Djavan

This album marked Djavan's association with American producers. After signing with CBS, he recorded this album in the U.S.A. (in Portuguese), which was produced by Ronnie Foster. For that occasion, Quincy Jones acquired the publishing rights of many of his songs through Djavan's own publisher Luanda. The album is divided between a romantic section and swinging tunes. "Pétala" and "Açaí" (pop ballads), "Nobreza," and "Banho de Rio" (orchestral canções) take charge of the romantic part. "Luz," "Capim," "Sina," "Samurai," "Esfinge," and "Minha Irmã" are the swinging segment. The interesting harmonies/melodies and the jazz-like arrangements of this section aroused interest for Djavan's music in the U.S.A. and some of these songs and others were recorded by Manhattan Transfer, among others. The album had important guest artists: Stevie Wonder, Ernie Watts, Hubert Laws, Harvey Mason, Abraham Laboriel, Raul de Souza, and the conducting of Oscar Castro-Neves, and others; several hits were included, such as "Pétala," "Capim," "Sina," "Samurai," and "Açaí." ~ Alvaro Neder, All Music Guide