PAPATAMUS REDUX

ZOHO 202406  (RECORDED JANUARY 2024)

Don’t be fooled by “Sambasus,” the opening track on Brasilia Sessions. Although saxophonist Livio Almeida starts this tune with the chatter and clatter of a live jazz club, the music was recorded in a studio in his hometown of Brasilia, Brazil. If Almeida was trying to capture the energy of a club date, he succeeded. Accompanied by pianist Misael Silvestre, bassist Daniel Castro and drummer Pedro Almeida, the music on Brasilia Sessions is lively, casual and heartfelt. Almeida has recast the familiar sounds of the samba by combining the contemporary use of intricate melody lines and shifting rhythms with his warm and often punchy playing. As a saxophonist, Almeida blends the soul and bite of Stanley Turrentine with the warmth and flow of Stan Getz. As a composer, he builds on his first-hand knowledge of the full range Brazilian musical textures to create new melodies such as the Eastern Brazilian sound of “Partido Cerrado,” the upbeat spirit of “Rocks in My Path,” the modern day groove of “Ditmas Avenue” and the Jobim-esque feel of “Q Train Samba.” His interpretations of other Brazilian composer’s music are equally fresh. An expressive sax solo opens Lo Borges’ “Um Girassol Da Cor Do Seu Cabelo” before Castro and drummer Almeido join in to explore the rich harmonies, rhythms and melodies of this tune. The full quartet embraces Nelson Cavaquinho’s slower ballad style samba “Folhas Secas” with the grace and elegance it deserves. If you’re perception of Brazilian jazz is rooted in the 1960s bossa nove craze, wake up to the contemporary music and playing on Livio Almeida’s lively, but not live,  Brasilia Sessions.

BOTTOM LINE: Since arriving in New York a few years back, saxophonist Livio Almeida has been a featured player in Arturo O’Farrill’s bands. Brasilia Sessions clearly establishes him as a formidable composer, arranger and bandleader of contemporary Brazlian jazz.