A Kiss for Brazil

There's a catchy earworm refrain for "Wave", a consequence of Antonio Carlos Jobim writing the English version of "Vou te contar". the music and lyric of "the fundamental loneliness goes when two can dream a dream together" helped nudge a sly, sibilant tsunami throughout global music in the '60s via the new form of bossa nova. In A Kiss for Brazil, five-time Grammy nominee Karrin Allyson catches this wave with the grace and gusto of a Rio surfer, her third album dedicated to Brazil's musical glory, with her widely-spaced prior albums being From Paris to Rio (1999) and Imagina (2008).

The genesis of A Kiss for Brazil began when Allyson learned that rosa Passos was passing through New York, and so invited the veteran Brazilian singer guitarist-composer to cut a few tracks. the result was Passos contributing to two of the album's ten racks.
"Month of March in Salvador (Dunas)" is a relaxed, breathless bouncer, with Passos wistful yet piquant and both amiably weaving scat on the fade. Passos sings Jobim's "O Grande Amor", fragile and resilient as an orchid, while Allyson translates on the second chorus as Passos floats a wispy vocal filigree, leading to a graceful sharing of the final chorus. the opener, Djavan's "Flor de Lis", unveils Allyson's meticulous command of the Brazilian ethos, a tender-tough vibe with impassioned scatting. Other hits emerge as the band cozies up: a smoldering "the Island", a lilting "So Many Stars" by the Bergmans and late Sérgio Mendes (sweet accordion!), and Allyson running kittenish to joyous shout on Luiz Bonfá's mega-hit "Manha de Carnaval". Your reviewer first encountered the redoubtable, exuberant bassist Harvie S in 1975, deeply engaged in another power duo-with vocalist Sheila Jordan. Then as now, S responds all-in with empathy and passion, and solos on "the Gift" and the warm coda, a duo (Allyson on piano) of benny carter's "Only trust Your Heart". (the bassist also recommended the studio and even pitched in with the mixing.) Graciously complementary bandmates are Vitor Gonçalves (keyboards, accordion), Yotam Silberstein (guitar) and Rafael Barata (drums). "Antigua",
a particularly juicy exercise in Jobim's lyric-free pixellic acrobatics, elicits the band's best: Barata's cymbal wash, Gonçalves' delicate piano, Silberstein's gently bluesy guitar.

Each track brings smiles to the ear and celebrates Brazil's musical buoyancy, catching Jobim's wave and dreaming their dreams together