Bossacucanova

Uma Batida Differente
(2004)

For their third album, the merry pranksters of Bossacucanova are up to their old tricks but the magic is stronger than ever. DJ Marcelinho DaLua, bassist Márcio Menescal and keyboardist Alexandre Moreira have been deftly updating [bossa nova's] whispery charms, granting it a modern context via audacious, creatively applied beats and electronica. If anything, they've taken the metamorphosis a bit further this time. However, their touch remains reverent, humorous, inventive and miles removed from overkill. Just how this youthful trio has managed to emphasize the style's muted jazz inflections while kicking out the jams is a delightful conundrum and invites repeated listening. --Christina Roden

Brasilidade
with Roberto Menescal
(2001)

Bossacucanova - the three young Rio de Janeiro producers/musicians whose first effort under the Bossacucanova moniker ("Revisited Classics") was released by Ziriguiboom/Crammed Discs/Six Degrees in late 1998 - have teamed up with original bossa nova guitar hero Roberto Menescal to create a lovely album of jazzy, electronic bossa grooves. Tastefully combining their programming skills with Menescal's sensuous, laidback guitar playing and performances by a host of musicians (including horn, strings & percussion players), Bossacucanova rejuvenates the essence of bossa nova with "Brasilidade," making it fresh and exciting to yet another generation of listeners worldwide. --Amazon.com description
 

BossaCucaNova:
Revisited Classics
(1999)

Revisited Classics captures three young DJs from Rio reassembling Brazilian classics with modern hip-hop rhythms and DJ sampling for an effective melding of the sensual past with the in-your-face present. What's refreshing about this album is the three mixmasters' expertise in highlighting the luscious jazzy essence of the bossa nova while bringing in DJ dance attitude without impairing either genre. Take Wanda Sâ's "Meditaçâo": distorted guitar à la Black Sabbath engraves the melodies, but the clips are restrained enough to allow the soft, tinkling piano lines to work their luminous, exotic magic. Similarly, the fat beats on "Influencia do Jazz" bring a sumptuous groove to Carlos Lyra's airy, high voice, recalling US 3 without the pretense. The respect these artists have for their bossa nova elders is apparent--the jacket's littered with 1960s photos of bossa nova artists and a couple of original versions relax at album's end, right about the time you realize this new Brazilian generation knows how to pay an extraordinarily tasteful tribute to the past while reinventing the present. --Karen Karleski
 

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