Personnel:
Antonio Adolfo (p, keyb, arr), Carol Saboya, Luisa Saboya (vcl), Jessé Sadoc (tp, flh), Vitor Santos (tb), Marcelo Martins (as, ts, bs), Jose Carlos (g), Alex Malheiros (b), Ivan Conti (d), Dom Chakal, Robertinho Silva, Thiago (perc), Ana de Oliveira, Andre Cunha, Catherine Hazan, Leo Ortiz, Marluce Ferreira, Mauro Rufino (violin), Déborah Cheyne, Nayran Pessanha (viola), David Chew (cello), Arthur Verocai (arr)
Reference: FARO 121 CD
Bar code: 5060088043165
Fans of classic female bossa nova in the vein of Sergio Mendes & Quarteto Em Cy will go crazy for ‘Destiny’ as it features the dulcet tones of not one, but, two girls from Ipanema, Antonio’s daughters’ Carol & Luisa. Their crystal-clear, tone-perfect voices float perfectly over Antonio’s late 60s & 70s inspired Brazilian grooves that combine influences from jazz, classic Brazilian 60s pop, Tropicalia, easy-scoring and funk.
In the late ‘60s and ‘70s Antonio was known as the master of funky-Brazilian breaks and beats and ‘Destiny’ sounds like it’s been beamed straight from that era as it’s full to the brim with choppy wah-wah guitars and slick-bossa breaks that the Beastie Boys would give their right arms for. When you learn the pedigree of the musicians involved this should come as no surprise: from the mighty Azymuth comes drummer Ivan Conti & bassist Alex Malheiros, from Grupo Batuque the percussive powerhouse Dom Chacal, original Mr-funky-guitar Ze Carlos is present and even the one-and-only Arthur Verocai, the man behind Madlib’s favourite Brazilian CD ever, is here with a wonderful string arrangement.
Whilst Herb Alpert, Sergio Mendes, Stevie Wonder, Earl Klugh and Dionne Warwick have all performed or recorded Antonio’s compositions he is probably best known outside of Brazil for his work as Antonio Adolfo & Brazuca, under which name he delivered a series of sought-after albums at the end of the 1960s/start of the 1970s. In the stakes of Brazilian music Antonio’s sound and style is up there with Edu Lobo and Marcos Valle and it made sense for him to record an album paying tribute to the 60s/70s – possibly the most fertile time ever for Brazilian music - for Far Out, the label that also helped bring the music of Marcos Valle to a whole new generation of fans. ‘Destiny’ is the anticipated follow up to ‘Ao Vivo Live’, a CD Antonio Adolfo recorded with his daughter Carol Saboya, and which earlier this year was voted ‘Best Brazilian CD of 2007 recorded and released in the United States’, by the Brazilian International Press Association.
As the similarity in the name suggests this new album picks up from where Antonio Adolfo & Brazuca left-off, yet now it’s Antonio Adolfo, Brazil & Brazuka, as Antonio is joined by his two daughters Carol & Luisa. They provide lead vocals on all 10 songs, their voices combining perfectly to create a unique harmonious ‘one’ that flows throughout and makes this CD an absolute joy to listen to. For ‘Destiny’ Antonio paired up with Tiberio Gaspar, the lyrical partner he worked on as Antonio Adolfo & Brazuca.
Antonio was the first Brazilian musician to play the Fender Rhodes and his prowess on the instrument is apparent as he creates some seriously funky melodies for Carol & Luisa’s harmonies to float above. Album highlights include the wah-wah flecked bossa groove of ‘Bola da Vez’, the slinky percussive dancer ‘Luizao’ with it’s rippling bassline and ‘Amazonian’ breakdown, the 70s cop-show theme in waiting ‘Eu E Voce’, the sax-and-wah-wah-guitar schiz-out that is ‘Dono do Mundo’ plus the lament for a summer-love long-gone ‘Tão Iguais’.
