Search - Luciana Souza :: Neruda

Quiet simplicity, performed elegantly

Rick Cornell | Reno, Nv USA | 08/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To begin: I highly recommend this album. But if you haven't heard it, here's what I recommend you do: after you buy it, but before you put it into your c.d. player, look at the liner notes; read the English translations of the Pablo Neruda poems; then read them out loud; then imagine how you might put these to music, if it were up to you; then listen.



These poems are elegant, direct, sadly reflective of life in their breadth, tapping into an endless reservoir of longing and of love. They demand a similarly elegant, direct, quiet and clean treatment; and that's exactly what Luciana Souza gives them in her original compositions.



Luciana Souza has an incredibly pure alto voice that never strains or cracks, and sounds the same regardless of which register she sings in. I don't know what it is about Brazilian singers, and why they are so able to capture that kind of emotional sound more than their American counterparts (e.g., Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento, anyone named Gilberto); but she does it here. And the instrumentation of piano and percussion (which Ms. Souza plays, everything from marimba to conga to snare) is perfect. Not too much, but not little.



Actually, the piano parts by Edward Simon (inspired by Federico Mompou) sound almost classical; I detected a bit of Grieg in "Loneliness", Satie in "Poetry", and Brahms in "Memory". This album is not for jazz purists; but if you like beautiful music that grows on you with each listen, regardless of genre, then this album is for you.



Ms. Souza was voted the #1 "Rising Star" in the 2004 Down Beat poll. She merits that; but on this evidence, she won't be a "rising star" for very long. As I said, highly recommended. RC



"

Great 'art song/jazz'

E. C Goodstein | Northern CA United States | 06/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Absolutely stunning, wonderful album IMO. I'm not always crazy about LS, but this one is a perfect balance between her voice,
Edward Simon's incisive piano and the magical words by Neruda-- even in translation. Only comparison to Norah Jones I see is that
there's an emphasis on quiet-- but NERUDA is at a whole different,better level I think. One of the great 'art song jazz' albums-- and I also like the incorporation of a few Mompou
melodies-- just the right nostalgic, 'simplified' Chopin touch.
So far in '04, my favorite album of the year in any genre."

Art Versus Commerce

Rick Cornell | 04/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some people seem to have an agenda here when it comes to knocking Luciana. All I can say is, she gets to me on an emotional level, and she has highly developed musical skills. Some singers just open their mouths and its magic; They are endowed with a remarkable instrument and get over by virtue of having this great sound. With Luciana it is more than this. She seems to choose her material carefully, based on what moves her, not on what someone thinks will sell. She also clearly works hard at her craft. There is not enough of this in her field today. How many singers do you know that can play percussion and sing in 7/4 at the same time? Go see her at Joe's Pub if you doubt me. . .but get tickets soon, she sells the place out. You will not hear one note out of place and she will get you, too."