(Latin Jazz, Ethnic) Nilson Matta's (feat. Gretchen Parlato, Randy Brecker, Kenny Barron, Anat Cohen, Leny Andrade, Anne Drummond a.o.) - Black Orpheus - 2013, WEB, FLAC (tracks), lossless

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice has been told and retold in various mediums and manners throughout the ages. Claudio Monteverdi used opera as his means of transmitting the tale, alt-rocker Nick Cave tackled it head-on in song and author Neil Gaiman revisited the story in comic book format, but the list doesn't stop there; any decent rundown of Orpheus remakes has to include Brazil's two most famous contributions: the play Orfeu da Conceição and its subsequent film offspring, Black Orpheus (Dispat Films, 1959).
These works set the story during the time of Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro and feature some of the finest Brazilian compositions to come out of the mid-twentieth century. Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfa each wrote some timeless songs to fit the story and set things in motion for the Brazilian music boom that would sweep America in the early '60s.
Bassist Nilson Matta, like many a musician-to-be at the time, was completely taken with the music connected to these projects and he longed to record pieces from both the play and the movie; he's now accomplished his mission. Matta assembled a rotating to-die-for cast including pianist Kenny Barron, clarinetist Anat Cohen, trumpeter Randy Brecker, and vocalists Leny Andrade and Gretchen Parlato, to rework this music to his liking in various settings and manners.
Short interludes serve as palette cleansers and transitional devices to connect fully fleshed out works that really deserve a listener's undivided attention. Each of Matta's fully realized performances allow a different element of sophistication to come into focus. Jobim's "Overture," for example, mixes the prim-and-proper with the passionate-and-pure, thanks in part to Laura Metcalf's cello, while Bonfa's better-known "Samba De Orfeu" feeds off of the energy provided by clarinet queen Anat Cohen. Both of Parlato's appearances prove to be pure magic and other highlights include "O Nosso Amor," which features Brecker out front, and "Manhã Da Carnaval," which matches Barron up with Matta and drummer Alex Kautz.
Honorable mentions go to flautist Anne Drummond, who rarely gets the attention she deserves in the jazz press, guitarist Guilherme Monteiro, who adds color and rhythmic zest to every setting he appears in, and pianist Klaus Mueller, who turns in some excellent performances and contributes a few notable arrangements. Matta's work simultaneously lives up to the spirit of the original interpretations of this music and the notion of artistic rebirth that has long surrounded this story; kudos to this bassist-cum-conceptualist. (Dan Bilawsky)

To leave a critic at a loss for words is a beautiful thing which brings us bassist Nilson Matta and his "riff" on the classic 1959 film, Black Orpheus which drops 2/12/13. Taking on a film score that in many ways out shined the movie on several levels, Matta assembles an all star band to give this Brazilian classic the respect due while doing a righteous second take on one of the most important film scores in the last 50 years. Matta's Black Orpheus is in reality a fusion of both the 1959 Academy Award winner for best Foreign film and the lesser known but equally as important stage play, Orfeu da Conceicao - both productions are perhaps the roots of Matta's prolific talent and musical family tree. Matta embodies the modern evolution of classic Brazilian music with an artistic flair that stays true to his sense of self while losing nothing in terms of authenticity when the music is put up for closer examination.
Both works helped propel Brazilian samba and jazz to a more global audience and their impact on music in general and jazz in particular may only be rivaled by West Side Story in terms of musical significance. Brilliance is somewhat of a subjective term but it is the virtuoso talent of Matta that is pushing the roots of Brazilian music forward as evidenced by this stirring release not to forget previous work with Roni Ben-Hur who also is in the Motema stable of world class artists. Could any other bassist have put together a project and band such as this? Probably. Would the finished work have the sonic depth of field and flavor that is Nilson Matta? Doubtful.
Matta does a perfect reinvention and turns out an organic set of tunes that develop their own unique rhythmic pulse and lyrical celebration pulled from a deep and incredibly rich sonic color pallet. Of course when your band includes luminaries from North and South America, then capturing the essence of Brazillian music is the equivalent of catching lighting in a bottle. Brazilian music and especially the samba is straight from my wheelhouse so I will admit somewhat of a bias however with varying degrees of brilliance, Matta crushes this release. A great deal of care was put into coming up with a band that could handle the dynamics of Brazilian rhythms before taking a look at those that would be charting the harmonic direction of this work. Stand out guests include Anat Cohen whose solos were knocked out without the need for overdubbing and Randy Brecker who captured the raw energy of the Carnaval. Flutist Anne Drummond adds a layer of texture that keeps the work organic and raw yet wildly accessible.
Six of the tunes are from Antonio Carlos Jobim. The Matta original "Hugs And Kisses" sounds as though they could easily slip in the Jobim Songbook undetected. Matta handles the arrangements on seven tunes proving he is indeed a legitimate jazz triple threat as an instrumentalist, composer, and arranger.
Nilson Matta is a key player in the natural evolution of music that continues to impact jazz in the United States. Black Orpheus is as close to perfect as one can get for any genre. Matta is indeed the real deal and Black Orpheus should help Matta achieve an even higher level of critical acclaim that he so richly deserves.
Flawless. Righteous, ridiculous (as in ridiculously good), and the real deal could all be used to describe the release but would fail in embracing the sound and impact that Brazilian music has on modern jazz today and Matta plays a key roll in keeping the spirit of the music alive and well!