It took three long years to record Brazilian Butterfly, by Rio de Janeiro vocalist Ithamara Koorax. It was worth the wait. A look at the cast on this enigmatic set reveals a cast of all-stars. That said, the treasure is bittersweet on at least one level. Three of Brazil's greatest musicians -- and integral parts of this album -- all passed away after these sessions were recorded: the inimitable drummer and percussionist Dom Um Romao, bassist Manuel Gusmao, and percussionist Eloir de Moraes. The core band on most of these sides includes Romao, electric pianist and keyboardist Paula Faour, and other electric bassist Jorge Pescara and/or acoustic and arco bassist Gusmao. That said, there are a slew of guests on the record as well, including Azymuth, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Ron Carter, Nelson Angelo, Raul de Souza, Thiago de Mello, Jose Carlos "Bigorna" Ramos, the Francesco Gazzara Group on one cut, and numerous others. Produced by Arnaldo DeSouteiro, who also did many of the album's arrangements and played percussion on some tracks, the set was recorded live in Brazil with the exception of "Butterfly," which was cut in Italy with Gazzara's group. According to DeSouteiro, Dom Um Romao did the only overdubs, layering percussion on the tracks where he also played drums, and on the title track where Koorax fronted Gazzara's band in Italy. Musically, this is the showcase for Koorax's voice that fans have been waiting for, and it awaits a wider audience who need only to hear this once to be enthralled and entranced by its sophistication and heart. She is a diverse, adventurous, and utterly gifted vocalist who cannot be reined in by the stereotypical categorization of what the current generation calls a "female jazz singer." Here she digs deep into Brazilian and Latin and even African and Cuban folk forms, modern and classic samba, electric jazz, vocalese, and more -- anything to allow the song itself to come through. Does that make Brazilian Butterfly a fusion record? Yes, but not any kind of fusion outing you've ever heard. People who need categories will call this "world fusion". But in truth, this set creates something new and should perhaps be called "organic jazz fusion", or "new Brazil." There are so many elements woven into a tapestry so colorful, so brilliantly melodic, harmonically adventurous and multi-textured, it cannot be contained in any preset box. That said it has a very classic feel to it. One can hear traces of the early CTI sound here, but that is in the elegance, grace, and soulfulness of the grooves rather than in the musical style, for which there is no equivalent. The production and sound quality of this disc are simply gorgeous. From the opening track, the mysterious ambience that is Dorival Caymmi's "O Vento" beckons. Ramos' flute and Romao's shimmering cymbals introduce it, along with percussion by DeSouteiro and de Moraes; the listener can hear the spacious tantalizing strangeness in this mix. Koorax begins singing languidly, as if from a distance, seamlessly bridging the instruments and a creating certain lushness even before the rest of the band enters. Over eight minutes in length, there are fine solos by Faour and Ramos before Koorax and Romao trade up call-and-response vocal improvisation. (Romao is not a singer, but he was such a genius that his voice was as skilled a percussive instrument as his hands and feet.) Koorax engages him in this solo and even gets guttural; it is startling and entrancing, and could have gone on for another five minutes it's so inventive. It is followed by "Escravos de Jo," with de Moraes doing his own vocal improvisation and rap as Koorax digs deep into a modally constructed, almost droning samba melody. Carlos Fuchs adds his acoustic piano to the electric one by Faour, and the layered percussion by Koorax, de Moraes, Romao, and DeSouteiro give it an almost hallucinatory feel. The funky fretless bassline and hi hat work with de Souza's trombone on Romao's "Amor to be continued...

Rovi