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Mafalda Minnozzi: Riofonic

By Katchie Cartwright
April 17, 2025
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Singer Mafalda Minnozzi, who already had a solid recording career in Italy, went to Rio for a date in the late 1990s, stayed for a year, then decided to make it her home. Like many musical immigrants to that great city, she went to feel the salt air, to drink in the natural beauty and learn more about the sounds that had captivated her spirit. In her words, she was looking for something "that was not only what is written in books, that you can hear on an LP or a disk, but was really about understanding this green, this light..." (Meu Rio: A Documentary About Mafalda Minnozzi and Riofonic, YouTube).

She has found success in Brazil, charming audiences with her mixtures of Italian song, jazz and Brazilian music, receiving an Honorary Citizen of the State of Rio de Janeiro award and performing with such celebrated musicians as

Milton Nascimento

guitar and vocals
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Milton Nascimento,

Leny Andrade

b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Leny Andrade,

Joao Bosco

guitar
b.1946

" data-original-title="" title="">Joao Bosco,

Guinga

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Guinga,

Andre Mehmari

piano
b.1977

" data-original-title="" title="">Andre Mehmari,

Paulo Moura

clarinet
1929 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Paulo Moura and

Roberto Menescal

guitar
b.1937

" data-original-title="" title="">Roberto Menescal.

Minnozzi features first-generation bossa nova guitarist-composer Menescal on Riofonic, singing with him and performing four of his compositions. She and New York-based guitarist and arranger

Paul Ricci

guitar, electric
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Ricci—whom she met in Brazil—assembled an all-star Brazilian ensemble for the recording: cellist

Jaques Morelenbaum

cello
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Jaques Morelenbaum, electric bassist

Kassin

bass, electric

" data-original-title="" title="">Kassin, double bassist

Jorge Helder

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Jorge Helder, drummer

João Cortez

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Jo?o Cortez, trombonist

Rafael Rocha

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Rafael Rocha, flutist-saxophonist

Marcelo Martins

woodwinds

" data-original-title="" title="">Marcelo Martins and trumpeter-flugelhornist

Jesse Sadoc

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Jesse Sadoc, all of whom offer seasoned musicality and genuine warmth.

The album is an appealing throwback to the halcyon days of bossa nova, with tunes mainly written in the pre-1964 period before Branco's military coup and ensuing authoritarian regime took hold. The lyrics are in line with what historian Ruy Castro calls the "linha amor-flor-mar" or "love-sea-flower theme" (Chega de Saudade, Campanha das Letras, 1990). These include Menescal and lyricist Ronaldo B?scoli's biggest hit, "O Barquinho" (written in 1961), which Menescal sings on the album, plus their "Rio" (A Bossa Nova de Roberto Menescal e seu Conjunto, Elenco, 1963), "Telefone" (written in 1963) and "Voc�� (You)" (1966).

And of course there is a healthy helping of

Antonio Carlos Jobim

piano
1927 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Carlos Jobim's work, as sole composer ("Corcovado," 1961) and with lyricist

Vinicius De Moraes

guitar
1913 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Vinicius De Moraes: "?gua de Beber" (1961), "S�� Dan?o Samba" (1962) and "Gar?ta de Ipanema" (1963). The hefty 14-tune set list also includes hits by

Johnny Alf

piano and vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Johnny Alf,

Luiz Bonfa

guitar, acoustic
1922 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Luiz Bonfa and

Carlos Lyra

guitar
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Carlos Lyra. Ricci and Minnozzi contribute two fine pieces of their own devising, "Caf�� South American Style" and "Postcard from Rio," both with Minnozzi's quasi-autobiographical lyrics in English.

In what she describes as a "full circle" acknowledgement of her roots, Minnozzi includes a lovely Brazilianized version of Domenico Modugno's "Tu Si 'Na Cosa Grande" ("You Are a Great Thing for Me," lyric by Roberto Gigli). You may remember Modugno as the singer-songwriter of the perennial "Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu)."

As Martins put it, "Mafalda? She is Italian and she is Brazilian, too. So it doesn't become stereotypical. She sings like a Brazilian, yet it becomes a different thing." The subtle differences are what make it work.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Corcovado; S�� Dan?o Samba; Corcovado; Caf�� South American Style; Eu e a Brisa; O Barquinho; Telefone; Tu Si 'Na Cosa Grande; Voc�� (You); Postcard from Rio; The Gentle Rain; Garota de Ipanema; Se �� Tarde Me Perdoa; ?gua de Beber.

Personnel

Mafalda Minnozzi

vocals

Paul Ricci

guitar, electric

Roberto Menescal

guitar

Jaques Morelenbaum

cello

Jorge Helder

bass, acoustic

Rafael Rocha

trombone

Marcelo Martins

woodwinds

Additional Instrumentation

Kassin: electric bass; Jo?o Cortez: drums, percussion; Jess�� Sadoc: trumpet, flugelhorn.

Album information

Title: Riofonic | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Self Produced

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Mafalda Minnozzi Concerts

Sep 21 Sun

Mafalda Minnozzi Presents "meu Rio"

Dazzle Jazz Club
Denver, CO

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