For his sophomore recording, singer Miguel de Leon turned to the magic of Brazil’s Marvelous City (Cidade Maravelhosa) – Rio de Janeiro - as the inspiration for this songbook collection.
‘Postcards From Rio’ is an elegant musical look at an even dozen of Rio’s signature songs and each is given a unique twist as a result of the vision Miguel brought to project when he placed it in the capable hands of Brazilian sax star Leo Gandelman, who produced the album and also guests on several tracks.
Recorded and mixed entirely in Rio de Janeiro, Miguel de Leon’s vocal skills have taken a giant step forward on ‘Postcards’; benefiting from strong arrangements and the superb musicianship displayed on this disc. In fact, this new recording is markedly different in both its approach and feel from his debut ‘Minha Voz, Mi Voz’ CD.
Where ‘Voz’ gave us a jazzy, small group setting as our introduction to Miguel’s love of Brazilian music, ‘Postcards From Rio’ expands the roster for a richer, fuller sound. And while ‘Voz’ brought us memorable renditions of several Brazilian gems – a remarkable feat for any debut album – the new CD confidently embraces these classic songs with the singer rising to meet their storied popularity.
But there’s much that is familiar, too: Namely, Miguel’s enthusiasm and dedication to Brazilian song.
Miguel’s strong affinity for Brazilian music began when he was a teenager. After hearing recordings by Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 and really connecting with this music, he started buying all the Brasil 66 albums he could find. The Brazilian rhythms captivated Miguel. As a second generation Mexican American, he was already bilingual and he discovered through these records how similar Portuguese was to Spanish. Without formal study he easily learned to pronounce it and understand many phrases and themes of the songs.
Understanding how important the three Americas – the U.S., Mexico and Brazil – are to Miguel de Leon will go a long way in appreciating him as a musician. A rare few individuals can carry enough personal passion to undertake the long process of creating and financing a recording of this magnitude and his mingling of these three separate but complimentary cultures shows itself easily in these songs.
Check out the meringue-tinged horn groove Gandelman’s crew lays down for Jobim’s ‘Girl From Ipanema’ or Miguel’s carefully voiced story on tracks like ‘Sabado Em Copacabana’ and ‘Rio’, or Leo’s sax solo on ‘Corcovado’. That’s the legendary Serginho Trombone on the intro and solos for ‘Samba de Orly’, a ‘Rio’ song made famous by both Chico Buarque and Toquinho with Vinicius de Moraes. The flute and sax work all belongs to Leo, while his nephew Alberto Continentino continues to build his reps as one of Brazil’s top up-and-coming bass players.
Miguel blends his English lyrics with Portuguese and Spanish, helping us to broaden our perspectives of how the Brazilian beat remains a pan-American powerhouse. This lingual latitude works especially well on several of the album’s pop tracks, including ‘Bom Dia Rio’ (penned by Nelosn Motta with Miguel contributing the English), James Taylor’s ‘Only A Dream’ and ‘Rio de Janeiro Blue’ from Randy Crawford’s songbook.
Roberto Menescal’s ‘Rio’ swings along on a bed of flutes and Miguel’s perfect pacing in Portuguese and Spanish – it’s a favorite track of ours – and Miguel introduces us to yet another sensational Brazilian voice by inviting Fatima Regina to join him in multi-lingual duet on ‘Cidade Maravelhosa’.
There’s a lot to like about this CD. Each of these songs holds a special place in the heart of any Brazilian music fan. And then there’s the booklet: a splendid, softly-blue collection of prints from many of Rio’s most famous view points. These photos could only come from someone who’s fallen under Rio’s enchanting spell.
