Brazilian Rhapsody

BARENBOIM DANIEL BRAZILAN

On this splendid recording, the Argentinean pianist-conductor Daniel Barenboim extends the thin line between Brazilian popular and classical music. He's joined by bassist Robert Kassinger, violinist Nikolaj Znaider, flutist Emmanuel Pahud, oboist Alex Klein, clarinetist Larry Combs, and Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista. They skillfully meld American jazz, classical genres, Portuguese choros, and African-derived sambas into a New World sound. Barenboim's piano lines are furious on the title track and florid on his Debussyan solo renditions of Darius Milhaud's "Corcovado" and "Sumaré" from Saudades do Brasil. Antonio Carlos Jobim reshaped the samba into the cool bossa nova, and this album's version of "Wave" reveals his melodic genius. The phenomenal singer and songwriter Milton Nascimento provides the high point of the CD, with his angelic tenor on his ebullient ballad "Travessia." Powered by Baptista's hypnotic caxixis and cuicas and guided by Barenboim's wide artistic vision, the sounds on this disc reveal the past, present, and future of Brazilian music. --Eugene Holley Jr.