Crossing Paths (Smoke Sessions)
Renee Rosnes
Released December 6, 2024
All About Jazz Best Jazz Albums of 2024
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About:
Some paths meet at a single crossroads then move on along their predetermined journeys. Others crisscross again and again, each juncture altering their directions and destinations until the two become indelibly intertwined.
The latter has been the case for the renowned pianist and composer Renee Rosnes and her lifelong love of Brazilian music. The two converge with stunning results on CROSSING PATHS, Rosnes’ new release, instantly marking a highlight of her already remarkable career.
It finds Rosnes leading a stellar band exploring masterpieces from the songbooks of Brazil’s most revered composers, entrancingly melding the beguiling rhythms of bossa nova, frevo, samba, afoxé, and other styles with Rosnes’ visionary approach to modern jazz. The pianist is joined by a phenomenal band mixing American jazz masters (saxophonist Chris Potter, trombonist Steve Davis, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Adam Cruz) with contemporary Brazilian voices (guitarist Chico Pinheiro, percussionist Rogério Boccato and vocalist Maucha Adnet) and the classical flutist Shelley Brown, who is a longtime member of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra.
Thrillingly, the album is graced by special guest appearances from legendary artists and composers Edu Lobo and Joyce Moreno, who perform their own classic songs. Both provide a direct link from Rosnes’ contemporary interpretations to “the second generation” post-Bossa Nova era, granting this gorgeous new album the imprimatur of some of the music’s pioneering artists.
Like most North American listeners, Rosnes’ path first crossed that of the great Brazilian composers through the immortal songs of Antônio Carlos Jobim, soon followed by NATIVE DANCER, Wayne Shorter’s classic 1975 collaboration with Milton Nascimento. Her passion was truly ignited in her late teens when she discovered the iconic singer Elis Regina, who became a superstar in her native Brazil before her tragic death at the age of 36.
“I love her music,” Rosnes marvels. “Hearing Elis sing made an instant and indelible impact on me. Several of the songs and composers on this recording, I initially discovered through her recordings.”
While CROSSING PATHS is the first project that Rosnes has wholly dedicated to Brazilian music, it’s far from her only exploration of the songbook. Her adoration of the music can be traced throughout her career. Her Juno Award-winning 1996 Blue Note album ANCESTORS opened with Edu Lobo’s “Upa Neguinho,” and 1999s ART & SOUL included Egberto Gismonti’s “Sanfona.” Jobim’s catalogue is represented by “Modinha” on MANHATTAN RAIN (2012) and by “Double Rainbow” on her 2010 two-piano outing with husband Bill Charlap, DOUBLE PORTRAIT.
Rosnes’ most extensive opportunity delving into the repertoire came in 1998 when she was enlisted by Joyce Moreno (also known by the one-word sobriquet Joyce) for the singer-guitarist’s 1998 tribute album, ASTRONAUTA: CANÇÕES DE ELIS [Songs of Elis]. For that outing, she split piano duties with the late, great Mulgrew Miller and was thrilled to record the Jobim classic “Waters of March” with bossa nova titan Dori Caymmi sharing vocal duties.
“I was honored to have been a part of Joyce’s special tribute to Elis,” Rosnes recalls.
Moreno, now 76, returns the favor on CROSSING PATHS to sing a mesmerizing rendition of her song “Essa Mulher,” originally recorded as the title track of a 1979 Elis Regina album and a year later by Moreno herself on FEMININA. The first verse unfolds as a graceful, delicate piano/voice duet before the band enters gently, highlighted by Davis’ sensitive trombone accompaniment.
The album’s other special guest, Edu Lobo, joins for two of his own gems. His relationship with Rosnes began when she received an Instagram message from the singer-songwriter praising her recording of “Upa Neguinho.” A digital pen pal friendship was struck up, bearing fruit on his pair of striking vocals on “Pra Dizer Adeus” and “Casa Forte.” Rosnes’ own voice can also be heard on “Pra Dizer Adeus” as she sings along in unison with her improvised piano solo. At 81, Lobo’s voice is only enriched by age, vividly conveying the songs’ emotional complexity despite language barriers.
CROSSING PATHS opens with a spirited take on Gismonti’s “Frevo,” with Rosnes, Pinheiro, and Brown as the fluid frontline. Brown is one of Rosnes’ oldest friends, dating back to their days as roommates at the University of Toronto. The session offered Rosnes her first opportunity to play with Pinheiro, surprisingly given how magically their two voices combine on their exhilarating duet inventions here, which follow a virtuosic turn by Patitucci on electric bass.
“There’s a wildly compelling athleticism to Egberto Gismonti’s music,” says Rosnes. “Whether listening to it or playing it, you get pulled into a strong vortex of energy.”
Caetano Veloso’s “Trilhos Urbanos” is a Brazilian anthem depicting the bustling streetcars of his Bahia hometown, Santo Amaro, here fueling lively solos by Davis, Pinheiro, and the leader. While she could have opted for any number of familiar Jobim melodies for the date, Rosnes chose the more obscure “Canta, Canta Mais.” The song is stirringly rendered by the Rio-born contralto Maucha Adnet, who spent ten years singing with Antonio Carlos Jobim and his Nova Banda. Adnet invited the band to join her with vocals, in keeping with the lyric (which translates as, “Sing, Sing More”). The album concludes with a return to Jobim for “Caminhos Cruzados,” which translates to “Crossing Paths” featuring a second intoxicating Adnet vocal and a poignant piano solo.
“There’s a certain vulnerability to Maucha’s voice,” Rosnes says. “Even though I’m not conversant in Portuguese, it’s easy to hear that she is a gifted storyteller. There is a beautiful humanity and spirituality coming through the lyric.”
Chris Potter joins the ensemble for three tracks. Lobo’s classic “Casa Forte” features a sprightly soprano solo leading directly into Rosnes dancing across the keys. Gilberto Gil’s “Amor Até O Fim” finds his muscular tenor sparring with Rosnes’ grooving Rhodes, while Milton Nascimento’s “Estórias da Floresta” reprises the tenor/Rhodes combo over an evocative rhythm forest conjured by Cruz and Boccato. The piece comes from Nascimento’s 1990 album TXAI, which was inspired by the composer’s desire to bring more attention to the plight of the Amazon rain forest and its indigenous people.
The song’s environmental concerns resonate with Rosnes’ own, which she’s expressed on albums like her 2018 release BELOVED OF THE SKY.
While CROSSING PATHS could be seen as a departure for Rosnes, it arrives as the culmination of a long-held dream, realized brilliantly. “This project was sparked in my mind about three decades ago,” she says. “I’ve always been passionate about the music of Brazil, and finally, the time felt right to embark on it. With this band, I knew I was with players who hold great respect and love for this music, and that together we could make these songs come alive in the way I had imagined.”
Track Listing:
1. Frevo (Egberto Gismonti) 4:42
2. Pra Dizer Adeus (Edu Lobo / Torquato Neto) 4:15
3. Trilhos Urbanos (Caetano Veloso) 5:12
4. Canta, Canta Mais (Antônio Carlos Jobim / Vinicius de Moraes) 3:40
5. Casa Forte (Edu Lobo) 4:47
6. Essa Mulher (Joyce Moreno / Ana Terra) 4:42
7. Amor Até O Fim (Gilberto Gil) 4:30
8. Estorias Da Floresta (Milton Nascimento / Fernando Brant) 3:00
9. Caminhos Cruzados (Antônio Carlos Jobim / Newton Mendonça) 4:10
Personnel:
Renee Rosnes: piano (1-6, 9), Fender Rhodes (1, 3, 5, 7, 8), vocals (2, 4), melodica (3)
Edu Lobo: vocals (2, 4)
Joyce Moreno: vocals (6)
Maucha Adnet: vocals (4, 9),
Chris Potter: soprano saxophone (5), tenor saxophone (5, 7, 8)
Steve Davis: trombone (3, 5-7)
Shelley Brown: flute (1, 4), vocals (4), alto flute (5)
Chico Pinheiro: guitar
John Patitucci: electric bass (1, 3, 5, 7), acoustic bass (2, 4, 6, 8, 9), vocals (4)
Adam Cruz: drums (1-3, 5-9)
Rogerio Boccato: percussion, vocals (4)
Recorded on June 17 & 18, 2024, at Sear Sound Studio C, New York City
Produced by Paul Stache & Renee Rosnes
Production Assisted by Damon Smith
Recorded by Chris Allen
Recording Assisted by Maximilian Troppe
Mixed by Chris Allen & Paul Stache
Mastered by Chris Allen
Photography by John Abbott
Liner Notes by Marc Myers
Executive Producers: Paul Stache & Molly Johnson
Review:
In the course of a career that began in the 1980s and continues to flourish, Renee Rosnes has developed an extraordinary sound, both as a composer and as a pianist, one that is readily recognizable whatever the context. With Crossing Paths, she taps into longstanding affinities and affection for Brazilian music, illuminating elements and flavors that distinguish her singular style, animating the band and the material with her arranging magic.
She opens the curtain with “Frevo,” grabbing the listener’s ear with Egberto Gismonti’s “wildly compelling athleticism,” as she calls it, matching it with her own dazzling dexterity and that of her bandmates, the virile virtuosity of John Patitucci on electric bass, Adam Cruz’s motivating drums, Chico Pinheiro’s fleet guitar, Shelley Brown’s glittering flute. As she put it, “you get pulled into a strong vortex of energy.” In a multipart arrangement that still manages to come in under five minutes, she creates forward flow by setting the ensemble in diverse ways, enlivening the discourse with action-packed little interludes, tension-building send-offs, mercurial backgrounds, powerful ostinatos, textural contrast, pulsing unison, improvisatory counterpoint, colorful back-and-forth and subtle layering.
Wordless background singing—placed way down in the mix—is a signature feature of her arranging style, adding a fragility to the sound, a humanness. She frequently employs her own unadorned voice, and those of her ensemble members. A few notable examples are here. On Crossing Paths, she alters the mix, the band’s voices moving into the foreground as they join Maucha Adnet in harmony on Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Canta, Canta Mais” (Sing, Sing More), affirming Vinicius De Moraes’ lyric, that “quem canta o mal espanta” (who sings scares away evil). The coup, though, is Edu Lobo’s “Pra Dizer Adeus” (To Say Goodbye), where she doubles her piano line. Rarely has she presented her voice as up-front and on-mic as she does here, creating a blended sound that is simply beautiful, responding to Lobo, who sings the lyric with an intimate tenderness. Torquato Neto’s words are in Portuguese, but at the end, her piano—after a pregnant pause—seems to intone its own “goodbye” in English.
Lobo—whose “Casa Forte” is delightfully Rosnesized here as well—is one of two distinguished second-generation bossa nova composer-performers to contribute to Crossing Paths, singing their own compositions. Joyce Moreno offers the bittersweet “Essa Mulher,” which Elis Regina introduced on Elis, Essa Mulher (Warner Brothers, 1979), a year before it appeared on Moreno’s superb Feminina (Odeon, 1980). Moreno seems to turn the melody into one long sinewy line, which threads its way through Ana Terra’s lyric, spinning the tale of a day in the complicated life of “this woman.” Adnet, who sang with Jobim’s Banda Nova for a decade, was in similarly strong voice for the date, negotiating leaps between registers with ease on his “Canta, Canta Mais” and sailing through “Caminhos Crusados.” Lobo’s vocal performance on “Casa Forte” and “Pra Dizer Adeus” is, likewise, subtly supple and genuine.
Beyond being a program of wonderful tunes in marvelous performances, there is a rich timbral depth to savor on this album, from Chris Potter’s bodacious soprano on “Casa Forte” to Steve Davis’ trombone and Rosnes’ Rhodes on “Até o Fim” to Rogerio Boccato’s multihued percussion. Like Duke Ellington and other preeminent jazz arranger-composers, Rosnes writes for her collaborators, framing their work to enhance its radiance, creating a greater whole.
Katchie Cartwright (All About Jazz)
