Romero Lubambo — Só: Brazilian Essence (2014)

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  Romero Lubambo — Só: Brazilian Essence
Born: 1955 in Rio de Janeiro
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Album release: 04 February 2014
Record Label: Sunnyside
Duration:     57:08
Tracks:
01. Aquarela do Brasil     4:18
02. Brigas Nunca Mais     3:36
03. Paquito in Bremen     4:20
04. Pedra Bonita     4:05
05. Você e Eu     4:02
06. Song for Kaya     4:56
07. Luisa     3:03
08. Coisa Mais Linda     3:43
09. Insensatez     5:57
10. Samambaia     5:39
11. By the Stream     5:14
12. A Felicidade     4:02
13. Laura     4:13

Written by:
♠ Tom Jobim / Vinícius de Moraes: 1, 2, 9, 12
♠ Johnny Mercer / David Raksin: 13
♠ Pamela Driggs / Romero Lubambo: 11
♠ César Camargo Mariano: 10
♠ Carlos Lyra / Vinícius de Moraes: 5, 8
♠ Romero Lubambo: 3, 6, 7
♠ Mario Adnet: 4
ο♦   The guitar is an instrument that is indelibly linked to the music of Brazil. At once a melodic, harmonic, and percussive instrument, the guitar is the perfect vehicle for a musical culture that has blended the elements of the European and African musical traditions for over five centuries, giving birth to the choro, samba and bossa nova.
ο♦   The modern Brazilian guitarist is expected to understand and respect the tradition but he is also expected to bring something new in performance. Romero Lubambo provides a perfect example of a musician who has absorbed the legacy of his forebears, and then developed into the standard bearer of Brazilian guitar playing.
ο♦   Lubambo’s new recording Só — Brazilian Essence is an effervescent musical statement of solo guitar playing, bridging the gap between preserving the tradition of Brazilian song and the evolution of the art.
ο♦   Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Lubambo moved to the United States in 1985 where he quickly established himself as an important interpreter of jazz and Brazilian music. He became a first call musician for a coterie of the world’s best jazz and Brazilian artists, including Dianne Reeves, Diana Krall, Herbie Mann and Luciana Souza. ο♦   Along with his solo projects and sideman work, Lubambo has also been a member of the collaborative group Trio Da Paz with bassist Nilson Matta and Duduka da Fonseca since 1990.
ο♦   Though he has performed in many different musical combinations, the solo guitar concert has been a mainstay of Lubambo’s. On Só, he wanted to recreate the sound and intimacy of a solo guitar performance. Lubambo approached his friend and recording engineer David Darlington and recorded thirteen spontaneous tracks that feature his own original compositions along with a generous helping of compositions by legendary Brazilian composers, including Tom Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes.
ο♦   The recording begins with an intricate, up-tempo reading of Ary Barroso’s “Aquarela” which leads to a lovingly nuanced rendition of Jobim and de Moraes’s “Brigas Nunca Mais.” Lubambo’s “Paquito In Bremen,” written for the guitarist’s good friend, the legendary Cuban woodwind player Paquito D’Rivera, follows in a ruminative vein while Mario Adnet’s “Pedra Bonita” is shifty, with its harmonic intricacy. Carlos Lyra and de Moraes’s “Você e eu” is at once subtle and spicy, while Lubambo’s “Song for Kaya” is a heart lilting bossa nova. The poignant “Luisa” is a bittersweet tune written for Lubambo’s daughter.
ο♦   Carlos Lyra and de Moraes’s “Coisa Mais Linda” continues the program in typical Brazilian saudade fashion and even includes a moving vocal from Lubambo. Jobim and de Moraes’s chestnut “Insensatez” is slowed down for a resonant rendering. Cesar Camargo Mariano’s “Samambaia” is a tempered samba with unique call and response pattern. “By the Stream” is a moving ballad by Lubambo and Pamela Driggs, which presages another Jobim and de Moraes classic, “A Felicidade.” The recording concludes with the only non-Brazilian composition, “Laura,” written by David Raksin and Johnny Mercer, performed in a way that complements the Brazilian esthetic perfectly.
ο♦   Romero Lubambo has proven his expertise in the field of Brazilian music and jazz. His new recording Só — Brazilian Essence is a wonderful reminder of Lubambo’s talent not only as a guitarist but as a valuable interpreter of his native land’s musical output.
Website: http://romerolubambo.com/
MySpace: https://myspace.com/romerolubambo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Romerolubambo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Romero-Lubambo/267488183273936
Label: http://sunnysidezone.com/album/s-brazilian-essence
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ο♦   Romero Lubambo started learning classic piano at a very early age. At 13, he started learning the classic guitar, studying at the Villa-Lobos Music School. At the same time he studied engineering at PUC University in Rio de Janeiro. Since 1985, he has lived in the USA and played and recorded with names as Astrud Gilberto, Dianne Reeves, Michael Brecker, Al Jarreau, Kathleen Battle, Herbie Mann, Ivan Lins, Flora Purim e Airto, Paquito D’Rivera, Harry Belafonte, Grover Washington, Jr., Luciana Souza, Sergio Assad, Dave Douglas and Odair Assad, Leny Andrade e Cesar Camargo Mariano. Recently he has been playing with Trio da Paz. One of his most well-known and well-loved contributions is as the guitar/percussion near-orchestra he provides to Yo-yo Ma and Paquito D'Rivera on "Doce de Coco" on Ma's Apassionata CD; while the cello and clarinet answer each other seamlessly, the steady rhythm they seek, the bass, and the grace notes are all provided by Lubambo's fingering.
As leader:
ο♦   Autonomia (1990) Visom
ο♦   Face to Face, with Weber Drummond (1993) GSP
ο♦   Shades of Rio, with Raphael Rabello (1993) CKY
ο♦   Two (1994) GSP
ο♦   Paraty (1997) Perfil Musical
ο♦   Lubambo (1999) Avant
ο♦   Duo, with César Camargo Mariano (2002) Trama
ο♦   Brazilian Routes (2002) Rob Digital
ο♦   Rio de Janeiro Underground (2003) Victor
ο♦   Romero Lubambo & Lica Cecato (2003) Sony
ο♦   Coisa Fina, with Leny Andrade (2003) Perfil Musical
ο♦   Lica Cecato e Romero Lubambo Live In Europe (2006) Seven Music
ο♦   Softly (2006) MAXJAZZ
ο♦   Love Dance (2007) JVC
ο♦   Bons Amigos (2011) Resonance
ο♦   Só: Brazilian Essence (2014) Sunnyside
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