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CD reviews
Listen
to REALAUDIO FILES from BALAIO Escuridão
da Passagem The overall mood is one of effortless, spontaneous improvisation and subtle rhythms that spring organically from the melodic structure of the works... where the Brazil of yesterday and tomorrow meet and mingle in joyous harmony. Mark Holston/Jazziz Boukas is an American who succeeds in reproducing Brazilian rhythms on the guitar, as if he had been born in Brazil. Emotion is the main tone of this recording, always accompanied by challenging harmonies, beautiful melodies, contagious rhythms and impassionedimprovisations. David Hepner GuitarPlayer/Brazil The musical chemistry between Boukas and Neto produces the alchemy that creates this Brazilian jazz gem called Balaio. Highly recommended." Patricia Albela/LA
Jazz Scene
Balaio is inventive, creative and delightful. Egidio Leitão/Terra
Brasilis
Few nylon-string guitarists outside Brazil navigate the technical challenges and capture the spirit of Brazilian music with the elan that Richard Boukas demonstrates on this duet CD with Jovino Santos Neto. Ron Forbes-Roberts/Acoustic
Guitar There is an overused phrase that reviewers use: "not one wasted note". But in the case of this recording, that phrase is perfect. If you enjoy interesting music performed in a tasteful way and recorded in an accurate acoustic manner, this CD is for you. Joe Carter/Just
Jazz Guitar Boukas engages his nylon-string guitar these on 14 duets, and the results are unrelentingly pretty, delivered with an unmistakeable earnestness. Were it not for small, independent labels like the Brazilian music-oriented Malandro... deserving artists like guitarist Richard Boukas and pianist Jovino Santos Neto might not have much opportunity to craft records like this. Willard Jenkins/Jazz Times This
disc comes across as Jonathan Widran/All Music Guide
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by Mark Holston (excerpt from Brazilian music column Another propitious realization of the duo format features the guitar of New Yorker Richard Boukas and the piano of Carioca (native of Rio) multi-instrumentalist Jovino Santos Neto. The two musicians' deep affection for the folk-inspired, free-leaning music of Brazilian-music maverick Hermeto Pascoal is evident throughout an effervescent 14-track set on Balaio (Malandro), where conventional Bossa references are virtually absent. A longstanding member of Pascoal's ensemble, Santos Neto, who's a resident of Seattle, Washington, is a master interpreter of such lesser known Brazilian styles as baião, maracatu and frevo, the jaunty rural-based idioms that have formed the rhythmic foundation of much of Pascoal's work. Boukas, who often accompanies his impeccable string work with wordless vocals that approximate the timbre of a soaring trombone, is just as passionately committed to extending Pascoal's remarkable legacy. Some of the themes, such as the Boukas-penned "Capricho dos Ventos" (Play of the Winds), reflect a strong classical influence, incorporating Baroque-like complexities in the interweaving of piano and guitar lines and the counterpoint of Boukas' ethereal vocalise. The overall mood is one of effortless, spontaneous improvisation and subtle rhythms that spring organically from the melodic structure of the works. Four Pascoal creations complement a program where the Brazil of yesterday and tomorrow meet and mingle in joyous harmony. by Willard Jenkins Were it not for small, independent labels like the Brazilian music-oriented Malandro (based in Cincinnati, of all places) deserving artists like guitarist Richard Boukas and pianist Jovino Santos Neto might not have much opportunity to craft records like this. Neto is a Brazilian based in Seattle, an acolyte of the wondrous Hermeto Pascoal, with whom he worked extensively prior to relocating to the States. Boukas is a New York-based, largely acoustic guitarist who fell head-over-heels for Brazilian music years ago and hasn't looked back. An educator at the New School in the jazz department, he too is deep under the spell of Pascoal. The material the duo explores is a latticework mix of their originals and Pascoal's songs. In the main, Boukas engages his nylon-string guitar these on 14 duets, and the results are unrelentingly pretty, delivered with an unmistakeable earnestness. (excerpt) from Acoustic Guitar by Ron Forbes-Roberts Few nylon-string guitarists outside Brazil navigate the technical challenges and capture the spirit of Brazilian music with the elan that Richard Boukas demonstrates on this duet CD with Jovino Santos Neto. Neto was Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal's pianist for 15 years, and Balaio features four of Pascoal's compositions as well as several by Santos Neto and Boukas. These two remarkable musicians mine the rich improvisational possibilities of these jazz-influenced tunes, which are built on bossa nova, choro, samba, and other Brazilian musical structures and rhythms. The pair's empathy and ability to blend their instruments harmonically and rhythmically through the twists and turns of this infectious, complex music is uncanny and breathtaking." from Guitar Player/Brasil by David Hepner (translated from Portuguese) Boukas is an American who succeeds in reproducing Brazilian rhythms on the guitar, as if he had been born in Brazil. Throughout the CD, his compositions possess good taste and spontaneity, In Escurid‹o da Passagem, his solo introduction demonstrates a purity of technique and musicality. His virtuosity on the guitar is matched by the vocal lines that he invents- and he goes beyond the nylon-string guitar, playing cavaquinho, mandolin, acoustic bass and percussion. And Jovino doesn't stay in the background either, playing piano and flute with great talent and feeling. The connection between the two musicians appears natural. Whether playing melody or accompaniment, the sound of the guitar's nylon strings combine with the piano as if they were a single instrument. Emotion is the main tone of this recording, always accompanied by challenging harmonies, beautiful melodies, contagious rhythms and impassionedimprovisations. from Just Jazz Guitar by Joe Carter While I was listening to this CD I kept hearing similarities to those classic Bill Evans & Jim Hall recordings, Undercurrent and Intermodulation. Here, as in those records, Boukas and Santos Neto seem to weave these flowing lines of melody and improvisation. There is an overused phrase that reviewers use: "not one wasted note". But in the case of this recording that phrase is perfect. Richard seems to take his time and choose each note very carefully. You can hear that there is a thought process that goes with his playing. If you enjoy interesting music performed in a tasteful way and recorded in an accurate acoustic manner, then this CD is for you." ` from Terra Brasilis/CaravanMusic.com by Egidio Leitão
I could simply say that Balaio (Malandro 71017) is the new work by former Hermeto Pascoal's band member Jovino Santos Neto (piano, flute) along with Richard Boukas (guitar, bass, cavaquinho, mandolin, percussion, voice). That should suffice for most people. However, there is a lot more to be said about the creative
music these two accomplished musicians present us. With a repertoire
that includes original music by both Boukas and Santos Neto as well
as some incredible music by Pascoal, Balaio
is inventive, creative and delightful. Balaio is, as its name implies, a basket full of surprises at every note. from L.A. Jazz Scene by Patricia Albela Brazilian pianist/composer Jovino Santos Neto and New York guitarist/vocalist/composer Richard Boukas were musically connected long before they met. Both shared a passion for Hermeto Pascoal's music. Jovino was part of Pascoal's Grupo for 15 years, Boukas an untiring student of Pascoal's music, who transcribed all of its individual parts for study. No wonder in their first concert together, in 1998, Boukas and Neto felt as if they had known each other musically for years. In Balaio, Boukas and Neto offer a choice selection of their own originals and Pascoal's. Beautiful melodies full of surprising turns and epiphanic chord changes are performed in a synthesis of classical, jazz, and Brazilian styles driven by a very organic sense of Brazilian rhythm. And it's just Boukas and Neto, each a virtuoso on their own instrument; a duo that is really a trio with guitarist Boukas' outstanding vocals. The CD opens with Jovino's grooving brisk samba "As Cores da Menina.", followed by the title cut "Balaio," by Pascoal. Jovino's luring piano intro masterfully blurs stylistic boundaries, and leads into a toada (slow baião) in dazzling piano/guitar interplay. Time doubles for the solos, resulting in a samba feel. The final theme is played by voice and mandolin in unison. Boukas' impeccable vocals, melodious, strong, wide-ranged, and incredibly creative are featured in his composition "Gajatucada." A samba with a deliciously unexpected melody and breaks in a gentle Afro-Cuban 6/8, the piece is carried by Boukas' percussive guitar. In Jovino's lively samba "Homeopatia," his piano and Boukas' acoustic bass interact like dancing. Here all instruments, including Boukas' vocal improvisation are rhythmically driven. Boukas' "Capricho dos Ventos" is a spellbinding 3 /4 that evokes Chopin, Debussy and the southern Brazilian guarânia. Pascoal's "Hermeto" is a gentle samba with partido alto breaks. Boukas' "Chorobop" is a hybrid of bebop and choro, where early jazz-influenced melodies flow almost non-stop over mild samba rhythms. from All Music Guide by Jonathan Widran Arguably the most important Brazilian musician in the last half century is composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal, whose open-minded brand of world music has attracted jazz greats like Chick Corea and Stan Getz. Of all the musicians in Pascoal's elite group, pianist and flutist Jovino Santos Neto best embodies the master's musical philosophy. His most important ongoing collaboration is with New York-based guitarist Richard Boukas, and this disc comes across as Brazilian music for hardcore genre lovers, rather than the easy to digest variety as on the Ivan Lins tribute. The set is divided between songs by Pascoal, Boukas, and Neto. It begins with the brisk, bright samba "As Cores da Menina," which captures the sharp interaction between the duo; Neto swirls piano improvisations over Boukas' punchy acoustic guitar lines. This sort of lively but sparse arrangement serves them well throughout the disc, as on the reflective title track and atmospheric "Campinas" ... Boukas has a few vocal spotlights, most notably "Escuridão Da Passagem," which puts him into the Lins category for a voice that communicates passion to English speaking listeners even in Portuguese. |
