New releases last eight weeks: Jazz

Review: Brazilian legends Azymuth have been back in focus for a few years now and even playing the European festival circuit. Their legacy was assured long ago with countless super silky jazz, MPB, funk, Latin and salsa fusion sounds that work on any dance floor as well as outdoors in the shining sun. Azymuth: Live at Copacabana Palace is a thrilling testament to the jazz-funk trio's legendary status as it captures the group's electrifying virtuosity and infectious energy. From the hypnotic to the soulful, it's a masterclass in musicality and improvisation that really highlights the chemistry between members Ivan Conti, Alex Malheiros, and Kiko Continentino. A must-have for any Azymuth fan.

Review: Joao Donato's Muito A Vontade is a superb trip into the heart of Brazilian jazz. Released in 1962, this record showcases Donato's virtuosity as a pianist and composer, blending samba rhythms with jazz harmonies in a seamless fusion. Tracks all come with vibrant melody and exemplify his unique style, brimming with infectious hooks and rhythmic vitality. With its laid-back charm and sophisticated arrangements, Muito A Vontade captures the essence of bossa nova's golden era as Donato's effortless musicality and inventive improvisations make this even more essential.

Review: What drives Amaro Freitas in life is experience. In 2020 the pianist, who hails from the Northeastern Brazilian coastal city of Recife, was drawn to Manaus, located in the Amazon basin, some 4600 kilometers to the west. His experience in that lush wilderness led him into a new realm of musical creation, one rooted in magic and possibility and tempered by a sense of stewardship for the earth's bounties and a connection to the Satere Mawe indigenous community. Crucial to the experience for Freitas was the maintenance of a true exchange of knowledge. According to Freitas, in the resulting album, Y'Y (pronounced: eey-eh, eey-eh), he pays "homage to the forest, especially the Amazon Forest, and the rivers of Northern Brazil: a call to live, feel, respect, and care for nature, recognizing it as our ancestor." This album is an artful conversation between its traditions, rooted in the unique sounds and rituals found in Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous cultures. With Y'Y, Freitas further codifies his fresh, 'decolonized' interpretation of Brazilian jazz, one that may well shatter preconceived notions of what jazz can be.

Review: Amaro Freitas, hails from Recife, Brazil, and is propelled through life through by searching out different experiences. Venturing to Manaus in the Amazon basin in 2020 before starting work on this album, pianist Freitas immersed himself in a transformative journey that influenced his musical creation profoundly. Collaborating with the Satere Mawe indigenous community, his album Y'Y pays homage to nature and ancestral wisdom. Through tracks like 'Mapinguari (Encantado da Mata)' and 'Uiara (Encantada da Agua) - Life and Cure,' Freitas weaves tales of powerful spirits and mystical encounters. Incorporating elements from Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous cultures, the record is a significant exploration of connection, tradition, and the incandescent power of enchanted spirits.

Review: Passarinho Urbano (Urban Bird) is the album-length result of a chance encounter between singer and musician Joyce Moreno and producer Sergio Bardotti in Rome, Italy. Thoroughly relaxed and recharged after a long break in the city, Moreno's rejuvenated state of mind lent immediately to a spur-of-the-moment reimagining of some of her favourite classical Brazilian MPB and bossa nova standards, some of whose original composers were leading lights of the underground cultural resistance during the country's military dictatorship by the Brazilian Army during the 1960s. With a soft-spoken, intimate vocal intonation by Moreno, and a composition centring on slow-building, rhythmically deft call-and-response cantos, this album deserves its longstanding status as a secret masterpiece, a status which'll surely be renewed once more by this first-time-worldwide reissue by Week-End Records.

Review: Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Jards Macale's eponymous album gets a special reissue to remind us why it remains such a classic. Originally dropped back in 1972, Macale's debut effortlessly blends Brazilian folk, samba, and experimental rock while showcasing his uniquely eclectic musical vision. The album's raw energy and poetic lyricism reflect the tumultuous political climate of its time and as well as resonating with audiences then it will do so again now. Macale's soulful vocals and innovative guitar work shine throughout, while the arrangements are both intimate and expansive and each track captivates with its depth and emotion.