ANTONIO ADOLFO: Destiny

Antonio Adolfo

Destiny

© 2007 Far Out Recordings (5060088043165)

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Fans of classic female bossa nova in the vein of Sergio Mendes & Quarteto Em Cy will go crazy for ‘Destiny’ as it features the dulcet tones of not one, but, two girls from Ipanema

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Slick Brazilian breaks and sweet vocal harmonies combine for some delicious 70s funky carioca flavour…

Following Zeep’s Tropicalia-infused debut album, Far Out keep the ‘70s vibes flowing with ‘Destiny', the new CD from legendary Brazilian composer Antonio Adolfo.

Fans of classic female bossa nova in the vein of Sergio Mendes & Quarteto Em Cy will go crazy for ‘Destiny’ as it features the dulcet tones of not one, but, two girls from Ipanema, Antonio’s daughters’ Carol & Luisa. Their crystal-clear, tone-perfect voices float perfectly over Antonio’s late 60s & 70s inspired Brazilian grooves that combine influences from jazz, classic Brazilian 60s pop, Tropicalia, easy-scoring and funk.

In the late ‘60s and ‘70s Antonio was known as the master of funky-Brazilian breaks and beats and ‘Destiny’ sounds like it’s been beamed straight from that era as it’s full to the brim with choppy wah-wah guitars and slick-bossa breaks that the Beastie Boys would give their right arms for. When you learn the pedigree of the musicians involved this should come as no surprise: from the mighty Azymuth comes drummer Ivan Conti & bassist Alex Malheiros, from Grupo Batuque the percussive powerhouse Dom Chacal, original Mr-funky-guitar Ze Carlos is present and even the one-and-only Arthur Verocai, the man behind Madlib’s favourite Brazilian CD ever, is here with a wonderful string arrangement.

Whilst Herb Alpert, Sergio Mendes, Stevie Wonder, Earl Klugh and Dionne Warwick have all performed or recorded Antonio’s compositions he is probably best known outside of Brazil for his work as Antonio Adolfo & Brazuca, under which name he delivered a series of sought-after albums at the end of the 1960s/start of the 1970s. In the stakes of Brazilian music Antonio’s sound and style is up there with Edu Lobo and Marcos Valle and it made sense for him to record an album paying tribute to the 60s/70s – possibly the most fertile time ever for Brazilian music - for Far Out, the label that also helped bring the music of Marcos Valle to a whole new generation of fans. ‘Destiny’ is the anticipated follow up to ‘Ao Vivo Live’, a CD Antonio Adolfo recorded with his daughter Carol Saboya, and which earlier this year was voted ‘Best Brazilian CD of 2007 recorded and released in the United States’, by the Brazilian International Press Association.




As the similarity in the name suggests this new album picks up from where Antonio Adolfo & Brazuca left-off, yet now it’s Antonio Adolfo, Brazil & Brazuka, as Antonio is joined by his two daughters Carol & Luisa. They provide lead vocals on all 10 songs, their voices combining perfectly to create a unique harmonious ‘one’ that flows throughout and makes this CD an absolute joy to listen to. For ‘Destiny’ Antonio paired up with Tiberio Gaspar, the lyrical partner he worked on as Antonio Adolfo & Brazuca.

Antonio was the first Brazilian musician to play the Fender Rhodes and his prowess on the instrument is apparent as he creates some seriously funky melodies for Carol & Luisa’s harmonies to float above. Album highlights include the wah-wah flecked bossa groove of ‘Bola da Vez’, the slinky percussive dancer ‘Luizao’ with it’s rippling bassline and ‘Amazonian’ breakdown, the 70s cop-show theme in waiting ‘Eu E Voce’, the sax-and-wah-wah-guitar schiz-out that is ‘Dono do Mundo’ plus the lament for a summer-love long-gone ‘Tão Iguais’.

Antonio grew up in a musical family in Rio de Janeiro (his mother was a violinist in the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra) and began his studies at the age of seven. His teachers included Eumir Deodato and the great Nadia Boulanger in Paris and by the age of seventeen Antonio had turned professional. Antonio is among the elite of Rio de Janeiro’s jazz scene, where his talent was nurtured with the bossa nova movement of the ‘60s that led him to tour with legendary Brazilian singers such as Elis Regina and Milton Nascimento. The 17-year-old piano sensation of the early-60s bossa jazz scene then paired up with lyricist Tibério Gaspar to create Antonio Adolfo & Brazuca, the groovy and futuristic Sergio Mendes-meets-the-Jetsons female-fronted pop band that created some of the catchiest songs of Brazil’s late 60s-early 70s period. In the late ‘70s and ‘80s he was a successful TV-soundtrack composer, composing many seminal soundtracks for Brazilian TV and at this time he also released a series of self-released and funky instrumental jazz-funk LPs. Over the years he has always been in demand as a session arranger and keyboard player and most recently Antonio has also written music instructional books. In 1985 he set up his own music school in Rio. He has served as the IAJE’s (International Association For Jazz Education) Latin American Section Coordinator for eight years.

Antonio fills us in on the recordings of this milestone album: “Everything was recorded with myself playing a Fender Rhodes piano and I am proud to say that the two female voices are my daughters Luisa and Carol, who sing as if one, with the timbre of Carioca girls. I am so pleased to record this album now in the 21st Century with the wonderful studio technology we now have. I always believed it was my ‘Destiny’ to record this album.”

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  • Unique "deja vu" music
    author: Terence King

    On this CD, Antonio Adolfo more or less recreates some of the style of the great music he was making 30 years ago, but even better than ever. The style is -- well, I don't know -- how about "Funk-Bossa Nova"? Anyway, it's very straightforward, nice grooves that employ funky feels with some Brazilian influence, excellent rhythm section of Fender Rhodes piano, electric guitar, electric bass, drums, plus other percussion and horns and/or strings on some tracks. The magic ingredient is the duo of singers. Adolfo's two daughters sing throughout the record, mostly in uncanny unison, occasionally in harmony. The overall result is gorgeous, ecstatic trance music. The music is perfectly on the line between predictable and surprising, with lots of subtle personality. The grooves plus the voices are heavenly. A great CD.

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