Customer Reviews

Tucuma

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

 

 

This album was announced as "new Bossa Nova" - which turns out to be something like "Bossa Nova Nova", hm, well... in Germany, there used to be a jazz festival called "Post This, Neo That". So much for this.
Tucuma is another example for the strong capability of some contemporary Brazilian musicians to link their tradition directly with oversears and directly with the future (Like Lenine, Caetano, Daude). It's amazing: There's the relaxed voice and acoustic guitar playing of Vinicius Cantuaria, his rich compositions, then there's Bill Frisell and some other New Yorkers bringing in their interpretation of Brazil, and then there is an additional layer of sample/loop/sound-design behind everything - and it works. You will enjoy this album over and over again, there's a richness of detail that invites closer listening and never fails to reveal some further beauty.

Get this! Very little chance of anyone who's not tone-deaf being disappointed by this disc! I found the CD of "Tucuma' Used and bought it immediately after I downloaded "Agua Rasa," (from Cantauria's most recent album), which is the single most poetic and beautiful song they have for free-download at Amazon.

The first tune on "Tucuma": "Amor Brasileiro," is in the same vein and maybe even better than "Agua Rasa"; too bad you can't hear a sample here. It's one of the most romantic songs I've ever heard but it's more than just simple 'romance,' this guy has a poet's sensibility that pushes his tunes far above anyone else. He's in a class of his own like Gilberto and Jobim but his musicianship and sound concept is more influenced by modern pop and experimental sounds than straight Jazz (he even has a wonderfully eccentric tribute instrumental written for Ryuichi Sakamoto). And he's totally into his own thing, and sometimes even progressive enough to be in avant-garde territory as in the tune "Retirante" featuring a guest appearence by Laurie Anderson. Also: surprise of surprises, Sean Lennon, the son of the ultra-famous you know who and who, plays bass guitar on some of these tunes alongside New York jazz scene heavyweights. The great guitarist Bill Frisell makes an invaluable contribution to the sound and some tunes also add great eccentric understated string arrangments that never ever get in the way of the heart and soul of Canuaria's art but add sophistication and spice. Believe me, no one hates string sections more than me when they're not done right, and all the arrangements here are damn near perfect. In fact, my least favorite tune is the one that sounds the most like Getz/Gilberto and has a sax solo on it: "Maravilhar". There might have been some pressure to write at least one sort of 'familiar' tune like this, I don't know, but everything else is rooted in Bossa yet quite fresh and anti-rehash.

All in all, 8 out of 11 tunes on this album I never program around them and the other 3 I sometimes put in as a variation which is to say, it merits a high recommendation indeed!

P.S. If you like this album, check out "na rua, na chuva, na fazenda..." by Hyldon which is not just a classic of 1970s Brazilian music, unknown in the USA, but one of the greatest soul albums ever made, on a par with anything by Bobby Womack, Marvin Gaye or Bill Withers.

As a long time fan of Jobim's music and Joao Gilberto's muted guitar chords/off-beat vocals , I am delighted to see that their ground-breaking idiom, after almost 40 years, still lends itself to fresher sounds. Cantuaria has a rounded,earthly voice in contrast to fragile tone of Gilberto. But the comparison must end there : he does sing effortlessly and meditatively. The real beauty of this album is in the sparse/modern instrumentation. Check out Nana Vasconcelos with his haunting berimbau in Joia, a clever song about happiness. Enjoy these minimalist and tasteful song collection in an age of excess productions.

Vinicius Cantuaria is an artist with a stunning resume. Born in Manaus, the style of his music tends to connect different states of Brazil with a sound that will paint a picture of nature in your mind. He's worked with talented musicians from all over; Ryiuchi Sakamoto, David Byrne, Arto Lindsay, Bill Frissell, Jaques Morelenbaum and many many others. From this list you can imagine that Vinicius is of a more classical and musically rich sound and "Tucuma" to me is a good example of this.

The feel of the cd is very acoustic with a few sound effects at different times and slight electronic dashes in select tracks. But to stress it, this is a very acoustic album wit ha traditional feel. It starts out with Amor Brasileiro, a track with no real bass at all. Just his haunting yet easy voice over the guitars. Maravilhar is a track that has a nice samba beat in the background - very very romantic. Sanfona kicks it up a little bit, but then it's sraight into acoustic bliss with Aracaju. "Pra Gil" - the music is like the moment just before the sun melts into the landscape. But the lyrics... tell a different tale. This is a cd that reminds me of the fall, the leaves changing and countryside roads along the coast.

This is NOT an album that will inspire you to jump out of bed and run a few sprints. But I do like this album - maybe not as much as "Vinicius" which came afterwards, but maybe as much as "Sol Na Cara". The music is great and the songs are very rich and I'd recommend it to anyone that's already a fan of his work, or looking for something more relaxed. And if you dig this, you'd probably like music by Celso Fonseca. Vinicius Cantuaria has a few more releases out too - one new one titled "Horse & Fish" and a live performance. Only a few days ago he performed live in NYC and before that Washington DC but I think he's now in Europe.

This album is okay, but not near the achievement of the follow up "Vinicius." "Sol Na Cara" the album preceeding this one is pretty good too. I had the pleasure of witness Mr. Cantuaria live in NYC's Tonic bar not too long ago and it was an amazing set. Apparently there is a new live double CD out now (2003) but it's difficult to find.