Search - Jon Gold :: Brazil Confidential

Soulful and expressive - a wonderful listening experience!

Nicholas Petrides | 05/25/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brazil Confidential left me full of the samba/jazz echoes so seldom originally created and emotionally expressed these days. Jon Gold's latest work is truly a moving integration of Brazilian flavor and textural/compositional integrity. Highly recommended!"

Fluent Brazilian jazz spoken here

James F. Burden | Walnut Creek, CA United States | 05/03/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Full disclosure: Jon Gold and I played in several bands back in the late eighties in Santa Cruz, California. He then moved to Rio de Janeiro and we lost touch, only to reconnect via the net and email a couple of years ago. He recently sent me a copy of his new CD and I couldn't be prouder of my old friend, so much so that I ordered a copy for another pal who is also an aficionado of Brazilian music. The tunes are Jon's original compositions in a range of Brazilian styles, featuring wonderful, first-call players and singers from the U.S. and Brazil.



It seems that most artists choose to open their program with a barn-burner, an up-tempo, attention-grabbing flag-waver. In contrast, Brazil Confidential's first track, Além do Azul (Beyond the Blue) starts out atmospheric, featuring soft shakers, arpeggiated piano, bowed bass, and breathy, middle register flute. It moves in and out of an afoché groove with a feeling of spiritual and musical openness, setting the stage for Jon's exploration of, and personal contribution to the rich Brazilian musical universe. The barn-burning commences with track two, Funky Jabour, a joyous, ass-shaking homage to the genius Hermeto Pascoal and the musical scene at his compound in the Rio neghborhood of Jabour. And the grooving continues. Carioca da Clara opens and closes with the sounds of the beach: surf, gulls, and laughter, and then an acoustic guitar and a male voice singing a soft, wordless samba. Soon the band enters, bass, drums, percussion, and Hammmond organ, with the piano restating the melody. The subtle but relentless samba swing known as ginga embraces you. Hammond and guitar solos follow, with flute taking the melody on the out chorus. I am transported. I can feel the warmth of the sun and the Cariocas in Rio's Zona Sul.



I love Confissão, a beautiful slow samba canção sung by the devine Tati Parra with Portuguese lyrics and guitar accompaniment by Luiz Ribeiro. The passion and deep feeling in this tune are evident throughout the album. This is Brazilian jazz, but the tunes are not simply blowing vehicles, they are the fully realized artistic statements of a mature musician. Jon is a fine soloist, but interestingly enough, many of the tunes have no keyboard solos. In the tradition of Ellington and Jobim, what's important is the compositions themselves and the ensemble, not any individual's technical prowess. It is a tradition righteously served by this fine work."