Saudade
Renato Braz (tenor)
Paul Winter Consort
Dimitri Pokrovsky Ensemble
rec. Living Music Studio in Litchfield, Connecticut; Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City; Dancape Studio and Teatro Fecap, Sao Paulo, dates not provided
Lyrics in Portuguese and English.
LIVING MUSIC LMU-48 [72:10]
Saudade is a Portuguese term for longing, a nostalgic, bittersweet yearning for something lost, or something always wanted, a memory and a desire for it again. This passion is aptly captured by the talented Brazilian tenor Renato Braz, joined by the Paul Winter Consort, Ivan Lins, Dori Caymmi, and the Dimitri Pokrovsky Ensemble, in this collection of 15 ballads from some of Brazil’s finest song writers.
Renato has a natural, unaffected singing style, and sings in Portuguese, lending an inherently melodic color. He brings a melancholy feel to each number, a sad and hopeful wistfulness that is even more pronounced by the sensitive and beautiful musical accompaniment. One of his most popular songs, Anabela, was composed by Mario Gil, with lyrics by Paulo Cesar Pinheiro. The song is a slow, gentle ballad, as are all tunes in this collection, with Renato singing and performing on acoustic guitar, accompanied by oboist Paul McCandless, cellist Eugene Friesen, bassist Sizao Machado, drummer Gordon Gottlieb, percussionist Bre, and Paul Winter on soprano sax. O cantador, (The Singer) was composed by guitarist and songwriter Dori Caymmi and music legend Nelson Mota. The song was later translated into an English version, Like A Lover with lyrics by Marilyn and Alan Bergman. Renato’s version features a gentle saxophone solo by Paul Winter, and a slow, fluid bossa rhythm accompaniment by pianist Don Grusin and guitarist Gerson Oikawa. Eu nao existo sem voce, (I Do Not Exist Without You) was written by the team of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. Dori Caymmi provided the arrangement as well as guitar accompaniment. Acqua Marcia, (Running Water) was composed by Ivan Lins, to a poem written by Marina Colasanti. The song features Ivan accompanying Renato on keyboard and vocals, and a graceful solo by cellist Eugene Friesen. One of my favorites in this collection is Na ilha de Lia, no barco de Rosa, (In the Isle of Lia, In the Boat of Rosa), composed by Edu Lobo and Chico Buarque. Dori Caymmi’s arrangement features Renato accompanied by violinists Altamir Salinas and Ayrton Pinto, cellist Watson Clis, and Estela Ortiz on viola, as well as Teco Cardoso playing the bamboo flute.
Dixon Van Winkle, Mario Gil and Alberto Ranelucci performed the recording duties, and Dixon performed the mixing and mastering. Paul Winter and Dixon served as Producers, and Kit Thomas as Associate Producer. The album was released in November, 2015. A 32 page booklet is included, with comments by Luis Nassif and Paul Winter.
Bruce McCollum
Contents
Anabela (4:54)
O cantador (5:20)
Eu nao existo sem voce (4:56)
Feitico da Vila (4:08)
Acqua Marcia (4:00)
Beatriz (4:43)
Na ilha de Lia, no barco de Rosa (4:01)
Chora brasileira (5:16)
Disaprada (4:36)
Onde esta voce? (4:31)
Sodade, meu bem, sodade (4:36)
Bambayuque (4:23)
The Last Train (4:24)
Desenredo (7:17
Angola (5:15)
