"A cohesive but also relaxed ensemble, with space for soloists as he embellished the varying tempos with immaculate pianistic skill... all of the tracks on this hugely enjoyable and inventive album merit repeated hearings. Adolfo has been quoted as saying that he “started out by experimenting with different Cole Porter tunes on the piano, trying out different styles of Brazilian music”. Love Cole Porter is undeniable proof that he was successful. Highly recommended."
https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2024/08/22/antonio-adolfo-love-cole-porter/
Previously unknown to me, Antonio Adolfo is widely regarded as Brazil’s leading jazz pianist, composer, educator and producer; his career spans 60 years. In that period, he has received numerous awards and released 25 albums under his own name. He was born in Rio de Janeiro and his mother was a violinist in the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. Antonio began his musical studies at the age of seven.
In the 1960s he led his own trio, toured Brazil and in 1973 studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. In 1977 he launched his own independent record label Artezanal with the album Feito Em Casa, all original compositions. In 2022 he released the CD Jobim Forever, inspired by the renowned guitarist, and nominated somewhere as Best Latin Jazz Album. Long an admirer of Cole Porter (and George Gershwin), he recalled that “the music of Cole Porter has been part of the soundtrack of my life” and that “the music of this genius was immortalized through his unique melodies, lyrics, harmonies and phrasing”.
For this studio recording, he chose nine accomplished Brazilian jazz musicians, and fashioned a cohesive but also relaxed ensemble, with space for soloists as he underwrote and embellished the varying tempos with immaculate pianistic skill. The first track, Easy To Love, has a “samba jazz” feel, with impressive and disciplined unison playing with complementary statements from Adolfo, Sinna and Rocha. I Concentrate On You has gifted trombonist Rocha gently stating the theme.
A propulsive Just One Of Those Things features a punchy solo from guitarist Galvao. Night And Day, receives a richly harmonic and rhythmic “recomposition” with a long bass solo from Jorge Helder and succinct drum breaks from Rafael Barata. I Concentrate on You is as memorable as the Sinatra/Jobim version. So In Love is suitably “moody”, while an exhilarating You Do Something To Me features subtle contributions (again) from Sinna and Rocha. But all of the tracks on this hugely enjoyable and inventive album merit repeated hearings.
Adolfo has been quoted as saying that he “started out by experimenting with different Cole Porter tunes on the piano, trying out different styles of Brazilian music”. Love Cole Porter is undeniable proof that he was successful. Highly recommended.
Discography
Easy To Love; Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye; I Concentrate On You; I Love You; I’ve Got You Under My Skin; Just One Of Those Things; Love For Sale; Night And Day; So In Love; You Do Something To Me (51.15)
Adolfo (p); Lula Galvao (g); Jorge Helder (b); Rafael Barata (d, pc); Dada Costa (pc); Jesse Sadoc (t, flh); Danilo Sinna (as); Marcelo Martins (ts, sps, f); Rafael Rocha (tb). Unknown location, 7 June 2024.
AAM Music 0718