Marca Passo＜限定盤/Blue Vinyl＞

Five decades after releasing their iconic eponymous debut album, Brazilian jazz-samba trio Azymuth celebrate the anniversary with Marca Passo, their 40th album. The original group included keyboardist/composer Jose Roberto Bertrami, bassist Alex Malheiros, and drummer Ivan "Mamao" Conti. All sang. Bertrami left to pursue a solo career in 1990, and was replaced on a few albums. He returned for 1996s Carnival, their Far Out Recordings debut. He died in 2012 and was succeeded by Kiko Continentino, a revered Brazilian keyboardist and composer. Mamao died in 2023, leaving Malheiros the only original member. Ubiquitous session drummer/composer Renato "Massa" Calmon came aboard for 2024s international tour and remains. Marca Passo was co-composed by all the members; Daniel Maunick produced and mixed. There are several session players here, including Maunicks father, Jean Paul "Bluey" Maunick. With a gentle Rhodes piano, "Fantasy 82" opens on a bouncy, breezy vamp melding lithe funk, samba, and jazz harmony guided by Malheiros fretless bass. The trio provides airy, wordless backdrop vocals as Continentino delivers a swinging solo atop Massas shimmy and shuffle. "Belenzinho" begins with sparse keyboards and hi-hat before the bassist walks out the vamp. Elements of bossa, Brazilian soul, and contemporary jazz embrace atop a head-nodding beat and the trios scat-like chorale chant before spidery, elegant jazz-funk claims the fore. "Marca Tempo" is a startling example of samba doido (crazy samba) with a fleet rhythmic pace and cascading organ/bass/percussion interplay guaranteed to move the dancefloor. "Last Summer in Rio" features Blueys snaking electric guitar. Its slinky bassline engages with Massas subtle, kinetic rhythm-making. He supports his bandmates motivic changes using atmospheric synths, hushed vocals, and electro-acoustic ambience. "Arabuta" (also appended with an extended remix as a bonus cut), is a sexy, summery groover with layered syncopation, breaks, and ethereal jazz-funk. Samba doido single "Andarai" delivers a frenetic, funky tempo, whispered ghostly voices, and canny rhythmic interplay between Massa and Malheiros. The latter shifts harmony around in his arpeggio-rich solo. Its followed by "Samba Pro Mamao," a celebration of Conti, a giant among Brazilian drummers. Massa is another, and he is easily up to the task with an uptempo drive wedding contemporary jazz and neo-bop to dancefloor samba. Continentinos solo runs right into Malheiros elastic bass; it simultaneously accents crisscrossing drum and percussion polyrhythms and provides ballast for the keyboardist. After the breakdown that introduces its long nadir, guest Jose Carlos Bignora adds a gorgeous soprano sax solo, transforming the tune from samba doido to contemporary jazz-funk. Closer "Togu" is a tender, poignant ballad, unhurried in its exposition, and graceful in presentation. It hosts subtle fills from the bassist, painterly Rhodes piano, and layered snare, hi-hat, and extant percussion. It whispers to a close before the remix of "Arabuta" revs punters up again. Now in their sixth decade, Azymuths musical aesthetic is unchanging yet always evolving. As evidenced by Marca Passo, it pushes their inimitable brand of funky jazz-samba into the future. ~ Thom Jurek

イヴァン・コンチが他界し、創設メンバーはアレックス・マリェイロスただ一人となったアジムス。そんななか届いた9年ぶりの新作は、3作連続でダニエル・モーニックを指揮官に迎え、バレアリック系とも緩やかに共鳴しつつ、しかし、それ以上に矢印を己に向けて不滅のアジムス節を掘り下げたような仕上がりに。ダニエルの父であるインコグニートのブルーイも駆けつけた"Last Summer In Rio"のメロウネス100%なセルフ・リメイクや、亡き盟友に捧げるサンバ・ジャズ、ヴォコーダーを使った涼風ファンクのほか、恍惚のブラジリアン・フュージョンがぎっしり。こんなの悪いわけがありません。
bounce (C)山西絵美

90年以降フロア～クラブでの再評価が高まり緒作品が再発されるブラジリアン・ファンク/クロスオーバー・バンド:アジムスの約9年ぶり2025年作。75年デビュー作にして大名盤『アジムス』以降、20作品以上を世に放ち時代と共に深化続けるレジェンド。オリジナル・メンバーであるジョゼ・ロベルト・ベルトラミ、イヴァン"ママォン"コンチは他界したが、ジャンル/国籍不問に世界中のリスナーやミュージシャンを魅了してきた多彩なリズムを根幹としたコズミックなクロスオーバー・サウンドが"現在の空気"を吸い純度を増し結晶。常に多角的評価をされるアジムス節全開の傑作。ええやんええやん。
intoxicate (C)黒田"ハイプ"朋規