ALBARE Plays Jobim, Vol 2

2021

When journalists and fans started asking me why I decided to play Jobim’s music, I found myself hesitating in my answers. I thought it was self-evident: everyone likes bossa nova. But a curious journalist for a Brazilian magazine was not satisfied with that answer. She wondered: Why would a musician wait until his early 60s to play such a youthfully romantic music? Ok, she got me. He forced me to think more deeply about my decision. So let me share with you my journey to Jobim.

As was reported in my last album, I was 14 when I first heard the music of Tom Jobim. I was watching a movie by French Director Marcel Camus in a cine-club of Villeurbanne Orphan Nero. I already had six years of guitar learning under my belt. When I first heard those bossa chords, my ears were opened in a whole new way. A musical seed was planted in my brain that would never leave me.

I fell naturally into the groove of the samba and found it exhilarating. I was not sure what I was listening to, but I knew I would eventually learn that genre of music.

Even though the music of Jobim started in the 50s, it became highly popular in the 70s as a trendy pop style. From Michel Fuguin in France to Mati Caspi in Israel, bossa nova was being heard everywhere. In Brazil, where Jobim is from, his music took over the country. After his passing, the Rio de Janeiro airport was renamed the Antonio Carlos Jobim Airport. This tells you something about the soul of a country that recognizes its musicians and poets. Imagine if Kennedy Airport was renamed Gershwin International. We might be living in a different world.

But I digress. When I started recording my own music in the early 90s, it was not bossa nova. As much as my love for the music kept growing, I assumed that everything in that genre was already said and done. What was the point of playing a style of music on the guitar when Charlie Byrd and Wes Montgomery already played every chord and every melody in the most eloquent and creative way possible? What could I possibly add?

But my past kept pulling on me. As I got older, I felt a tinge of nostalgia and romance for my earlier years. Jobim’s music was clearly in that past. So, I decided that if I was going to honor the music of my youth that I so loved, I had to find my own voice.

This brings us to the present. Everything you are hearing in my Jobim albums is my attempt to honor in my own way a music that moved my soul nearly 50 years ago. Maybe I needed all those years to figure out how to best do this.

I could never have done this alone. If you find the head of my rendition with my friend and collaborator Nestor Torres of How Insensitive resembling that of Wes Montgomery, it is because I am paying tribute to Wes. A special thanks to one of the greatest trumpeter of our time, Randy Brecker. Randy plays on So Danço Samba and Favela. I can’t wait to do more recordings with you, dear Randy. Special thanks also to Antonio Sanchez for his work on the ALBARE Plays Jobim album and his appearance on 2 tracks on this Volume 2. Joe Chindamo is the most brilliant orchestral arranger I know. He interrupted his classical work and PhD studies to work with me on this project. Joe is also an exceptional pianist. Our collaboration and friendship span over 30 years. Thank you Joe for your incredible dedication to excellence. Other collaborators on this album whom I give my thanks to are: Phil Turcio co-producer – mixing and mastering, Pablo Bencid drums, Luis Quintero percussions, Ricardo Rodriguez bass, Nestor Torres (guest on How Insensitive and Summer Samba).

The biggest thanks of all, of course, is to the master Antonio Carlos Tom Jobim, who took over my musical soul when I was 14 and never left me.

Artists

ALBARE, co-producer, acoustic and electric guitar

ALBARE (Albert Dadon) was born in Morocco and moved to Israel age five. His late father was an avid chess player and taught it to ALBARE and his brother. Family chess tournaments were a feature of the Dadon household. ALBARE’s late mother bought him a guitar on his eighth birthday and enrolled him in the conservatory of Dimona that had just opened. Of course, back then neither TV nor the internet were part of Israeli life. Chess and guitar were the young ALBARE’s creative outlet. At age 10 he moved with his family Villeurbanne, France. As a teenager, he was involved in bands cutting his teeth on rock and blues before falling into jazz. The Hot Club of Lyon (opened by Django Reinhardt in the 1940s) on Rue de l’Arbre Sec was a place where jamming musicians found inspiration. ALBARE moved to Paris in the late 1970s where he met his future Australian wife. They moved to Australia in 1983. His first album in Australia was issued on Festival Records in 1992. Acid Love was followed by What Goes Around two years later. In 1995 he produced Joe Chindamo’s first solo album with the late Ray Brown on bass – A Brief History of Standard Time. That year, saw ALBARE’s third album, Midnight Blues. His father passed away the following year, which was a profound education mark in ALBARE’s life. His musical career was put on hold for awhile, during which he immersed himself into business, re-emerging in 2000 as a board member of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. In 2002 he became chairman staying until 2006 before filling the festival director’s position until the end of 2008. He tentatively began recording again in 2009 with the album After the Rain. Travel Diary followed the next year. He then signed with German label ENJA and recorded Long Way and The Road Ahead. Then came Two Decades of Jazz, a compilation album. In 2014, ALBARE launched ALFI Records releasing the albums Only Human and Dreamtime. In 2016 he opened Bird’s Basement, a music club he had in mind for a decade. The next year, he launched a project with longtime friend and colleague Phil Turcio: Urbanity. The first recording was Urban Soul, which was followed by Urbanity by Urbanity. ALBARE Plays Jobim was recorded late the following year and launched in January 2020. ALBARE then declared it would need Volume 2 and perhaps Volume 3. We hope you enjoy Volume 2.

“As Jobim was such an influence in my playing, I feel this album is overdue and I am now ready to express the intense beauty of these melodies to my own satisfaction.”

Antonio Sanchez, Drums

With a degree in classical piano from the National Conservatory in Mexico and a Magna Cum Laude in Jazz Studies from Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory, Antonio’s career was auspicious from the beginning.

Since, Antonio has become one of the most sought-after drummers in the international jazz scene Antonio has recorded and performed with many other most prominent artists like Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Gary Burton and Charlie Haden.

In 2014 Sanchez popularity soared when he scored Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, fetching 4 Academy awards and for which Antonio won a Grammy award.

Currently recording as a leader and as a solo artist, Antonio music is often a protest against injustice and a tribute to the journey of immigrants.

To date Antonio has been awarded 5 Grammy’s, nominations for Golden Globe & Bafta Awards, wins for the World Soundtrack New Artist Discovery and Best Original Film Score Award.

Néstor Torres, Flute

If a flute could talk and sing, it would certainly be in the voice of Néstor Torres. His fluid eloquence in the languages of jazz, classical music and Latin rhythms distinguish him as the most lyrical of contemporary flute players. His career spans more than 30 years, and has performed with Herbie Hancock, Tito Puente, Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, and Dave Mathews. As a symphonic soloist, he has performed with the New World, Cleveland, Santa Fe NM and Singapore Symphonic Orchestras. Torres has 16 CDs to his name, with 5 nominations and a win for a Latin Grammy award. In his most recent production, Jazz Flute Traditions (one of the nominees), Torres demonstrates his total mastery of the flute in jazz, changing from one style to another with perfect virtuosity. In addition to his recordings and stage achievements, Torres has received numerous awards, including two Honorary doctorates for his commitment to youth, education, and cultural exchanges.

Randy Brecker, Trumpet, flute & horn

Jazz trumpeter and composer Randy Brecker has helped shape the sound of jazz, R&B and rock for over five decades. His trumpet and flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by a wide range of artists from James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Parliament/Funkadelic to Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Jaco Pastorius and Frank Zappa. Randy is a multiGrammy Award winner., a living legend, and one of the greatest musicians of all times. His special sound and touch are illustrated in ‘Favela’ and ‘So Danço Samba ’ in this second volume of ALBARE Plays Jobim.

Phil and his band ‘Hemispheres’ were nominated for a Grammy in 2008, for Best New Contemporary Jazz Group.

Joe Chindamo, arranger, orchestra conductor, piano

Joe Cindamo is routinely described as one of the best jazz pianists in the world, though his art transcends jazz.

An enthralling musician, Joe has performed globally including the Umbria Jazz Festival, The Tokyo Dome and The Lincoln Centre in New York.

Joe has also won the MO award for Jazz Instrumental performer of the year twice, two BELL AWARDS for best album and the APRA award for best jazz composition of the year.

His gifts have led him to composing ensembles including ACACIA Quartet, the Freshwater and Seraphim Trios, Sarah Curro, the Flinders Quartet, David Berlin and Wilma Smith and the Australian Chamber Orchestra 2.

Joe has recorded 60 film soundtracks, 23 CDs and collaborated with James Morrison, Ray Brown and the Brecker Brothers, Olivia Newton John and Sofie von Otter.

Luisito Quintero, Percussions

Luis Ernesto Quintero Vegas, known as Luisito Quintero, was born in the populous Caracas, Venezuela neighborhood of San Agustin in 1967. Quintero, a child music prodigy, hails from a lineage of distinguished musicians and singers. He moved to New York City in 1992.

Quintero quickly integrated into the New York City Latin music and Jazz scene. His reputation as one of the best percussionists garnered him opportunities to perform and record with legendary artists.

He has participated in over 700 musical productions spanning a variety of music genres and between Grammys and Latin Grammys, Quintero has over 60 Grammy Awards to his credit. His most recent Grammys were in 2019 with Chick Corea & The Spanish Heart Band for the Best Latin Jazz Album and in 2018 with Spanish Harlem Orchestra for the Best Tropical Latin Album.

Quintero is a regular on ALBARE’s various live bands, although this is the first time that he is performing on a recording with the guitarist.

Joe has recorded 60 film soundtracks, 23 CDs and collaborated with James Morrison, Ray Brown and the Brecker Brothers, Olivia Newton John and Sofie von Otter.

Pablo Bencid, Drums

Pablo Bencid is a Grammy nominated Venezuelan born and New York based Drummer/ percussionist/ engineer/ educator.

Pablo is a versatile musician who has mastered numerous musical styles ranging from Jazz, Latin Jazz, Brazilian, funk, world music.

His numerous credits, performances, recordings and tours with Jazz, Latin jazz, Classical and world Music luminaries include Grammy nominated Gonzalo Grau & La Clave Secreta, Latin Grammy Nominated Producer, guitarist ALBARE, Samuel Torres Sextet, Samuel Torres Alegria Big Band, Venezuelan Jazz Collective, Either Orchestrta, Steve Turré, Mahmud Ahmed, Mulatu Astache, Cesar Orozco & Kamarata Jazz, Victor Mendoza Quintet, The Labeque Sisters just to name a few.

He has toured extensively through North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

Ricardo Rodriquez, Bass

Hailing from Puerto Rico, Ricardo “Ricky” Rodriquez formed an affinity with music as a classically trained bass musician, having studied a Bachelor of Music in Classical Bass Performance at the Conservatory of Music, Puerto Rico.

Drawn to New York City in 2005 and under excellent tutelage, Ricky began taking his innate musical ability in an experimental direction, jazz.

Very quickly Ricky’s love for jazz amplified and he soon began performing with revered jazz musicians and Latin jazz luminaries: David Sánchez Quartet, Branford Marsalis and The Arturro O’ Farrill and The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.

Ricky has played on many award-winning albums and has performed at acclaimed jazz festivals around the world. Ricky considers himself privileged to have performed live with some of the true giants of Latin jazz including: Ray Barretto, Endel Dueño, Giovanni Hidalgo, and Jerry González.

Phil Turcion, co-producer, mixing, mastering

Born into a musical family, it was no surprise that Phil Turcio promptly established himself as one of Australia’s finest all-round musicians.

From composing music for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, to television themes and playing with international artists, Phil’s flexibility as a musician keeps him in constant demand.

Phil has worked with both local and international artists as a pianist, keyboardist, composer and producer and has penned hits for Australian Idols and icons alike.

His list of credits includes Hugh Jackman, Olivia Newton-John, K.D. Lang, John Farnham, Guy Sebastian, Jimmy Barnes, Vanessa Amorosi, Jessica Mauboy and others.

Over the years, Phil has worked on many Australian television shows including Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Australia’s Got Talent, Carols by Candlelight, and In Melbourne Tonight, to name a few.

Phil and his band ‘Hemispheres’ were nominated for a Grammy in 2008, for Best New Contemporary Jazz Group.

Tracks

Dindi

Summer Samba

A Felicidade

So Danço Samba

Caminhos Cruzados

How Insensitive

Triste

Girl from Ipanema

Once I Loved

10.

Favela

11.

Meditation

Play