Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Vinicius Cantuaria: Psychedelic Rio

Vinicius Cantuaria: Psychedelic Rio

By Katchie Cartwright
May 3, 2024
View read count

Formed in Rio in 1968 when he was 17 and Brazil was under military rule, O Ter?o (The Third/Rosary) was singer-songwriter and guitarist

Vinicius Cantuaria

guitar and vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Vinicius Cantuaria's first working band. He played drums with the trio, which was, as he put it, "under the influence" of

" data-original-title="" title="">Crosby Stills & Nash. One can hear other psychedelic-folk-rock influences as well. With their first release in 1970 (O Ter?o, Forma), the group quickly became popular, but—after two successful albums—he left them for greener pastures, joining up with

Caetano Veloso

guitar
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Caetano Veloso in 1973, with whom he first recorded "Rio Negro" (Rio Negro, Chorus Estudio, 1991), the lead track on Psychedelic Rio.

Cantu��ria has recorded most of Psychedelic Rio's selections previously, as a leader or side person: "? Preciso Perdoar" (Ces��ria ?vora and Veloso with

Ryuichi Sakamoto

composer / conductor
1952 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Ryuichi Sakamoto, Red Hot + Rio, Antilles, 1996), "Uirapuru" (Vinicius, Transparent, 2001), "Berlin" (Samba Carioca, Na?ve, 2010), "Humanos" (Indio de Apartamento, Na?ve, 2012) and "Insensatez" (Vinicius Canta Antonio Carlos Jobim, Song X Jazz, 2015).

Part of his idea in creating Psychedelic Rio was "to turn the music on its head," exchanging a bossa nova-style quietude for something that "demands to be played loud." But it can also be thought of as a return to Cantu��ria's roots, a retrospective of sorts. Like O Ter?o, the ensemble here is described as a "power trio" (guitar, bass, drums), but it incorporates the sophisticated jazz-inflected aesthetic he has cultivated in collaboration with diverse musicians over the years, in Rio and especially in New York, where he has lived and worked since 1996.

Reflecting on his musical journey in a 2018 interview ("The Many Changes of Vinicius Cantu��ria," Afropop Worldwide), Cantu��ria spoke of "a big white wall" as "the idea for my career." He explained it this way: "I invite some friends to just put some colors on the white wall.

Bill Frisell

guitar, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Frisell comes with the blue—boom! Then

Brad Mehldau

piano
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Brad Mehldau plays with red—boom! And in the end, you don't have no more white wall." A quiet core, an acoustic sensibility, remains, even in an electronic milieu. Examining the primary influences he acknowledges—

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis,

Antonio Carlos Jobim

piano
1927 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Carlos Jobim,

Bill Evans

piano
1929 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Evans,

Chet Baker

trumpet and vocals
1929 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Chet Baker and Karlheinz Stockhausen—it makes sense.

The musicians Cantu��ria invited to paint on his wall for Psychedelic Rio are Italian, but both have spent time living and learning in Brazil. Bassist

Paolo Andriolo

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Paolo Andriolo approached Cantu��ria at one of his concerts in Rio. Shortly thereafter, the pair began playing together in Cantu��ria's apartment and drummer Roberto Rossi was introduced into the mix. Rossi had played percussion on Andriolo's first solo album, Rio Funk (Azoto, 2009). The trio clicked and, within a few weeks, they moved the jam to Jupiter Studios to begin working on the album.

"Nossa Estrada" (Our Road), the penultimate track, is the heart of the album—beating in triple time—and the only new composition of Cantu��ria's on it (YouTube, bottom of this page).

Rafael Meninão

accordion

" data-original-title="" title="">Rafael Menin?o's wistful accordion lends a subtle Brazilian sertanejo flavor to the performance. Singing in a low warm voice over his own simple strummed acoustic-guitar accompaniment—with his electric guitar overlaid in expressive shards while Andriolo's bass pulls at the strings from below—Cantu��ria contemplates a long love and a long career, "a long time spent together on this road where flowers and thorns bloom." Many times, "we think about throwing everything away but we don't give up, we continue on, side by side, receiving, delivering, learning, teaching."

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Rio Negro; ? Preciso Perdoar; Uirapuru; Berlin; Humanos; Insensatez; Nossa Estrada; Verde Mata.

Personnel

Vinicius Cantuaria

guitar and vocals

Paolo Andriolo

bass

Rafael Menin?o

accordion

Gianluca Ballarin

keyboards

Additional Instrumentation

Roberto Rossi: drums.

Album information

Title: Psychedelic Rio | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Dave Douglas, B��vort 3, Willy Rodri...
< Previous

City Swamp
Next >

Vinicius Cantuaria Concerts

Feb 5 Thu

Vinicius Cantuaria And Psychedelic Rio

Dazzle Jazz Club
Denver, CO

Feb 5 Thu

Vinicius Cantuaria And Psychedelic Rio

Dazzle Jazz Club
Denver, CO

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.