Customer Reviews

Samba Jazz Fantasia

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Duduka Da Fonseca, percussionist in the remarkable Trio da Paz, has recorded perhaps--no, certainly--the ultimate samba album.

First off, he's assembled maybe the Latin jazz ensemble of the century. How do you get Joe Lovano, Tom Harrell, David Sanchez, John Scofield, Kenny Werner, Romero Lubambo, Claudio Roditi, Billy Drewes, Dennis Irwin, Jay Ashby, Eddie Gomez, Helio Alves, Richard Perry, and several other top players on your gig? How do you get them integrated into your signature sound? How does this come out sounding so fresh, so spontaneous, so effortless, so seemless?

I don't know. The danger in projects of this type is a hodge-podge, a mishmash. What we've got here, instead, is, I believe, the ur-samba outing. If, like me, you're a devotee or Afro-Latin grooves, but have seldom encountered them working maximally (for me--before now--it's the two McCoy Tyner Latin outings), then this is the album you've been waiting your whole life for.

It all starts and ends with the samba groove. Older and more primative, more essential, than bossa nova--the fabulous beat popularized by Stan Getz, Tom Jobim, and Astrid Gilberto--samba has never before been so attractively rendered. That it could have been done in such a seemingly unwieldy setting (there are, after all, 22 different musicians contributing here) is all the more remarkable. Kudos to the headliner, who has managed to present samba in all its glory in such a remarkably wide musical context.

No false notes here, no missteps. Simply ravishingly beautiful settings of some of the most alluring and seductive rhythms to come from our neighbors to the south.

there are no words for this album. brilliant, exciting, riviting, seemless and hot do not come close to discribing the art of this album, something that can be either the centerpiece of a party because of it's dynamic range, or the underscore to a relaxing evening at home. this album is extremely versatile. ten thumbs up.

This is the solo album from the drummer of a group called "Trio da Paz", a brazilian group. The first cut is a samba in 15. The whole album is unbelievable to both musicians and any one with a love for samba music. Recommended highly