Claudio Roditi

Impressions

(Groovin’ High)

Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi has spent his four-decade-long career exploring the fertile intersection of bebop and samba. The jazzy variant to the subtle and softly voiced bossa nova of Jobim and Gilberto came into vogue during the early 1960s when pianist Sergio Mendez, trombonist Raul de Souza, saxophonist J.T. Meirelles and other young lions began performing and recording bop-accented, samba-driven jazz and bossa tunes.

Rio native Roditi was just a kid when these early experiments were launched, but they made an instant impression. A resident of the States since he left Brazil in the 1970s to study at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Roditi’s annual visits home have offered an opportunity to perform with musicians who consider him a jazz hero. This 10-track session was recorded in Rio on the spur of the moment, following several nights of live performances in local clubs. The results, however, couldn’t be more spontaneous and heartfelt. Four works by John Coltrane anchor the date, with a sprinkling of Roditi originals, standards like “Speak Low” and “Bye Bye Blackbird,” and a Brazilian favorite, João Donato’s “A Rã” (The Frog).” All personify the idiom’s quintessence: melodic interest and rhythmic heat.

The musicians backing Roditi are among the best jazz talent in Brazil – quite a compliment. Fiery drummer Pascoal Meirelles, like the leader, is a Berklee alumnus. Sergio Barroso has been Rio’s first-call bassist since bossa’s heyday of the ’60s. The other two quintet members represent the inverse of Roditi’s career path: Both abandoned Europe for Brazil. Italian pianist Dario Galante fits the samba-jazz mode naturally, as does French émigré Idriss Boudrioua. The saxophonist’s fluid alto and soprano outings perfectly counterbalance Roditi’s rapid-fire articulations. Boudrioua, whose own solo albums are little-known gems worth seeking out, delivers a sweet tone and relaxed manner. His partnership with Roditi makes Impressions a samba-jazz triumph

- Mark Holston