Antonio Arnedo
Colombia

Nicola Stilo/Toninho Horta
Duets
Adventure Music

The Adventure Music label continues to put out an extremely wide variety of excellent and crafty South American jazz. It's two latest releases continue to display the wide variety of this seductive music.

Saxist/Flutist Antonio Arnedo incorporates the rhythms and melodies of Colombia with intricate post modern jazz to deliver a multi-textured collection of dark yet accessible music. With Satoshi Takeishi laying a foundation of intricate rhythms, Monder takes his soprano and alto on a free flight into the dense rain forests of your mind. Dark and complex on pieces like Alegre", he is mysterious, lurking, yet calming on "Suspense". Guitarist Ben Monder gets a chance to aggressively stretch out on the exotic and undulating "The Journey" and on the calming "Slow Pasillo". All of the longer pieces are connected by short and intricate segues which gives the feel of wandering in and out of various streets on Carnival Week. Complex and sophisticated, this release by a sextet of all stars features contemplative side of Latin Jazz

On the complete other spectrum, Stilo and Horta deliver a delicate, gentle and lovely collection of jazz standards and originals in the setting that Brazilians have mastered more than any other: guitar and woodwinds. There is something so simple and yet enthralling about Horta's seductive guitar rhythms being caressed by Stilo's light and lovely flute: space is definitely the place. New vibrancy and joy is breathed into Coltrane's "Naima" and Evan's "Very Early". You can't help but feel romantic joy after listening to pieces like "Meu Canario" or "Bons Amigos". Horta's vocals, whether in English or Portuguese, harken to the classic "soto voce" of Jobim and Gilberto. The cheerful and hopeful mood is simply intoxicating. If this were bottled, I would arrested for a DUI!

This label has the potential of being the South American answer to classic Blue Note.


- George W. Harris