Ivan Conti

Azymuth: Telecommunication

by Glenn Astarita
October 31, 2022

This Brazilian trio had its roots in the 1960s but under different group monikers. They also recorded for the renowned jazz label Milestone Records, releasing several albums. To a considerable extent they were largely praised by critics via the musicians' tightknit but not over-cooked spin on jazz fusion, featuring indigenous percussion tinted with samba-like overtones. According to the press release, “simultaneously, [they all] enjoyed flourishing solo careers during their downtime from the band. While guitarist/vocalist Jose Roberto Bertrami sadly passed ...

Ivan Conti: Poison Fruit

by Chris M. Slawecki
July 3, 2019

If the music on his fourth solo album Poison Fruit is a true indicator, Ivan “Mamão" Conti hasn't lost his uncanny producer's ear or instrumentalist's touch for clubbers or dancers in Brazil. A legendary bandleader, percussion and drum player, and composer, Mamão sweetens Poison Fruit by letting it ripen in the hands of two younger, next generation translators / ambassadors: Mamão's son Thiago Maranhão, who oversaw this set's five bonus remixes; and keyboardist Daniel Maunick, son of Jean-Paul “Bluey" Maunick ...

Ithamara Koorax: Brazilian Butterfly

by Chris M. Slawecki
February 12, 2007

Except for two ballads--the cosmopolitan “Carinhoso with her Brazilian jazz fusion compatriots Azymuth, and Herbie Hancock's title track--Ithamara Koorax's ninth album is her most adventurous release. It seems constructed to honor legendary Brazilian vocalist Flora Purim and her husband/bandleader/percussionist Airto. This Brazilian Butterfly soars and flutters while multiple percussionists (often as many as four on the same song, most often led by the late and legendary Dom Um Romão, with Koorax frequently flailing away among them) knit together, pull apart, ...

Ithamara Koorax: Love Dance: The Ballad Album

by Chris M. Slawecki
October 7, 2003

Ithamara Koorax has released several albums in Brazil and Japan, but Love Dance is only the second US album for this star from Rio, the follow-up to her debut Serenade in Blue.

With her unmistakable voice, Koorax sings English, Portuguese, and Spanish love songs composed by such masters as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfá, Marcos Valle and Ivan Lins, plus songs by Claus Ogerman and Jurgen Friedrich (in German). Her voice manifests this diversity to its advantage: ...