Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Albare: Plays Jobim Vol. 2

Albare: Plays Jobim Vol. 2

By Chris M. Slawecki
June 25, 2021
View read count

"I was 14 when I first heard the music of Tom Jobim," recalls

Albare

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Albare, nom de guerre of guitarist Albert Dadon. "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."

Plays Jobim Vol. 2 continues the story from Volume 1, released in May 2020, and polishes many of Jobim's most famous and favored compositions into a bright glow. It features delightful guest contributions from such first-call musicians as trumpeter

Randy Brecker

trumpet
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Randy Brecker, flutist

Nestor Torres

flute

" data-original-title="" title="">Nestor Torres and drummer

Antonio Sanchez

drums
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Sanchez (master accompanist for such legends as

Pat Metheny

guitar
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Pat Metheny,

Chick Corea

piano
1941 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Chick Corea and

Charlie Haden

bass, acoustic
1937 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Haden). But the undeniable star of this show is Jobim's music, and the guitarist's loving renditions and tributes to it.

Albare's unaccompanied introduction to "Dindi" hangs in the air like luscious sonic smoke, notes hanging heavy yet floating and then dissipating to make room for the next phrase. The rest of the ensemble takes that cue and dances at a languorous tempo with cymbals and strings shimmering like a dream and suspending the melancholy melody between orchestral and Brazilian jazz. Pianist

Joe Chindamo

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Chindamo abstractly muses the melody in his solo intro to "Once I Loved," and his gentle yet firm touch sounds so complementary to Albare's guitar. In both of these tunes, drummer Sanchez sounds simply sublime, neither overplaying nor underplaying, as perfectly pristine as Brazil's legendary rhythm ace

Dom Um Romao

drums
1925 - 2005

" data-original-title="" title="">Dom Um Romao.

"Favela," featuring Brecker's impeccable flugelhorn, raises the tempo and heat. Brecker floats and flutters from note to note so lightly that he barely seems to touch down in the arrangement, which gloriously pulls the introduction from Jobim's classic "Wave" into its handoff between the flugelhorn and guitar solos!

"If you find the head of my rendition with my friend and collaborator Nestor Torres of 'How Insensitive' resembling that of

Wes Montgomery

guitar
1923 - 1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Wes Montgomery, it is because I am paying tribute to Wes," Albare explains. Strumming chords on the upbeats helps pull out the drumming and creates a thicker but no less balanced sound. Torres ends his flute solo with the first few notes of the original melody, which he lovingly hands back for the guitarist to sing.

"Everything you are hearing in my Jobim albums is my attempt to honor in my own way a music that moved my soul nearly fifty years ago," Albare concludes. "Maybe I needed all those years to figure out how to best do this."

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Dindi; Summer Samba; A Felicidade; So Danco Samba; Caminhos Cruzados; How Insensitive; Triste; The Girl from Ipanema; Once I Loved; Favela; Meditation.

Personnel

Albare

guitar

Joe Chindamo

band / ensemble / orchestra

Ricardo Rodriguez

bass

Paolo Bencid

drums

Randy Brecker

trumpet

Nestor Torres

flute

Antonio Sanchez

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Albare: acoustic, electric guitar; Joe Chindamo: arranger, orchestra conductor, piano; Paolo Bencid: drums (2-8, 10, 11); Luisito Quintero: percussion. Guest artists: Randy Brecker: trumpet (4, 10); Nestor Torres: flute (2, 6); Antonio Sanchez: drums (1, 9).

Album information

Title: Plays Jobim Vol. 2 | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Alfi Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Billy Cobham, Larry Coryell, John Sc...
< Previous

We're Young Pilgrims
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.