Marcos Amorim Trio
Portraits
Adventure Music
www.adventure-music.com

Benjamim Taubkin
Adventure Music Piano Master Series Vol I
Adventure Music
www.adventure-music.com
By George W. Harris

I’m telling you, this small label puts out a yeoman’s level of Brazilian material that is first rate. Musicians that you’ve never heard of, and have rarely come to LA deliver wondrous material that makes you want to spend a month in the nightclubs of Sao Paulo or Rio de Janiero.

Guitarist Marcos Amorim teams up with Jorge Albuquerque/b and Rafael Barata/dr for a collection of breathy originals that almost sound like if Pat Metheny had grown up in the heartland of Bahia. The delicate interplay on tunes like “Ribeirinha” and the title track display Amorim’s deft touch, while Barata’s subtle support is nonetheless an integral part of this whole, as shown on “Amarak.” The disc brims over with gentle warmth, never overpowering you with technique as much with suave style.

A new idea for Adventure Music is the Piano Masters Series, which will present up and coming purveyors of the ivories. This first one, which features Benjamin Taubkin, is a portend of good things to come. His hands caress the keys in an intimate and romantic fashion, coaxing pensiove notes out of originals like “Around The Influences” and “For Frank.” His interpretation of Jobim’s “O Moro” bubbles like rich oatmeal, while he lavishes a lather of love on a romantic take of Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.” I’d bet that this guy could make an aria out of “Flight of The Bumble Bee!”Bravo!