Albare Plays Jobim

My latest Vinyl Anachronist music review is now live at Part-Time Audiophile. You can read it here.

Sergio Pereira's Nu Brasil

Have you read my article in Part-Time Audiophile yet, the one about Zoho Records? As soon as that article went live, I received a couple of releases from Zoho that should have been included since they're so fantastic; they capture the essence of this unique label that tends to focus on South American jazz musicians. This release right here, from Brazilian guitarist Sergio Pereira, doesn't quite have the complex and innovative approach of the other releases mentioned in that article. Rather, it captures that essence of Brazilian jazz, that smooth and lush feel that marks the best of that specific and popular genre.

That's not a bad thing, of course. If you've fallen in love with something obvious, say Getz/Gilberto, you'll feel right at home with Nu Brasil. That title alone suggests a new direction, but it's more of a precise summary of what makes this type of jazz so popular. (Actually, nu in Portuguese means "naked," which is a more accurate description of these ten original compositions.) We're talking, of course, about beauty and a breezy motif that implies that life in Brazil is full of celebration, love and yes, just a hint of unbridled sex appeal. "There's a certain something inherent in the music of Brazil," the liner notes explain, "that goes well beyond the notes and speaks more of the soul of a culture." That description is deliciously apt and indicates, as usual, that the folks at Zoho know and feel and understand the music they are releasing. They seem to understand this more than just about any other contemporary jazz label.

Pereira fits the typical profile of a Zoho artist. At 59, he's been playing Brazilian jazz for most of his life--even though he left Rio many years ago for the lights and the freedom of the New York City jazz scene. His guitar is soft yet intricate, full of so many flavors that instantly transport you to the Southern hemisphere. He surrounds himself with many of Brazil's most famous musicians, including a trio of vocalists (Paula Santoro, Sergio Santos and Viktoria Pilatovic) who know how to take that gentle ease of Astrud Gilberto and build on that appeal by making these songs less about the people of that country and more about the experiences you might have while living there.

Top that off with Zoho's welcome dedication to sound quality, and you have a release that redefines what it means to feel alive, and how music helps to accomplish that joy. Brazilian ensembles often create a rich and fluid sound through a large contingent of performers--it's far more intimate than a big band orchestra where every musician is adding a specific ingredient to the recipe. Pereira's compositions and arrangements lean toward the impressionistic, resulting in a sound that envelops you with warmth, vivaciousness and a miraculous gift of seduction.

Battle of the Getz/Gilbertos

Another CD I picked up from May Audio Marketing at AXPONA NYC was the iconic Getz/Gilberto, again from FIM (First Impression Music). This CD features K2HD 24-bit 100 kHz mastering and is 99.9999% silver. I was so impressed with FIM's mastering of The TBM Sounds! that I was extremely curious to see how they did with such a classic.

There's a little bit of a backstory to this as well. For the last few years my Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs 200g LP was one of the jewels of my collection, one of the dozen or so LPs I always brought out whenever I made a change in my audio system. I always think it's amazing how "The Girl From Ipanema" is synonymous with elevator music, yet the original is such a cool, cool song. Nowadays, I get a little tingle whenever I hear this song in public, even if it's a watered-down, Muzak-y version.

Then I did a terrible thing. I accidentally put a big scratch in my copy one day--just careless handling. The last minute or so of "Para Machuchar Meu Coracao" now had an audible pop all the way to the fade out. I was bummed. So when I grabbed the FIM CD at AXPONA, I knew it was ostensibly to replace the MFSL.

Still, I decided to compare the two late last night. When I first heard the FIM CD at Axpona, I felt the sound was smooth, full and lifelike, much like my memory of the MFSL. But when compared side to side, the results were surprising. The MFSL kicked the FIM's butt in almost every conceivable way.

With the MFSL, I could simply hear more of the music come through. Milton Banana's soft yet complex brushwork on the cymbals was far more detailed and complex; I could detect his body shifts and the minute little fills around the rims of the drums. Tommy William's bass sounded much more deep on the Lim CD than the MFSL, but it was almost too deep and disembodied in comparison. The bass on the LP was far more nuanced, and I could clearly hear William's fingerwork on the frets.

Stan Getz's sax also sounded too isolated and far forward from the mix with the silver CD. On the MFSL, Stan sounded more like he was in the same room with the other musicians during the recording. Finally, Astrud Gilberto's lovely and relaxed voice was far more restricted to the right channel with the FIM, coming straight out of my speaker and nowhere else. With the MFSL, her voice was still centered on the speaker, but the decay expanded backward into the soundstage in a far more realistic way.

I'm surprised by these results. After hearing how close The TBM Sounds! came to my Three Blind Mice Cisco LP reissues, I had high hopes for the Getz/Gilberto. Alas, it fell short.

As for that scratch, I'd forgotten an important detail. While using the Walker Audio Prelude record cleaning system on the MFSL a few months ago, I was able to relegate the pop to something much more tolerable. While record cleaners certainly can't repair actual scratches, I think that original scratch was just more a scuff. Last night I kept waiting the pop to materialize, and it never did. I've never encountered a record cleaning system that achieves as much as the Walker does.