From the heart of Brazil comes a musical experience which is far more than a collection of songs. Sebastiana is Ricardo Bacelar’s third album and one which transcends musical styles and extends way beyond trends and fashions. Bringing the old world and the new from Latin America and taking in influences from around the world, it would be a disservice to call this just a jazz album or a world music release. Through a combination of improvisation, meticulous composition and intense studio work, Ricardo has created a timeless release which is evocative, inspiring and often deeply moving.
Recorded with producer Cesar Lemos in Miami, Florida, Sebastiana features 15 tracks which, though firmly rooted in Brazil, have been interpreted by musicians assembled from across the Latin American world, imbuing each track with elements of their own unique culture. The collective employed uniquely Latin American rhythms and instruments on the lushly-layered tracks such as vallenato (a Colombian rhythm performed using a diatonic accordion and vallenato box), sangueo (a Venezuelan rhythm constructed of cumaco and mina drums), bomba (a Puerto Rican genre originating in the West Indies and derived from the west coast of Africa using drums made from barrels), timba (an energizing Cuban rhythm), the Andean charango (a stringed instrument part of the lute family), and the bandoneon, a concertina with roots in Argentina.
Two new Bacelar-Lemos compositions and three stirring solo piano pieces from Bacelar – “River of Emotions,” “Parts of Me” and “The Best Years” – sit alongside songs from Brazilian composers such as Gilberto Gil, Ivan Lins, Flora Purim, Luiz Gonzaga, Milton Nascimento, Tom Jobim, and Vinicius de Moraes, arranged by Bacelar in a way that is both sympathetic to the original whilst offering an entirely new interpretation. The deluxe LP and CD packages features a booklet containing imagery from the studio sessions, landscapes which inspired some of the tracks and the distinctive artwork of Emiliano Di Cavalcanti.
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