Brasilia

When Herbie Mann launched his Kokopelli label in the early 1990s, one could safely assume that the veteran flutist would put out a few Brazilian recordings; after all, he'd been interested in Brazilian music since the '50s. One of the Brazilian pop-jazz releases that Kokopelli put out was River Wide by Brasilia, a group that united Brazilian musicians Café (percussion) and Romero Lubambo (acoustic guitar) with Americans Pamela Driggs (vocals), Phil Markowitz (piano), Phil Strange (piano), Jerry Watts (bass), and Ted Moore (a drummer and the CD's producer). An expressive and charming singer, Driggs often sounds like she could be Brazilian -- she sings as convincingly in Portuguese as she does in English, and she has clearly mastered the art of Brazilian-style scat singing. But in fact, she's an American who grew up in Nevada. Essentially, Brasilia favors a Rio de Janeiro-like approach to the samba -- think of Flora Purim, Dori Caymmi, Gal Costa, Tania Maria, and Ana Caram. But on Caymmi's "Voce Ja Foi a Bahia?," Brasilia happily acknowledges the influence of Afro-Bahian music on Rio's innovators. Not outstanding but certainly enjoyable, River Wide is worth searching for. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide