Mario Adnet – More Jobim Jazz (Adventure Music – 2011)

Review written by: Raul da Gama –

Of all the musicians who have contributed to keeping the repertoire of great Brazilian composers alive, Mario Adnet may be making the greatest contribution here. Like trombonist Roswell Rudd, soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy and pianist Misha Mengleberg who gone to great lengths to keep the music of the great pianist and composer Herbie Nichols’ and (to a certain extent) Thelonious Monk’s repertoire alive, the guitarist Adnet has created some of the finest repertory albums of Brazilian music. His work to preserve and spread the music of Moacir Santos, ranks among the finest albums of Brazilian music to have been released as is his album of Baden Powell music and of course his Jobim Jazz album. To these he has now added More Jobim Jazz, another exquisite album produced by the Adventure label of Richard Zirinsky Jr. and Mike Marshall.

Mario Adnet may well be one of the finest living orchestrators in contemporary musical idioms outside what is still catalogued as classical music. He combines the skill of Gil Evans in his use of woodwinds and brass, with a stylish use of strings and percussion and although he has not written much for truly large ensembles he is easily the peer of the Duke, or at least the Duke Ellington of small and medium sized Brazilian ensembles. His elegant taste and his marvelous sense of colours and shades puts him in a secure place where the only other reigning musicians are The Duke, Gil Evans and George Russell. He has a sensibility that makes him to small ensembles what Respighi is to the large world of classical music. Such is his extraordinarily sharp ear for timbre and for the tonal spectrum of the instruments in the brass, woodwinds and certainly strings as well and it seems only a matter of time before he uses the larger family of strings—violins, violoncellos and multiple basses.

On More Jobim Jazz Adnet seems to have tapped into the soul of Jobim, just as he did before. Here, however he is more assured than ever before. This is evident from the sure-footed manner in which he has paced the music, using tempi that are marginally quicker than the Master himself. “Wave” is a wonderful example. On lesser-known Jobim charts such as “Samba de Maria Luiza” “Marina Del Ray” he uses sixteenth notes to colour his harmonies with the most subtle hues. And in “Deus e o Diabo Do Sol” his masterful use of color and nuanced shades turns the melodic narrative into something of a masterful and visually exciting medieval battle. This he repeats in his re-creation of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” as he introduces Jobim’s beautiful “Samba do Avião”. The superb work of the trombones has much to do with this and it bodes well for the earthy energy of new Brazilian masters of the instrument, Everson Moraes and Vittor Santos.

Mario Adnet says he discovered the link between Gerry Mulligan’s Tentet and Quartet from 1953. If he goes on listening to the cool surfing sounds of the 50s West Coast, heaven knows what he will come up with next!

Track Listing: 1. Takatanga; 2. Mojave; 3. Boto (Porpoise); 4. Bonita; 5. Antigua; 6. O Homem (The Man); 7. Ai Quem Me Dera (I Wish); 8. O Barbinha Branca (The Little White Bearded Man); 9. Samba de Maria Luiza (Maria Luiza’s Samba); 10. Wave; 11. Marina Del Ray; 12. Deau e o Diabo Na Terra Do Sol (God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun); 13. Samba do Avião (Song of the Jet) (intro: Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin).

Personnel: Andrea Ernest Dias: flute (4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13); Joana Adnet: clarinet (2, 8, 9 – 11, 13); Zé Canuto: alto saxophone (1, 3 – 9, 11, 12); Marcelo Martins: tenor saxophone (1 – 5, 8 – 13); Henrique Band: baritone saxophone (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13); Philip Doyle: French horn (1, 3, 5, 6, 10 – 13); Jessé Sadoc: trumpet (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 12), flugelhorn (2, 10); Aquiles Moraes: trumpet (9), flugelhorn (11, 13); Everson Moraes: trombone (1 – 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 – 13); Vittor Santos: trombone (6, 9, 10 – 13); Mario Adnet: acoustic guitar (1 – 6, 10, 11, 13); Antonia Adnet: acoustic guitar (7 – 9); Ricardo Silveira: electric guitar: 4, 5, 8, 10, 12); Marcos Nimrichter: piano (1, 2, 4 – 10, 12, 13), accordion (3, 7, 8); Jorge Helder: acoustic bass (1 – 10, 12, 13); Jurim Moreira: drums (1 – 3, 6, 12); Raphael Barata: drums (4, 5, 7 – 10, 13), Armando Marçal: percussion (1 – 3, 6, 12).

Related links: Mario Adnet on the web: www.marioadnet.com