Storytellers
| Storytellers | ||||
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| Studio album by Luciana Souza & WDR Big Band Cologne | ||||
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| Label (s) | Sunnyside Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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Storytellers is a jazz album by Luciana Souza and the WDR Big Band . The recordings, which were made in spring 2017, were released on March 27, 2020 on Sunnyside Records .
background
The album documents the first encounter between Souza and the WDR Big Band. For the album, the artists worked with the arranger Vince Mendoza , who is the “composer in residence” of the orchestra and who also conducted it.
The album contains a wide selection of Brazilian compositions; eight titles come from the songbook of great Brazilian authors, Antonio Carlos Jobim , Ivan Lins , Gilberto Gil , Edu Lobo , Chico Buarque , Chico Pinheiro , Guinga and Djavan . Another title comes from Luciana Souza and one from Mendoza, who also wrote all the arrangements.
Souza wrote in an introductory essay in the album's liner notes :
- “Songs have always been a mysterious gateway into human experience and the cultures from which they come. They articulate the feeling of being an independent part of a culture, and they grow out of stories and mythologies on which the culture is based. "
Track list
- Luciana Souza: Storytellers (Sunnyside Records)
- Varanda
- Matita perê
- Se acontecer
- Beatrice
- Choro # 3
- Meu pai
- Baiao a tempo
- Choro coraçao
- Bar de Copacabana
- Sim ou nao
reception
According to James Hale, who reviewed the album on Down Beat , Souza's vocals - either in Portuguese or sung wordlessly - are exceptionally well integrated with the band, making them sound like a 22nd instrument on Varanda. The cinematic piece is the perfect introduction to a carefully crafted version of “Matita Perê”, Antônio Carlos Jobim's comprehensive homage to the ecology of his land and the common man. Mendoza's arrangement is layered, with a flawless mid-tempo change and an effective soprano solo by Johan Hörlén . The main strength of the WDR Big Band, however, is that they can both perform the buttery mixes that Mendoza wrote for a version of "Beatriz" and free up the decks for expressive solos. In addition, the experienced drummer Hans Dekker has the smooth touch and the flexible feeling to be the ideal accompaniment for storytellers .
Angelo Leonardi awarded the album 4½ (out of five) stars in All About Jazz, writing: “There are records that achieve such a valuable balance between the instrumental and vocal fields (in a climate of lyricism, interpretive richness and freshness) that gives every hearing new emotions and from which one does not want to get away. "
Georg Wassmuth says in his review for SWR 2 that Souza creates the songs "with dreamlike security". With the album Storytellers she shows herself “as a storyteller of extraordinary format. She interprets the works of her Brazilian compatriots with almost epic grace. There are songs about the sublimity and transience of nature, but also reflections on the togetherness and opposition among people. Luciana Souza audibly lets in a lot of her own life experience. ”Mendoza has“ played a major role in the artistic success of the CD ”as arranger and conductor. "He really pulls out all the stops with the WDR Big Band and the excellent ensemble sits on the front edge of the chair at every second."
Web links
- Listing of the album on Allmusic (English). Retrieved May 1, 2020.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Storytellers (WDR)
- ↑ a b James Hale: Luciana Souza: Storytellers. In: Down Beat. May 1, 2020, accessed on May 3, 2020 .
- ↑ Storytellers at Bandcamp
- ↑ Angelo Leonardi: Luciana Souza: Storytellers. All About Jazz, April 20, 2020, accessed May 3, 2020 .
- ↑ https://www.swr.de/swr2/musik-jazz-und-pop/storytellers-luciana-souza-and-the-wdr-big-band-cologne-100.html. SWR2, June 12, 2020, accessed June 21, 2020 .