Rosa Passos & Ron Carter: Entre Amigos (Chesky Records)
Rosa Passos played piano from the age of three but after hearing João Gilberto perform in her early teens, she abandoned the instrument to become a singer and guitarist. Her first album was recorded in 1979 and alongside her own compositions she went on to make several records honouring the legacies of the great Brazilian songwriters. To date she’s released over 20 albums.
Highly regarded in Brazil, Passos has toured the European jazz circuit with Paquito d’Rivera, performed in the United States and played in Japan many times. She linked up with legendary bassist Ron Carter in 2003 to record Entre Amigos, which means “among friends” in Portuguese, and the album has just been reissued on CD with an informative 10-page booklet.
Carter is no stranger to Brazilian music of course. He recorded five albums with Antônio Carlos Jobim, performed with Astrud Gilberto in the 1970s and featured on records by Hermeto Pascoal, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira. In 1999 he recorded his own Braziian inspired album, Orfeu.
Entre Amigos was recorded in a Brooklyn church using a single high-resolution microphone, the church being selected because of its fine acoustics and natural echo. Seven of the 11 Brazilian songs on the album are compositions by Jobim. Accompanying Passos and Carter are the singer’s long-time collaborator, guitarist Lula Galvāo, veteran percussionist Paulo Braga and American tenor saxophonist and clarinettist Billy Drewes.
The sound quality of the CD is first class. Passos’s soft and nonchalant tones are akin to those of Astrud Gilberto in her 1964 hit, Girl From Ipanema, one of the classics given a fresh makeover here. Also have a listen to another superbly rendered gem from the album, Desafinado, showcasing Drewes’ eloquent tenor and Carter’s intuitive bass. For the full tracklist and album details have a look at the Chesky bandcamp page here. Although Passos and Carter never recorded another album together, they’ve performed with each other many times since, most recently in 2023.
The Easy Rollers: And Another Thing (self-released)
The Easy Rollers meld 1920s and 30s jazz age numbers with their own interpretations and compositions. They first got together at the RNCM in Manchester nine years ago. Since then they’ve been honing their act, touring the UK’s jazz venues and festivals including Cheltenham, Brecon, Edinburgh Fringe and Marsden, to name just a few.
The excellent Australian-born Dani Sicari, who fronts the band, is a trained opera singer and top of the game in diction and projecting her voice. She’s ably supported by Tom Sharp on trumpet, Jamie Stockbridge reeds, James Girling guitar & banjolele, Alex Hill piano, Sam Jackson double bass and Matt Brown on drums. Guest trombonist Ellie Smith and guest accordionist Andrzej Baranek join in on two numbers each.
And Another Thing is the septet’s third release following their 2022 album, Drop Me Off In Harlem and a 2017 EP, Dani Sicari & The Easy Rollers. The new recording comprises six rearrangements of originals – George Gershwin’s Lady Be Good, Mezz Mezzrow’s That’s How I Feel Today, Rodgers & Hart’s Ten Cents A Dance, Eaton & Shand’s I Double Dare You, Joe Myroe’s Blue Drag and I’ll See You In My Dreams by Isham Jones. Girling, a dab hand at both classical and jazz guitar, has arranged four of these, while Stockbridge and Jackson are responsible for one each. The band’s four own compositions plus their lyrics were written by Stockbridge and he also supplemented the Mezzrow track with its new verse.
This good-time album is a real joy. All the artists are first-rate both individually and in ensemble playing. For a taste have look at their recent performance of I’ll See You In My Dreams at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall where you can check out Sharp’s virtuoso trumpet playing at the same time. The album’s full tracklist and sound samples are available here.
Peter Campbell: Haunted Melody (self-released)
Haunted Melody is the fourth album by American-Canadian singer Peter Campbell, following Street Of Tears (2014), Loving You: Celebrating Shirley Horn (2017) and Old Flames Never Die (2020).
He’s accompanied on his new album by some of Canada’s top musicians, including Kevin Turcotte on trumpet and flugelhorn (Tito Puente, Dave Holland, Pat LaBarbera, Kenny Kirkwood), jazz guitarist Reg Schwager (Pepper Adams, Hank Jones, Junior Mance, Diana Krall), pianist Adrean Farrugia (Ernie Watts, Curtis Fuller, Bob Brookmeyer, Cyrille Aimee), bassist Ross MacIntyre and drummer Ethan Ardelli. American saxophonist Joel Frahm also contributes.
Campbell has a trained tenor voice and a relaxed, light delivery – at times recalling some of those male leads in early Broadway musicals. I couldn’t actually discern much jazz in the proceedings – indeed, Campbell describes his output as “traditional pop” – but that being said, he’s actually very good at what he does. Three of the album’s 10 numbers are by Brazilian composers – Ivan Lins, Tom Jobim and Dori Caymmi – reflecting four years Campbell spent living in Portugal. Others are by the likes of André Previn, Carl Sigman, Curtis Lewis and Otis René.
One observation – Campbell wears his heart on his sleeve and tailors his choice of material to that which can specifically apply to himself as a gay male. Notably, in No One After You, he alters Leonard Cohen’s line “I’ve danced with a lot of women” to “I’ve danced with a lot of men.” Whether narrowing the market in this way makes commercial sense is a moot point. The album’s full tracklist and sound samples are available here.
