" data-original-title="" title="">Cassio Vianna Jazz Orchestra, to choose a random example, is not from Italy—nor from anywhere else in Europe. Although born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Cassio Vianna has lived in the United States since 2009 and is, in fact, a music educator and director of Jazz Studies at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, near where his second big-band album, Vida, was recorded in March and August 2024.

Vianna writes pleasant and handsome music, much of which mirrors his Brazilian heritage. That's not meant to imply that there is nothing more than beauty to savor and enjoy; brisk and demanding ensemble passages are blended throughout, buttressed by bight and impressive solos, all in the finest big-band tradition. Vianna's well-honed ensemble readily conquers every one of them, regardless of tone, tempo or tenor. After all is portrayed and performed, it is clear that Vianna is a master of his craft, a worthy successor to such venerated gurus as