Claudio Roditi – Brazilliance X4 (2009/2017) [HighResAudio FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

Claudio Roditi – Brazilliance X4 (2009/2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz  | Time – 57:57 minutes | 622 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HighResAudio | Booklet, Front Cover | © 2xHD/Resonance Records
Recorded in studio and live (#8,10) at Rising Jazz Stars, California, March 24 & 25, 2007

The repertoire is as classy as the players: a jazz standard (“Tune Up”), five pieces by Brazilian luminaries (Johnny Alf, the late Victor Assis Brasil, Joao Donato, the late Durval Ferreira, and Raul de Souza), and four Roditi compositions. All of these tunes are treated in the best bossa nova tradition, which as this is written is a half-century old and as fresh and vital as ever.
The Brasilian standards at the start of the record are wonderfully recast and in doing so Roditi is also giving notice that he is not merely a Brasilian with a penchant for jazz, but also a soulful Carioca at heart. “A Vontade Mesmo,” “E Nada Mais” and “Quem Diz Que Sabe” provide ample evidence of this. The live track at the back end of the record and the superb sound throughout make this record one of the finest in 2008/09 so far.

Claudio Roditi has enjoyed a great level of consistency in his career within a Brazilian jazz format. As literate a player as there is on the trumpet and flugelhorn, Roditi’s influences stemming from Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, and Freddie Hubbard are evident, but a sweet patience and virtue that he owns has been the distinctive difference. Always surrounding himself with exceptional, high-level players, on Brazilliance X 4 the band is as great as he has ever employed. Expert Brazilian drummer Duduka DaFonseca, the wonderful pianist Helio Alves, and the excellent young bassist Leonardo Cioglia provide Roditi an extraordinarily talented and cohesive group, one that hopefully can continue to be a working, touring ensemble. This is a very uniform recording all the way through, with Roditi himself virtually wasting no notes, richly rendering this music from top to bottom while featuring source material from a wide range of lesser known composers. Victor Assis Brasil’s “Pro Zeca” starts the program in a hot and hip samba jazz, the astounding Alves driving Roditi’s quick lyric line handing off to DaFonseca’s inventive drum solo. The ultra-melodic Roditi is at his best on the clean and clear composition of Johnny Alf, “Rapaz De Bem,” while taking twists and turns in a more complicated piece written by trombonist Raul DeSouza, the upbeat and bright “A Vontade Mesmo.” Durval Ferreira and Lula Freire’s “E Nada Mais” is the sleek, romantic selection, while João Donato and Paulo Sérgio Valle’s “Quem Diz Que Sabe” cleverly modifies the quick samba rhythm while retaining a simple melodic approach. Roditi penned four pieces, including the steamy samba “Dinner by Five” with another showcase for the modal piano of Alves or DaFonseca’s unpredictable drumming, and the slow ballad “Song for Nana” accented by chiming piano and Cioglia’s soulful bass. The other two contributions written by Roditi are live in-concert pieces, as “Tema Para Duduka” is yet another feature where the drummer fills in the cracks between melody lines, while “Gemini Man” bubbles with excitement as the trumpeter’s strutting and stretching trumpet urges the band ahead in an energetic yet effortless framework. There’s also a version of the Miles Davis evergreen “Tune Up,” a fluid and patient bossa nova adaptation. A collection of tunes quite easy to love, this comes very close to being a definitive modern instrumental Brazilian jazz classic, and will stand as one of, if not the very best recordings Roditi has produced during his successful and fruitful career. -AllMusic Review by Michael G. Nastos

Tracklist:
1 Pro Zeca 5:01
2 E Nada Mais 5:43
3 A Vontade Mesmo 4:25
4 Tune Up 4:35
5 Rapaz De Bem 5:24
6 Dinner By Five 5:13
7 Song For Nana 3:59
8 Tema Para Duduka 10:53
9 Quem Diz Que Sabe 5:23
10 Gemini Man 7:22

Personnel:
Claudio Roditi, trumpet, flugelhorn
Helio Alves, piano
Leonardo Cioglia, bass
Duduka da Fonseca, drums

Download:

mqs.link_ClaudiRditiBrazillianceX420092017HRA2444.1.rar