The latest album by Brazilian jazz master Antonio Adolfo, who has been releasing albums for more than 60 years, is a tribute to Cole Porter. Recent releases has found Adolfo concentrating on just one artist or style, but normally this is from the Brazilian field. This time he is taking some well-known songs from Porter and then giving them the Brazilian treatment. What I find fascinating is how the songs stay true to the original, (the most famous probably being “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”) and giving them a big band feel yet making them sound as if they always belonged to a different culture.
When I think of Brazil it is probably the samba and boss which come first to mind, but there are a multitude of different styles, and it took Adolfo some time to sit with the material and work out what felt best. He has managed to achieve something quite remarkable as he has managed to bring together jazz classics, we all know so well, but given them a lightness and finesse as he makes them very much his own. The horns and piano are key in this, but the percussion is also highly important while the bass somehow strings it all together. With Adolfo sitting at the keyboard, he leads the other eight musicians with arrangements which have plenty of space, and he allows everyone their chance to shine, often sitting back in the pocket as opposed to taking the lead himself. There is the feeling of a relaxed environment, with everyone settled back and enjoying what they are doing as they combine two cultures to create an album which will be of interest to those who follow jazz, samba, bossa, toada, ijexá, frevo, quadrilha, partido alto, and so much more. This is a relaxed introduction to a reinvention of Porter’s music in a very enjoyable way indeed.
Rating: 8/10
