Pianist Antonio Adolfo has a charming touch and delivery, and his selection of songs is as stylish as his choice of fellow musicians on this latest release. He joins together a fragrant and mobile team of Leo Amuedo/elec g, Claudio Spiewak/g, Marcelo/ts-fl, Jorge Helder/b and Rafael Barata/dr-perc for a fragrant mix of originals and jazz standards. The melding of guitar(s), piano and flute on his own “Floresta Azul” and Dizzy Gillespie’s “Con Alma” is as refreshing as a cool glass of watermelon juice, while the stylishly samba’d reading of Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” and the verdant “Naima” are startlingly new like freshly opened orange blossoms. Adolfo has the sensitivity of a diamond cutter on “Bill Evans’ “Time Remembered” and his own flowing “Balada,” making this a pinch hit home run from a guy I’ve never heard of before. Look for this one!
AAM Records