Tuesday, November 11, 2014

"Saga" coming out all over the world

Rodrigo Lima's 2-CD set "Saga" is coming out this week, released worldwide by JSR. Recorded in LA, NY, Rio and Curitiba. Produced by Arnaldo DeSouteiro for Jazz Station Records, with a magnificent cover photo by Pete Turner, it features an all-star cast: Hermeto Pascoal, Don Sebesky, Hubert Laws, Raul de Souza, Anat Cohen, Mike Mainieri, Hugo Fattoruso, Zé Eduardo Nazario, Frank Herzberg, Sammy Figueroa, Aline Morena, Jamil Joanes, Laudir de Oliveira, João Palma, Sergio Barroso, Cesar Machado, Ithamara Koorax, Carol Ma, Gene Back, Alice Hamlet and many others. Chief Engineer: Victor França. Additional engineering: Jay Messina, Beto Japa, Aaron Nevezie, Mario Jorge Bruno, Hal Batt, Ben Elliot etc.
During my 32-year career as a recording producer, I've had the honor to work with such masters as Joao Gilberto, Luiz Bonfa, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Dom Um Romao, Joao Donato, Eumir Deodato, Mario Castro-Neves, Thiago de Mello, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin, Jay Berliner, Gene Bertoncini, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Dexter Payne, Art Farmer, Azymuth, the list goes on and on. But I can assure that "Saga" is one of the best albums I've ever produced. And Rodrigo is a brilliant newcomer to the contemporary jazz scene, a true guitar wiz. The CD is already on sale at Dusty Groove, CD Baby, Amazon etc. Cheers!
And here are some pics from the recording sessions:
(Rodrigo Lima, Arnaldo DeSouteiro, engineer Mario Jorge Bruno)

(Hermeto Pascoal, Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Aline Morena)

(Rodrigo Lima & Don Sebesky)

(Joe De Vico, Don Sebesky, Rodrigo Lima)

(Rodrigo Lima, Don Sebesky & The Strings)

(Zé Eduardo Nazário)

(Hugo Fattoruso & Arnaldo DeSouteiro)

(Hugo Fattoruso)

(Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Hugo Fattoruso, Rodrigo Lima)

 (Hugo Fattoruso & Arnaldo DeSouteiro)

(Lulu Martin & Arnaldo DeSouteiro)

(Andrea Nestrea, Hugo Fattoruso, Rodrigo Lima)

(Arnaldo DeSouteiro & Raul De Souza)

(Arnaldo DeSouteiro & Raul DeSouza)

(De Souza, Fattoruso, Lima, Nazario, Herzberg)

(Anat Cohen & Rodrigo Lima)

(Cesar Machado, Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Sergio Barroso)

(Frank Herzberg, Italo Simao, Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Mario Jorge)

(Frank Herzberg)

(Arnaldo DeSouteiro & Victor França)

(Raul De Souza aka Raulzinho)

(Hugo Fattoruso, Jamil Joanes, Frank Herzberg, Ze Eduardo Nazario)

(Jamil Joanes)

(Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Rodrigo Lima, Hugo Fattoruso)

(João Palma & Arnaldo DeSouteiro)

(Hubert Laws)

(Ithamara Koorax, Andrea Nestrea, Raul De Souza)

(Alice Hamlet)

(Mike Mainieri)

(Arnaldo DeSouteiro & Lulu Martin)

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Arnaldo DeSouteiro's Bio / JSR (Jazz Station Records): Address & Contact Info

            (Arnaldo DeSouteiro during a recording session in 2014)

"People are going to talk about you, especially when they envy you and the life you live. Let them. You affected their lives, they didn't affect yours... you will eventually lose someone you love & love someone you never thought you'd find..."
Arnaldo DeSouteiro - Short Bio

Music Producer (with over 380 albums to his credit according to the All Music Guide), Voting Member of NARAS-GRAMMY and Jazz Journalists Association (NY), Member of LAJS (Los Angeles Jazz Society), Musical Philosopher, Journalist, Jazz & Brazilian Music Historian, Publicist, Public Relations, Composer (having written successful jazz & pop songs, some dance hits like "O Passarinho" for the Italian TV reality show "La Pupa e Il Secchione", and "Samba da Copa" for the "2006 World Cup" in Germany, plus many other soundtracks for movies, soap operas & TV series in the USA -- PBS, BET, Universal Cable etc --, Europe and Asia), Lyricist (he wrote lyrics to Dave Brubeck's "Broadway Bossa Nova" at the invitation of Brubeck himself, among other songs), Arranger, Percussionist, Keyboardist, Programmer, Educator (conducting clinics and panel sessions worldwide as the first Brazilian member of IAJE-International Association of Jazz Educators during its existence). He has also acted as consultant for several companies and jazz festivals all over the world.

Founder and CEO of JSR (Jazz Station Records), a Division of Jazz Station Marketing & Consulting - LA, Calif. Most recently, founded LaCalifUSA Pictures and JSR Casting in 2007 for movie & TV productions featuring music & fashion.

Produced the acclaimed CD compilation series "A Trip To Brazil," "CTI Acid Jazz Grooves," "Brazilian Horizons," "Focus on Bossa Nova," "Focus on Brazilian Music Grooves", "Bossa Nova Singers," "Bossa Nova Guitar","Jazz Rock" etc.

Produced special compilations for Quincy Jones ("Summer in the City - The Soul Jazz Grooves of Quincy Jones"), Chick Corea ("Electric Chick") and Deodato ("Do It Again - The Fantastic Jazz-Funk of Eumir Deodato"), all released by Verve/Universal. His latest CD for Verve is "Bossa Nova USA," released last May, featuring Dave Brubeck's title track performed by Quincy Jones.

Supervised and/or Directed TV specials featuring João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Dizzy Gillespie, Chuck Mangione, Flora Purim & Airto Moreira, Miles Davis, Dom Um Romão, Eliane Elias, Diana Krall, Eumir Deodato, Bjork et al. Worked with producers Creed Taylor, Yoichi Nakao, Susumu Morikawa, Matthias Kunnecke, and photographers Pete Turner, Victor Skrebneski, Robert Mappelthorpe, Duane Michals.

Mr. DeSouteiro has also worked in his native Brazil for TUPI-FM radio station (as musical programmer-DJ as well as hosting his own show, "Jazz Espetacular"), Manchete TV network (anchoring & supervising the "Terça Especial" series for which he interviewed such jazz giants as Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Chuck Mangione, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim etc), Globo TV network (screenplay, coordination and mix for the TV special "João Gilberto & Antonio Carlos Jobim - O Grande Encontro" in 1992, the last time these 2 geniuses performed together, plus the texts and screenplay for the "Minuto da Bossa" series), and as the jazz columnist for the "Tribuna da Imprensa" (Press Tribune) daily newspaper during 29 years (from 1979 to 2008). Before moving to the USA, he also worked as Brazilian correspondent of "Keyboard" magazine (from 1985 to 1994), as a free-lancer to Billboard, Cuadernos de Jazz, Swing Journal and International Music Magazine, and as entertainment-in-flight programmer for several airline companies like Varig Brazilian Airlines (from 1983 to 1998).

Produced over 380 albums and sessions featuring: Luiz Bonfa, João Gilberto, Dom Um Romão, Ithamara Koorax, Thiago de Mello, Dexter Payne, João Donato, Palmyra & Levita, Mario Castro-Neves, Jorge Pescara, Paula Faour, Fabio Fonseca, Claudio Roditi, Hermeto Pascoal, Anna Ly, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Pascoal Meirelles, Yana Purim, Pingarilho, Nelson Angelo, Marcelo Salazar, Ron Carter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Steve Swallow, Herbie Hancock, Hugo Fattoruso, Larry Coryell, Sadao Watanabe, Jurgen Friedrich, Eloir de Moraes, Gazzara, Deodato, Jadir de Castro, Azymuth, Marcio Montarroyos, Sivuca, Laudir de Oliveira, Marcos Valle, Jay Berliner, George Young, David Matthews, Lew Soloff, Alphonso Johnson, Gene Bertoncini, John McLaughlin, Claus Ogerman, Raul de Souza, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and many others.

Produced and supervised CD reissues of albums by Ron Carter, Hank Crawford, Johnny Hammond, Sergio Mendes, Hubert Laws, Grant Green, Idris Muhammad, Joe Beck, Esther Phillips, Lonnie Smith, David Matthews & Whirlwind, Phil Upchurch, Tennyson Stephens, Miucha, Flora Purim, Carlos Lyra, Tamba Trio, Ivan Lins, Raul de Souza, Trio 3-D and many others. As annotator, he wrote liner notes and press releases for albums by Toots Thielemans, Hank Crawford, Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald, Pat Metheny, Eliane Elias, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Jeff Linsky and dozens of others for labels like RCA, CTI, Kudu, Milestone, Fantasy, Verve, Columbia, Irma, Alfa, JVC, Caju, Sonet, Paddle Wheel, JHO, Mercury, Imagem etc.

Mr. DeSouteiro also had the honor to be associated with some of the world's greatest photographers like Pete Turner (who did the cover photo for Jorge Pescara's CD "Grooves in the Temple," released on his own JSR label and featured on Turner's new book "The Color of Jazz"), Victor Skrebneski (the CD reissue of "Upchurch/Tennyson"), Bruce Weber (Esther Phillips' "For All We Know"), Robert Mappelthorpe ("Brazilian Horizons"), Alen MacWeeney, William Cadge, and Duane Michals (many of the CTI CDs) and so on. He has appeared in several movies and TV series such as the Award Winning documentary movie "Beyond Ipanema," for which he was interviewed alongside Creed Taylor, Lalo Schifrin, Wayne Shorter, Gene Lees and Norman Gimbel.
Jazz Station Marketing & Consulting, JSR Casting, LaCalifUSA Pictures
CEO & Founder: Arnaldo DeSouteiro
Address:
JSR - LA
9930 Liebe Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90210
JSR - NY Address:
Arnaldo DeSouteiro
PO Box 1338
Radio City Station
New York, NY 10003
Jazz Station Records (JSR), a division of Jazz Station Enterprises
CEO & Founder · Los Angeles ·
Address:
Arnaldo DeSouteiro
Jazz Station Records - LA
1545 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90017
JSR - NY
PO Box 1338
Radio City Station

(PLEASE, DO NOT SEND UNSOLICITED MATERIAL; any unsolicited CD or promo packets will be returned. If you wish to submit material, please contact us through comments on this post or through Facebook. Thx!)
https://www.facebook.com/arnie.gilberto

People are going to talk about you, especially when they envy you and the life you live. Let them. You affected their lives, they didn't affect yours... you will eventually lose someone you love & love someone you never thought you'd find...
Arnaldo DeSouteiro – Biografia ultra-resumida 

Produtor de discos, com cerca de 380 álbuns em sua discografia (incluindo novos CDs, reedições, coletâneas, trilhas sonoras, projetos especiais), conforme consta no All Music Guide, principal e mais acessado website sobre música no mundo. Jornalista e publicitário (formado em Comunicação pela PUC-RJ), tendo escrito para os jornais Tribuna da Imprensa (de 1979 até sua extinção em 2009, com 3.200 artigos publicados), Última Hora, O Globo e O Estado do Paraná, revistas Billboard, Keyboard (USA), Cuadernos de Jazz (Espanha), Swing Journal (Japão), Revista do CD (Brasil) etc. 

Roteirista de shows (João Gilberto, Diana Krall, Ithamara Koorax, Marcos Valle, Eumir Deodato, Bjork etc) e de especiais de TV para as emissoras Globo (Antonio Carlos Jobim & João Gilberto) e Manchete (Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Chuck Mangione, Airto Moreira & Flora Purim etc) no Brasil, BET e PBS nos EUA, NHK no Japão (Diana Krall, João Gilberto, CTI All Stars, Dave Brubeck etc).

Nascido no Rio de Janeiro (Brasil) em 1963, radicado em Los Angeles (EUA) desde 1999. Estudou piano clássico e harmonia com sua mãe, a pianista e maestrina Delza Agricola. É membro da Associação Brasileira de Imprensa (ABI) desde 1979, membro catedrático titular efetivo da Academia Internacional de Música desde 1985, membro votante do Grammy-Naras (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) desde 2006, membro votante da Los Angeles Jazz Society (único brasileiro) desde 2007, e também único brasileiro que é membro votante da Jazz Journalists Association (sediada em Nova Iorque) desde 2002. Atua como consultor e parecerista para diversas empresas, centros culturais e festivais de música no Brasil e no exterior.

Também foi membro honorário e primeiro membro brasileiro da Associação Internacional de Educadores de Jazz (IAJE – International Association of Jazz Educators) durante 12 anos, até sua extinção em 2008, tendo realizado palestras e "panel sessions" nas convenções anuais realizadas nos EUA. Fundador e Presidente da gravadora JSR (Jazz Station Records), sediada em Los Angeles – EUA desde 2001, uma divisão da Jazz Station Marketing & Consulting. Dirige também a LaCalifUSA Pictures, empresa de cinema que produz conteúdo e trilhas sonoras (composição, produção, seleção) para filmes e séries de TV. 

Produziu discos e sessões de gravação com artistas como Luiz Bonfá, João Gilberto, Dom Um Romão, João Donato, Palmyra & Levita, Mario Castro-Neves, Claudio Roditi, Gaudencio Thiago de Mello, Dexter Payne, Rodrigo Lima, Hermeto Pascoal, Don Sebesky, Hubert Laws, Fabio Fonseca, Marcos Ozzellin, Herbie Hancock, Jorge Pescara, Paula Faour, Anna Ly, Pascoal Meirelles, Yana Purim, Carlos Pingarilho, Nelson Angelo, Marcelo Salazar, Ithamara Koorax, Ron Carter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Steve Swallow, Herbie Hancock, Hugo Fattoruso, Larry Coryell, Sadao Watanabe, Jurgen Friedrich, Gazzara, Eumir Deodato, Azymuth, Marcio Montarroyos, Sivuca, Laudir de Oliveira, Marcos Valle, David Matthews, Gene Bertoncini, John McLaughlin, Raul de Souza, Hermeto Pascoal, Gonzalo Rubalcaba e muitos outros. 

Como compositor e letrista, tem parcerias com Dave Brubeck (“Broadway Bossa Nova”), Francesco Gazzara (“O Passarinho”), Mamoru Morishita (“Hotaru”) e Fabio Fonseca (“Samba da Copa”, executado na cerimônia de abertura da Copa do Mundo de 2006). 
Produziu reedições de discos de Sergio Mendes, Flora Purim, Tamba Trio, Ivan Lins, Carlos Lyra, Miucha, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ron Carter, Idris Muhammad, Hank Crawford, Lonnie Smith, Johnny Hammond, Luiz Bonfá, Phil Upchurch, Tennyson Stephens, Eumir Deodato, Grant Green, Mario Castro-Neves, João Donato, Claus Ogerman, David Matthews, Esther Phillips, Joe Beck, Eric Gale e muitos outros.

Produziu as séries “A Trip To Brazil” (cujo Volume 1 chegou ao primeiro-lugar na parada de world-music na Europa em 1998, superando “Buena Vista Social Club”), “Brazilian Horizons”, “CTI: Acid Jazz Grooves”, “Jazz Club”, e retrospectivas - lançadas mundialmente entre 2006 e 2010 pelo selo Verve – das carreiras de Quincy Jones (“Summer In The City: The Soul-Jazz Groves of Quincy Jones”), Eumir Deodato (“Do It Again: The Fantastic Jazz Funk of Eumir Deodato”) e Chick Corea (“Electric Chick”).

Desde 1981, tem realizado, como free lancer, produção musical para diversas gravadoras, como RCA/BMG, Sony, Verve/PolyGram/Universal, CTI, King, Paddle Wheel, Pausa, Milestone/Fantasy, Warner/WEA, Motor Music, JVC/Victor, Sanyo, Movieplay, Imagem, Eldorado, CID, Alfa, RGE, Mr. Bongo, Terra Música, Blue Moon, Bomba, Cedar Tree, Treasure Trove, Irma, Vivid Sound, Motéma, e Huks Music, no Brasil, Europa, Estados Unidos, Japão e Coréia. 

Entre 1982 e 1984, atuou como assessor cultural do Serviço de Comunicação Social da Petrobras. Em 1983, criou, produziu e apresentou o programa "Jazz espetacular", transmitido pela Rádio Tupi FM. Em 1984, assumiu a responsabilidade da programação de bordo (musical e audiovisual) transmitida nos vôos internacionais da Varig, função que exerceu durante 14 anos. Também nesse período (1985 a 1987), participou da comissão de seleção do Free Jazz Festival. 

Escreveu textos de contracapa para discos de diversos artistas, como Toots Thielemans, Ella Fitzgerald, Eliane Elias, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jeff Kinsky, Paulo Bellinati e Carlos Barbosa Lima, entre outros. Assinou textos para divulgação ("press releases") de artistas como João Gilberto, Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, Pat Metheny, Bill Evans, Jimmy Smith, Elvin Jones, Stanley Turrentine e Tony Bennett.

Atuou como entrevistador em depoimentos prestados para o Museu da Imagem e do Som (Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo) por João Donato, Stellinha Egg, Maestro Gaya, Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim e Carlos Barbosa Lima. Em 2001, recebeu o prêmio de International Man of The Year, concedido pelo International Biographical Centre, de Londres. Foi o primeiro brasileiro a receber essa premiação, oferecida anteriormente a apenas quatro outros produtores: Arif Mardin, Tommy LiPuma, Quincy Jones e Phil Ramone. Ainda nesse ano, a JSR (Jazz Station Records), de sua propriedade, foi considerada uma das cinco melhores gravadoras de jazz do mundo, em relação publicada na edição de dezembro da revista especializada norte-americana "Down Beat", premiação que se repetiu por quatro anos (7º lugar em 2003, 9º lugar em 2004, 5º lugar em 2005 e 6º lugar em 2006).

Endereços para correspondência:
Jazz Station Marketing & Consulting, JSR Casting, LaCalifUSA Pictures
CEO & Founder: Arnaldo DeSouteiro
Address (Endereço):
JSR - LA
9930 Liebe Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90210
JSR - NY Address:
Arnaldo DeSouteiro
PO Box 1338
Radio City Station
New York, NY 10003
Jazz Station Records (JSR), a division of Jazz Station Enterprises
CEO & Founder · Los Angeles ·
Address:
Arnaldo DeSouteiro
Jazz Station Records - LA
1545 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90017
JSR - NY
PO Box 1338
Radio City Station

Sunday, November 2, 2014

CD Reissue of the Month -"Lalo Schifrin: Gypsies"

CD Reissue of the Month
Lalo Schifrin: "Gypsies" (Tabu CD 1037) 1978/2014

Reissue Release Date in the UK: November 14, 2014
Produced, Composed, Arranged & Conducted by Lalo Schifrin
Recorded & Mixed by Peter Granet @ The Mom & Pops Company Store (Studio City, CA)
Mastered by Mike Reese @ The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA)
Art Direction: Art Sims
Photos: Harry Liles (cover) & Jim Walden (tambourine pic)
Calligraphy: Nick Fasciano

CD Package: Jools Williamson @ ED&P Ltd
Project Manager: Val Jennings
Remastered by Phil Kinrade @ Alchemy Mastering
Liner Notes: A. Scott Galloway

Featuring: Lalo Schifrin (acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes & synths), Mike Melvoin (acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes), Ian Underwood (Oberheim synthesizer), Abe Laboriel (electric bass), Jim Keltner (drums), Dean Parks (guitar), Emil Richards & Paulinho Da Costa (percussion), Tony Ortega, Don Menza, Ernie Watts (reeds), Charles Loper & Lew McCreary (trombones), Bobby Bryant & Oscar Brashear (trumpets)

The first CD reissue ever of Lalo Schifrin's "Gypsies" (originally released on Clarence Avant' Tabu label in 1978) will come out November 14, initially only on the UK as part of the Tabu Records Re-Born Series. Besides the 8 tracks that appeared on vinyl, this deluxe expanded edition includes 3 bonus tracks: edited radio versions of "Moonlight Gypsies," "Fortune Tellers" and "Prophecy of Love."

One of the lesser known titles on Schifrin's huge discography, "Gypsies" has its origin detailed by the brilliant LA-based journalist A. Scott Galloway in an excellent essay that occupies 12 of the 16 pages of this hard-cover issue, manufactured & marketed by the London-based Demon Music Group, a BBC Worldwide company.

Galloway interviewed not only Schifrin and Tabu's founder Clarence Avant, but also many of the musicians that took part in the proceedings such as Abraham Laboriel (who tells the fantastic story of how he first met Lalo when still a kid in his native Mexico), Emil Richards, Ernie Watts etc, as well as Lalo's wife, Donna Schifrin and art director Art Sims.

"Gypsies" was the follow-up to those two incredible Lalo's jazz-meets-funk-and-disco albums for CTI ("Black Widow" and "Towering Toccata"), but didn't became a best seller, despite the fact that it was a big-budget project "sponsored" by CBS, Tabu's distributor at that time. Maybe because it didn't include any movie themes neither famous songs or adaptations of classical material. All tunes were composed by Schifrin specially for the project, "with the thread of a theme running throught it," on Galloway's words.

It's a pop instrumental album, not a jazz date -- although there are a few solos by Laboriel (on "Midnight Gypsies"), Parks ("King of Hearts"), and tenor sax player Anthony Ortega (on "Prophecy of Love") --  and finds Lalo playing piano, Rhodes and the vintage synthesizers Arp 2600, Mini-Moog and Yamaha CS 80. One year later, the Argentinian genius would record a second album for Tabu, the disco-oriented "No One Home," also to be reissued in UK in a few days.

Blu-ray Audio of the Month - "The Modern Jazz Quartet"




Blu-ray Audio of the Month:
"The Modern Jazz Quartet" (Jazzline/Delta Music)
WDR - The Cologne Broadcast Series

Featuring: John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath & Connie Kay
Recorded in Germany in 1957 (Gurzenich Concert Hall, Cologne) and 1959 (Beethovenhalle, Boon)

Blu-Spec CD of the Month - "Airto: Fingers"

Fusion Blu-Spec CD of the Month
Airto: "Fingers" (CTI KICJ 2330)

Rating: ***** (musical performance)

Produced by Creed Taylor
Featuring: Airto Moreira (percussion, drums, lead vocals), Hugo Fattoruso (Fender Rhodes electric piano, Yamaha organ, harmonica, lead vocals), Ringo Thielmann (electric bass, backing vocals), George Fattoruso aka Jorge Osvaldo Fattoruso (drums, backing vocals), David Amaro (electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar) & Flora Purim (lead vocals, percussion)

Front Cover Photo: Pete Turner
Back Cover Photo: Alen MacWeeney
Album design: Bob Ciano
Recorded at Van Gelder Studios (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey) on April 9, 17 & 18, 1973

Back in 1973, when I listened to its title track on radio, I felt such an impact impossible to describe. But I can say that, although I was already a big fan of Airto Moreira as well as of the CTI catalog at that time, "Fingers" sounded completely NEW for me. I was familiar with Airto's work with Miles Davis, Chick Corea's Return To Forever, I loved his previous solo albums and was collecting anything on which he appeared as sideman - from Cannonball Adderley to Paul Desmond to Gary McFarland. I was also buying all CTI releases; from Jackie & Roy to Deodato, plus Hubert Laws, George Benson and Freddie Hubbard.

But "Fingers" appeared as an one-of-a-kind project, full of a special vital energy and raw creativity. Call it fusion or jazz-rock, it was completely different from any fusion or jazz-rock album previously released. I heard its title track on JB-AM radio station in the morning (I was 10 years old at that time), and by the end of the day I had purchased the vinyl, with that fantastic Pete Turner photo on the front cover. The usicians listed on the back cover were all unfamiliar to me, except Flora Purim of course. But what a band! It was easy to notice that they were all great new talents (Hugo Fattoruso, Ringo Thielmann, David Amaro, and Jorge Osvaldo Fattoruso, credited as George Fattoruso), and that Hugo was a genius.

Hugo, Jorge and Ringo had been performing for years as a trio called OPA. Airto saw them in a New Jersey restaurant, invited them to be part of a new band he was forming, added David Amaro and Flora, and the rest is history. Below is the 4-star review written by Michael Bourne (now a DJ at WBGO-FM) and printed in DownBeat at the time of the original LP release. 

Instrumental Jazz CD of the Month - "Delfeayo Marsalis: The Last Southern Gentlemen"

Instrumental Jazz CD of the Month
Delfeayo Marsalis: "The Last Southern Gentlemen" (Troubador Jazz) 2014

Produced by Delfeayo Marsalis
Executive Producer: Branford Marsalis
Executive Engineer: Patrick Smith
Assistant Engineers: Daryl Dickerson, Jacob Dennis & Charlie Bouis
Recorded @ Cahuenga Pass Studios (Burbank, California)
Mixed @ Glenwood Place Studios (Burbank, CA)
Mastered by Patrick "Jat EQ" Smith @ Pelican Sound
CD Artwork Design: Carola Straatman
Photos: Keith Major

I've been following Delfeayo's career since we met in Tokyo, back in 1996, when he was recording his fantastic debut album as a leader, "Musashi," released on King Records' Paddle Wheel label. His masterpiece, "Sweet Thunder," came out in 2011, being voted one of the best albums of the year on the 33rd Annual Jazz Station Awards.
http://jazzstation-oblogdearnaldodesouteiros.blogspot.com.br/2011_12_01_archive.html

Now, on "The Last Southern Gentlemen," he reunites with his father, New Orleans legend Ellis Marsalis, and they are renowned joined by drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith and bassist John Clayton in a refined album just out on Delfeayo's own imprint, Troubadour Jass Records. Incorporating Delfeayo's writings - including an essay on the sociological/historical themes that define the recording, commentary on the music, and original stories, children's tales and poetry - "The Last Southern Gentlemen" offers up a detailed map of the bandleader's passionate interests and concerns. The CD artwork, by the fantastic Carola Straatman, from the Netherlands, is by far the most beautiful graphic design prepared this year for a jazz release.

"The Last Southern Gentlemen" signals a musical pinnacle for trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, bringing him together for the first time on a complete recording with his father, pianist Ellis Marsalis. Yet in a broader sense, the project is also a sweeping reflection of a comprehensive artist. Incorporating Delfeayo's writings-including an essay on the sociological/historical themes that define the recording, commentary on the music, original stories, and poetry-The Last Southern Gentlemen offers up a detailed map of his passionate interests and concerns. Joined by two unimpeachable support players -- John Clayton on bass and Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums -- Delfeayo and Ellis ruminate in relaxed, probing and always swinging fashion on eleven standards and two original compositions.

The focus on such durable standards as "Autumn Leaves," "But Beautiful, and "I Cover the Waterfront" speaks to the central theme of the project. The performances pay tribute, as Delfeayo writes, "to the humanity and humility at the center of the Southern lifestyle that birthed America's original music." Here is jazz that everyone in this deliberately multi-generational quartet felt comfortable with: cherished songs that Ellis Marsalis has been playing and perfecting for decades, material that the younger Delfeayo and his compatriots have had to master as studied virtuosos.

Yet for Delfeayo Marsalis, the manner of performance rather than the repertoire is what counts most. "Southern hospitality and manners were important aspects of the original New Orleans musical aesthetic," states this proud scion of the Big Easy, who still calls New Orleans home. "Throughout this recording our aim was to communicate a feeling of graciousness and sincerity, relaxation and gentility. The early jazzmen believed that the social and emotional aspects of the music defined great jazz performance much more than the techniques or academic analysis. Jazz should offer a direct communication between the artist and the audience."

This quality of unencumbered communication permeates "The Last Southern Gentlemen." Whether offering luxurious ballad statements on "She's Funny That Way" or "I'm Confessin"; romping through spirited takes on "That Old Feeling" and "Sesame Street" (here, bolstered by a funky New Orleans backbeat with tambourine and bass drum work from guest Herlin Riley); or laying into Delfeayo's easy-grooving "The Secret Love Affair" or younger brother Jason Marsalis' "The Man With Two Left Feet," the beauty of Delfeayo's tone and his improvisational surety, as well the insatiable swing of Smith and Clayton at all tempos, remain unmistakable.

As for the piano patriarch, Ellis demonstrates his enviable prowess and inimitable elegance throughout, including a well-deserved trio feature on "If I Were A Bell," and an intimate duet between father and son on "I Cover the Waterfront." "My father embodies the old school musical values: he gets right to the point of the matter, without any excess," the admiring trombonist says. "He had a great impact on my approach to interpreting the material. I became more relaxed, more conscious of telling stories on my instrument."

Combined with Delfeayo's fervent writings, the superb performances throughout blend to make "The Last Southern Gentlemen" a uniquely affecting recording. As personal a project as jazz albums come these days, it provides much to think about while offering a surplus of expressive and enchanting sounds.