Brazilian drummer Paulo Almeida mixes worlds and styles in this richly textured album with a heartfelt melding of sounds and voices. He brings together a core team of Lorenzo Vitolo/p-synth, Devin Daniels/as, Oscar Latorre/tp, Thiago Alves/b as well as guests Lionel Loueke/g and Alberto Garcia/perc to create a rich sonic tapestry.
There’s tropical feel to the rhythms and cadence of pieces like “Oke” as the soto voce of Almeida and Loueke speak and sing to the graceful piano and guitar tones, bridging the world of Brazil and West Africa. Likewise, with Latorre’s warm horn, the lyrical vocal chorus on “Red As Blood” serve as rich frames for the guitar and piano solos. Daniels’ alto is breathy over the lyrical“Hoffnung” and deliver a velvety solo intro to the graceful “Lit Candles”, wafting to Latorre’s trumpet. Things get a bit frisky on the earthy “Odoya” which begins with a rain forest cadence before the chants and choruses jump into a frisky atmosphere, while things calm down on the recitative of “Walking In Peace” with Vitolo and Latorre glistening like light through a stained glass window. Through it all, Almeida is a percussive presence, never dominating, but guiding the traffic like a cop in Avenida Paulista. A wondrous salgado and dark coffee oasis.