Search - Vinicius Cantuaria :: Tucuma

Relaxed Depth, Mature Musicianship

Christoph Pingel | 12/01/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album was announced as "new Bossa Nova" - which turns out to be something like "Bossa Nova Nova", hm, well... in Germany, there used to be a jazz festival called "Post This, Neo That". So much for this.
Tucuma is another example for the strong capability of some contemporary Brazilian musicians to link their tradition directly with oversears and directly with the future (Like Lenine, Caetano, Daude). It's amazing: There's the relaxed voice and acoustic guitar playing of Vinicius Cantuaria, his rich compositions, then there's Bill Frisell and some other New Yorkers bringing in their interpretation of Brazil, and then there is an additional layer of sample/loop/sound-design behind everything - and it works. You will enjoy this album over and over again, there's a richness of detail that invites closer listening and never fails to reveal some further beauty."

Top-Notch Brazilian music; the REAL DEAL

TUCO H. | Los Angeles, CA | 08/19/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Get this! Very little chance of anyone who's not tone-deaf being disappointed by this disc! I found the CD of "Tucuma' Used and bought it immediately after I downloaded "Agua Rasa," (from Cantauria's most recent album), which is the single most poetic and beautiful song they have for free-download at Amazon.



The first tune on "Tucuma": "Amor Brasileiro," is in the same vein and maybe even better than "Agua Rasa"; too bad you can't hear a sample here. It's one of the most romantic songs I've ever heard but it's more than just simple 'romance,' this guy has a poet's sensibility that pushes his tunes far above anyone else. He's in a class of his own like Gilberto and Jobim but his musicianship and sound concept is more influenced by modern pop and experimental sounds than straight Jazz (he even has a wonderfully eccentric tribute instrumental written for Ryuichi Sakamoto). And he's totally into his own thing, and sometimes even progressive enough to be in avant-garde territory as in the tune "Retirante" featuring a guest appearence by Laurie Anderson. Also: surprise of surprises, Sean Lennon, the son of the ultra-famous you know who and who, plays bass guitar on some of these tunes alongside New York jazz scene heavyweights. The great guitarist Bill Frisell makes an invaluable contribution to the sound and some tunes also add great eccentric understated string arrangments that never ever get in the way of the heart and soul of Canuaria's art but add sophistication and spice. Believe me, no one hates string sections more than me when they're not done right, and all the arrangements here are damn near perfect. In fact, my least favorite tune is the one that sounds the most like Getz/Gilberto and has a sax solo on it: "Maravilhar". There might have been some pressure to write at least one sort of 'familiar' tune like this, I don't know, but everything else is rooted in Bossa yet quite fresh and anti-rehash.



All in all, 8 out of 11 tunes on this album I never program around them and the other 3 I sometimes put in as a variation which is to say, it merits a high recommendation indeed!



P.S. If you like this album, check out "na rua, na chuva, na fazenda..." by Hyldon which is not just a classic of 1970s Brazilian music, unknown in the USA, but one of the greatest soul albums ever made, on a par with anything by Bobby Womack, Marvin Gaye or Bill Withers."

Cool Bossa with shades of Zen

Asanka Perera | Australia | 02/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a long time fan of Jobim's music and Joao Gilberto's muted guitar chords/off-beat vocals , I am delighted to see that their ground-breaking idiom, after almost 40 years, still lends itself to fresher sounds. Cantuaria has a rounded,earthly voice in contrast to fragile tone of Gilberto. But the comparison must end there : he does sing effortlessly and meditatively. The real beauty of this album is in the sparse/modern instrumentation. Check out Nana Vasconcelos with his haunting berimbau in Joia, a clever song about happiness. Enjoy these minimalist and tasteful song collection in an age of excess productions."