Imagina: Songs of Brazil (Concord Jazz)
Karrin Allyson
Released March 25, 2008
Grammy Nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Album 2009
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n5NXtjLeA868w6bqSTo_0sauSL1IWK-Cs
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2von5yelYVE6BeBNWDR7Av?si=SNIpxaG0SNy5Hu_hcLD-nQ
About:
I began this recording project as I do all others, wanting to sing songs I love with players I love. Since there are far too many songs and players I love to put them all on a single album, one has to choose, of course. During this process, my dear friend and “Brazilian mentor,” Lúcia Guimarães, was coaching me on my Portuguese pronunciation for the various songs I had already chosen. At the time, I had been reading a lot about Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes and was lamenting the fact that I had not chosen more songs that were penned by them—there are so many great ones. One particular day that Lúcia and I were together, I expressed this idea to her and she proceeded to show me several lesser known (at least to me) gems by Jobim (such as “Imagina” and “Correnteza”), de Moraes (such as “Medo de Amar”), and Jobim/de Moraes collaborations (such as “Estrada Branca”)—songs that I immediately fell in love with.
So, although the concept of recording an album of Brazilian songs wasn’t changing, many of the song choices were—and this was less than three weeks before we were scheduled to record! For me—a non-native speaker of Portuguese—this presented a real challenge: learning all that Portuguese and new material in such a short amount of time. But, as Leonard Bernstein said, “To achieve great things, two things are needed; a great idea and not nearly enough time.” Also it has been said that “revelations take time.” Ha! With this in mind, we went a step further as I was also very keen on making this recording “user friendly” to non-Portuguese speakers/listeners. I wanted folks to get these songs no matter what language they speak, while trying to remain as true to the Brazilian feel and sound as possible.
Enter Chris Caswell. On our previous recording project, Footprints, Chris wrote beautiful lyrics to well-known jazz instrumental standards. Why not tap his talents for this project too? He was (of course) game, and I am delighted to be the first to record his new English lyrics to Vinicius de Moraes’s “Medo de Amar” and Edu Lobo’s “Pra Dizer Adeus.” It’s hard for me now to imagine these songs without his lyrics. Along with Chris’s new lyrics, I’ve also included a very sensual English lyric by Paul Williams to Rosa Passos’s song “Outono,” lovely English lyrics by Susannah McCorkle (“A Felicidade” and “Vivo Sonhando”), Jon Hendricks’s classic English lyric to “Desafinado,” and the sweet English lyrics of Gene Lees to “Estrada Branca” and “Double Rainbow.” So, while many of the songs on this recording feature the alluring beauty of the original Portuguese lyrics only (what a gorgeous, poetic sounding language!), I am pleased to be able to present several of the songs with wonderful English lyrics too.
But truly the most important language in this project, and easily the most universally understood, is that of the Brazilian music—that evocative, intoxicating combination of unforgettable melodies, rich harmonies, and infectious rhythms. Whatever your native language is, I hope that these Songs of Brasil speak directly to your heart, as they have to mine.
Karrin Allyson
Track Listing:
1. A Felicidade (Happiness) 4:20
2. Correnteza 2:27
3. So Tinha de Ser Com Voce 3:45
4. Medo de Amar (Surrender the Soul) 3:42
5. O Morro Nao Tem Vez (Favela) 5:18
6. Estrada Branca (This Happy Madness) 4:49
7. Outono (Stay) 5:02
8. Double Rainbow 5:32
9. Imagina 2:54
10. Desafinado (Slightly Out of Tune) 5:13
11. Pra Dizer Adeus (Time to Say Goodbye) 4:46
12. Vivo Sonhando (Living on Dreams) 4:48
13. Estrada Do Sol 3:06
14. E Com Esse que Eu Vou 4:43
Personnel:
Karrin Allyson: vocals
Rod Fleeman: acoustic guitar
Gil Goldstein: piano and accordion
David Finck: acoustic bass
Todd Strait: drums
Michael Spiro: percussion
Steve Nelson: vibraphone and marimba
Produced by Karrin Allyson & Nick Philips
Associate Producer: Bill McGlaughlin
Recorded and Mixed by Josiah Gluck
Review:
Karrin Allyson has crafted a delightful and loving salute to songs of
Brazil on Imagina. As stated in the liner notes, she wanted to
“sing songs I love with players that I love.” And that she has done.
Accompanied by Gil Goldstein (piano and accordion), Rod Fleeman (acoustic
guitar), David Finck (acoustic bass), Todd Strait (drums), Michael Spiro
(percussion) and Steve Nelson (vibraphone and marimba), Allyson sails through
14 selections singing in both Portuguese and English. The material has been
chosen mostly from the Antonio Carlos Jobim catalogue (but not the songs that
have been overdone) as well as other Brazilian songwriters. Some of the songs
are done only in Portuguese, others in Portuguese and English and two in
English only (“Desifinado” and “Vivo Sonando,” the latter
with lyrics by Susannah McCorkle).
Allyson has a voice of many colors. She can
capture the delicacy of a melody and also can display a slight raspiness of
tone for a more dramatic impact. Her diction is precise in both languages and
she is able to convey the emotional quality of each song even if you don’t
understand the language. She does a masterful job of navigating her way through
the lovely twisting melody of Jobim’s “Double Rainbow” and a
sensitive reading of the title track, the first song Jobim ever wrote. But most
notable is her rendition of a true love song, “Outono (Stay),” which
has a wonderfully sensual English lyric by Paul Williams.
Allyson also gives her musicians a chance to shine. Goldstein racks up
several strong piano statements and makes his accordion sound like an Argentine
bandoneon on Edu Lobo’s haunting “Pra Dizer Adeus (Time To Say
Goodbye).” Worth mentioning is Finck’s lyrical bass work on “Estrada
Branca (This Happy Madness) and Nelson’s vibraphone on “Desafinado,”
which is reminiscent of Gary Burton’s early ’60s work with Stan Getz.
In this 50th anniversary year of the bossa
nova, Imagina stands out. The Brazilians have captured the art
of celebrating life in their songs and Karrin Allyson has captured the songs of
Brazil in this offering.
Marcia Hillman (All About Jazz)
