New Reviews from JazzReview.com

RAMANA VIEIRA
"Lagrimas De Rainha - Tears Of A Queen"
JazzReview.com Link to review: http://www.jazzreview.com/cd/review-20269.html
By Susan Frances

Vocalist Ramana Vieira is perched beautifully between torchlight blues and operatic fires. Her latest release Lagrimas de Rainha, which translated in English is Tears Of A Queen, has Spanish/ Portuguese overtones with Gypsy-tinged accents and smooth jazz pruning. Her songs are chin-deep in Fado imagery, a style of music that is melancholic and tells stories about heartache and disappointment similarly to the blues. Vieira’s vocals have a poetic resonance that makes the listener hang on every word and feel for the stories being told in the verses without possibly even understanding what is being said. Vieira’s songs transcend language barriers through her expressive style and smooth vocal textures. This is music that you can imagine being sung in the streets of Lisbon, the commercial hubs of Madrid, and the piazzas of Florence. The songs appeal to the masses and infiltrate the senses in a way that breathes warmth into the soul and supplies a healing salve over wounds. (CLICK LINK TO READ MORE)

BRASIL BRAZIL
"Brasil Brazil 3"

JazzReview.com Link to review: http://www.jazzreview.com/cd/review-20268.html
By Susan Frances

Harmony singers, Sonia Santos and Ana Gazzola live up to the idyllic expectations of Brazilian-jazz music on their third release appropriately titled Brasil Brazil 3. The two ladies front the samba-club group Brasil Brazil, which has in tow keyboardist Pablo Medina, bassists Antonio Santana, Paulo Gustavo and Fernando Raio, drummers Cristiano Bertotucci and Sandro Feliciano, and guitarists Grecco Buratto, Angelo Metz, Ze Nogueira de Sa. Their repertoire is feathered with the sounds of special guests like harmonica player Ron Kalina, requinto artist Rafael Chato Rios, and congas musician Lula Aftro-Brasil.

The band wraps Brazilian-jazz in foils of Latin-scat vocals, Afro-Cuban rhythms, Caribbean-soul bling, club jazz grooves, and spicy swing. (CLICK LINK TO READ MORE)