heard anything like this. After listened so many times I decided to know more about her and buy other stuff. The Poems of Elizabeth Bishop and Other Songs is a great album. The first track is my favourite. I play it everyday. She is a mature singer with a very solid background.

excellent creative production. not as exciting as her other works, but more interesting with each hearing

It's not front-loaded, but stick with it & it'll draw you in.

I got a copy yesterday and sold it today...Luciana's voice is difficult to hear distinctly, and the production is overdone. If you are looking for albums by good Brazilian singers, try anything by Elis Regina, Gal Costa, Zizi Possi or even newcomers such as Rosa Passos, Ithamara Koorax and Leila Pinheiro.

This is pretentious, boring, self-conscious blather. The composing is downright bad. Anybody can hire great musicians to play on their CDs. I've heard a lot of of raves about Ms. Souza and I can't figure it out, but it seems that the public relations machine has done its job well. Avoid...