Balaios

Tracks

01 - 3D Blues (Antonio Adolfo)
02 - Claudia (feat. Thom Rotella) (Antonio Adolfo)
03 - San Expedito (Antonio Adolfo)
04 - Sambalaio (Antonio Adolfo)
05 - Love Will Come (Antonio Adolfo)
06 - My Chant (feat. Leo Gandelman) (Antonio Adolfo)
07 - Vision (Antonio Adolfo)
08 - Journey to the Interior (Antonio Adolfo)
09 - Zah Toom Toom (Antonio Adolfo)

PRODUCED AND ARRANGED BY ANTONIO ADOLFO

Copyright by Antonio Adolfo Music Inc.
All Rights Reserved AAM / www.aammusic.com

Liner Notes

BALAIOS – ANTONIO ADOLFO
In Brazil—especially in the Northeast—balaios (bah-lie-ohs), woven baskets carried
gracefully on the head, are part of daily life. More than simple objects, they carry
meaning: work, resilience, ancestry, and abundance. Crafted from natural fibers such as
vine and straw, the balaio transports what sustains life—food, goods, and stories passed
from one generation to the next.

In many ways, an album is also a balaio.
Within it, a musician gathers what he has cultivated over time—ideas, memories,
melodies. Each piece is placed carefully inside, shaped by the moment in which it was
born, yet carried into the present with renewed meaning.

BALAIOS was conceived and recorded over the past few months, but its contents span a
lifetime. The nine compositions presented here were written at different points along my
musical journey, forming a personal chronology:

“3D Blues” (1965)
“Journey to the Interior” (Caminhada, with Tiberio Gaspar, 1967)
“Vision” (Visão, with Tiberio Gaspar, 1968)
“Claudia” (with Tiberio Gaspar, 1969)
“Zah Toom Toom” (Samba 4, 1978)
“Love Will Come” (Até Que Venha o Amor, 1980)
“San Expedito, Near the Town of…” (Santo Expedito, 1988)
“Sambalaio” (Agitadinho, 1989)
“My Chant” (Meu Canto, 2018)

For this project, I am once again joined by an extraordinary group of Brazilian musicians:
Jesse Sadoc (trumpet, flugelhorn), Danilo Sinna (alto sax), Marcelo Martins (tenor sax,
flute), Rafael Rocha (trombone), Lula Galvão (guitars), Jorge Helder (acoustic bass),
Rafael Barata (drums, percussion), and André Siqueira (percussion).

I am also honored by the presence of special guests Thom Rotella (electric guitar on
“Claudia”) and Leo Gandelman (alto sax on “My Chant”).

What you hold here is my balaio: a gathering of sounds, times, and emotions—offered
with gratitude and shared with you.

Antonio Adolfo