He may not actually be Brazilian by heritage but the German-Spanish songwriter, arranger, guitarist and sound artist Wolfgang Pérez has delivered one of my favourite records to come out of Rio de Janeiro this year. His ‘outsider’s’ viewpoint and with a brilliant crew of Carioca musicians and the recording environment of the acclaimed Wolf Estúdio to create in, has enabled Wolfgang to stretch his already stunning compositional and arranging talents to new heights. Read / Listen.
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Letieres Leite & Orkestra Rumpilezz 'Moacir De Todos Os Santos' (Lusofonia Record Club) - a review
Before his sad death in late 2021, the Bahian born composer, arranger, percussionist, musician, cultural educator and teacher Letieres Leite conceived of and led the 22 piece Orkestra Rumpilezz through this majestic reinterpretation of Moacir Santos’ 1965 classic of big band Brazilian jazz - “Coisas”. Leite never got to witness the release but we can and it is an astonishingly well produced, performed and artistically inspired record. See for yourself here. Read / Listen
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Tagua Tagua 'Tanto' (Wonderwheel Recordings) - a review
Tagua Tagua is São Paulo’s Felipe Puperi and his first LP for Nickodemus’ label Wonderwheel Recordings contains ten love songs of sun-drenched, hook-laden gloriousness. “Imagine Marcos Valle, D’Angelo, John Carroll Kirby, Eddie Chacon and Bobby Caldwell in full lush mode, loved up and subsisting on a diet of Philly Soul and the orchestral ambition of SAULT’s Inflo and you’re nearly there.” Read / Listen…
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Gabriel da Rosa 'É o que a casa Oferece' (Stones Throw Records) - a review
Created in the late 1950s, the bossa nova genre never seems to fade away and here on Peanut Butter Wolf’s Stones Throw Records label, a new and fresh addition to the canon has been unleashed. Featuring Pedro Dom and Azymuth's Ivan Conti Mamão, Gabriel da Rosa has delivered a sparkling, lushly orchestrated tribute to the genre and to his childhood memories. Read / Listen.
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