Sings Jobim

Performer: Eliane Elias
Artist: Michael Brecker; Oscar Castro-Neves; Marc Johnson
Engineer: James Farber
Producer: Eliane Elias; Oscar Castro-Neves
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Eliane Elias (vocals, piano); Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone); Oscar Castro-Neves (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Marc Johnson (acoustic bass, background vocals); Paulo Braga (drums, bongos, background vocals); Cafe (percussion); Amanda Brecker, Christine Martin, Elza Silva (background vocals). Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York, New York. Personnel: Eliane Elias (vocals, piano, background vocals); Oscar Castro-Neves (guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone); Marc Courtney Johnson, Marc Johnson , Nilson Matta (acoustic bass); Paulo Braga (drums, bongos, background vocals); Paulinho Braga (drums, bongos); Caf� (percussion); Amanda Elias Brecker, Arch Johnson, Christine Martin (background vocals). Audio Mixer: James Farber. Recording information: Avatar Studios, New York, NY. Photographer: Paulo Vasconcellos. Eliane Elias has considerable chops as an acoustic pianist, although as a singer, she is definitely limited and doesn't have a great range by any means. No one's going to mistake Elias' singing for that of Flora Purim, Astrud Gilberto, Gal Costa or T�nia Maria. But while her voice is paper-thin, Elias sings with enough feeling and sincerity to make Sings Jobim a decent, if conventional, Brazilian jazz offering. Her second tribute to Antonio Carlos Jobim (the first was 1989's all-instrumental Eliane Elias Plays Jobim), this CD finds her staying away from instrumentals and embracing familiar, oft-recorded bossa nova standards like "The Girl from Ipanema," "So Danco Samba," "One Note Samba" and "Desafinado." Elias' singing (most of it in Portuguese) is the focal point, although she gets in a few nice piano solos. Unfortunately, Elias plays it safe and doesn't offer a lot of surprises. Given the many great but lesser-known songs that Jobim wrote, one wishes Elias had been less conservative and more adventurous in her choice of material. Although pleasant enough, this isn't one of her essential releases. ~ Alex Henderson Think you know "The Girl From Ipanema?" Think again. As Eliane Elias sings it on the opening cut of ELIANE ELIAS SINGS JOBIM, it's a breezy seduction, a bittersweet blend of flirtation and regret. Elias burst on the New York jazz scene in the early 1980s as the pianist in Steps Ahead. Here she leads a group of acknowledged Brazilian masters (and the masterful American bassist Marc Johnson) through 16 of Jobim's chestnuts and more obscure gems. Elias' breathy, uninflected alto, reminiscent of Jobim's, conveys the deeply romantic yearning inherent in Jobim's work. Her piano playing swings with simple beauty. Piquant chord passages give way to silvery, slightly hesitant single note lines. Guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves offers sparkling and complex support throughout, most dramatically on the duet "Falando de Amor." "Song of the Jet" rises skyward on the eerily ascending chord progression and is propelled by the hushed cymbal-and-brushes work of drummer Paulo Braga.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25