Time for a trip to Brazil. I last posted about Brazilian singer GUAI in 2019, when she released her first album, Dama de Paus. Between then and now, she has been busy singing in Portugal and Brazil. What I love most about her voice is its sensuality and intelligence. The result is superlative Brazilian samba and bossa. [Photo above of GUAI and percussionist Marcos Suzano, at Cia. dos Técnicos Studios in Rio de Janeiro by Yuri Mine]
Now, GUAI has released Capitania, a spectacular new album that is so beautiful and enveloping you'll feel as if you're in Rio. For Capitania, GUAI created a concept album about the odyssey of a traveler who leaves Brazil to explore lands beyond the horizon. I don't understand much Portuguese, sadly, but GUAI tells me that the release is autobiographical and deeply personal, about her own relocation to Portugal and her travels back and forth. It features Cada Eu, which was composed by Carlinhos Brown for this project, and a bonus track—an English-language version of Depois dos Temporais with Guai's translation of Ivan Lins's lyrics. Special guests include Ivan Lins, Paulo de Carvalho, Cuban pianist Victor Zamora and Arthur Maia. [Photos above and below of GUAI by Yuri Mine]
Here are the songs and the credits:
1. Há sempre uma estrada (Bororo Felipe / Renato Castelo)
Bororó Felipe – bass
Erivelton Silva – drums
Marco Brito – piano / keyboards
Tavinho Menezes – guitar
Marco Suzano – percussion
Marcelo Martins – sax
2. Saber de Cor (Luiza Sales / Gustavo Pereira)
Nema Antunes replaces Felipe on bass
3. Roda Quem Não Girar (Jana Figarella)
Arthur Maia – bass
Nema Antunes – bass
Teo Lima – drums
Luis Otavio – piano / keyboards
Luiz Brasil – guitar
Fernando Monteiro – guitar
Marcos Suzano – percussion
Marcelo Martins – sax
4. Som do Samba (Arthur Maia / Thaís Motta), featuring Arthur Maia
Arthur Maia – bass
Teo Lima – drums
Marco Suzano – percussion
Luiz Otávio – keyboard
Fernando Monteiro – guitar
Marcelo Martins – sax
5. Cá com Deus (Leo Reis / Deco Simões)
Nema Antunes – bass
Teo Lima – drums
Marco Suzano – percussion
Luiz Otávio – keyboard
Luiz Brasil – guitar
Marcelo Martins – sax
6. Samba de Aylê (Bororó Felipe / Renato Castelo)
Bororó Felipe – bass
Erivelton Silva – drums
Marco Suzano – percussion
Marco Brito – piano / keyboard
Marcelo Martins – sax
VoOcal Kuimba – coro
Tavinho Menezes – guitar
7. Depois dos Temporais (Ivan Lins / Vitor Martins), featuring Ivan Lins
Nema Antunes – bass
Erivelton Silva – drums
Marco Brito – piano / keyboards
Tavinho Menezes – guitar
Marco Suzano – percussion
Marcelo Martins – sax
8. Cada Eu (Carlinhos Brown / Jorge Zarath)
Nema Antunes – bass
Erivelton Silva – drums
Marco Brito – piano / keyboards
Tavinho Menezes – guitar
Marco Suzano – percussion
Marcelo Martins – sax
Vocal Kuimba – coro
9. Dois Corações (Paulo Djorge), featuring Paulo De Carvalho
Nema Antunes – bass
Erivelton Silva – drums
Marco Brito – piano / keyboards
Tavinho Menezes – guitar
Marco Suzano – percussion
Marcelo Martins – sax
Paulo de Carvalho – vocal
10. Sambar é bom (Kiko Continentino / Murilo Antunes)
Nema Antunes – bass
Erivelton Silva – drums
Marco Brito – piano / keyboards
Victor Zamora – piano solo
Tavinho Menezes – guitar
Marco Suzano – percussion
Marcelo Martins – sax
11. Beyond the Thunderstorms (Ivan Lins / Vitor Martins), featuring Ivan Lins
Nema Antunes – bass
Erivelton Silva – drums
Marco Brito – piano / keyboards
Tavinho Menezes – guitar
Marco Suzano – percussion
Marcelo Martins – sax
JazzWax tracks: You'll find GUAI's sultry and sophisticated Capitania at Spotify.
To download for free, go here. You'll have to right-click on each track and choose "save as" to import onto your desktop or into a folder there.
If you love what you hear, send her a PayPal donation to offset her production costs. Or just enjoy. Your call. The PayPal link is here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Roda Quem Não Girar...
And here's Samba-Do-Ayle...
