With the release of Simply Kenia, the singer confidently reasserts her position as one of the reigning queens of Brazilian music.
Simply Kenia is a captivating blend of venerable choro works, samba and bossa nova-accented tracks that represent the best of the contemporary MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) tradition, and handpicked favorites from the American ballad songbook. There's little doubt that it all adds up to the most well-rounded and stylistically authentic album of Kenia's career.
Simply Kenia features 15 tracks that are custom tailored for Kenia's trademark seductive style, amber-toned voice and impeccable phrasing. Reflecting her affection for Brazil's best tunesmiths, the singer includes works by such renowned composers as Jair De Oliveira, Gilson Peranzzetta and Joao Bosco. She transforms Djavan's "Aviao" into "Being Cool," with English lyrics by Lorraine Feather.
Her take on two timeless North American standards, Willie Nelson's "Crazy" and Matt Dennis' immortal "Angel Eyes," defines romantic balladry at its most sensuous. As a special bonus, "Crazy" is rendered in English, Portuguese and Spanish versions. The album is also noteworthy as Kenia's first foray as a vocalist into the world of choro, an elemental, pre-samba Brazilian style that was the rage in Rio in the early 20th Century and has recently undergone a long overdue renaissance.
It didn't take long after she arrived in the U.S. in 1980 that Kenia made an impact on the Brazilian jazz scene. In 1984, she was featured on Red on Red, the U.S. debut by a fellow Carioca, trumpet star Claudio Roditi. Produced by recording industry legend Creed Taylor, the album established Kenia as the new Brazilian voice in the U.S. market and opened the door for festival bookings and guest appearances with a wide range of artists, including James Taylor, Justo Almario and Jonathan Butler. She also launched her solo recording career, producing four popular and critically acclaimed albums for the MCA and Denon labels between 1987 and 1991.
The albums were noted for their winning mixture of tracks by such diverse North American composers as Stevie Wonder ("Creepin'") and Harold Arlen ("Somewhere Over The Rainbow") as well as the latest creations by Brazil's best contemporary songwriters, including Djavan ("Flor De Lis"), Toninho Horta ("Distant Horizon"). Their catchy arrangements, slick production values and heartfelt performances made the releases a perfect match for the emerging Adult Contemporary Jazz ("Smooth Jazz") format on FM radio. Kenia not only become one of the new broadcasting genre's biggest stars; she also established herself as one of the most popular and successful U.S. based Brazilian musicians since the heyday of Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66.
Other artistic triumphs were to quickly follow. In 1992, she lent her composing skills and voice to the soundtrack of The Devil's Toothpick, a music film produced by Creed Taylor that featured guitarist Lubambo, saxophonist Donald Harrison, and Brazil's current Minister of Culture, singer Gilberto Gil. In 1997, Kenia launched her own label, Mooka Records, with a particularly ambitious effort; Project Ivan Lins, a tribute to the one of Brazil's most prolific and popular contemporary songwriters, featuring Lins himself as a special guest.
It's been a decade since Kenia's name graced the cover of a new CD release -- far too long, her most ardent fans would quickly say. But she makes up for lost time on Simply Kenia. Her magic touch is not only still alive, it's more potent than ever. Simply put, Simply is Kenia, through and through.
The 'Simply Kenia' CD is available from :- KeniaAlive.com | CD Baby
Kenia Celebrates Dorival Caymmi - The NEW CD
Ever hungry for new challenges, the sultry-voiced Brazilian enchantress Kenia, who reemerged on the jazz scene two years ago with the critically-acclaimed album Simply Kenia, serves up one of the most demanding and satisfying projects of her three decade long career with Kenia Celebrates Dorival Caymmi on Mooka Records.
Renowned for her ability to translate the complex rhythms of her homeland into jazzy creations that made her a star of the smooth jazz movement two decades ago, the singer digs even deeper into Brazil’s cultural legacy on this compelling and artistically rich 15-track session.
She tackles the supremely melodic and culturally telling legacy of the Brazilian composer and singer who spent over seven decades creating an aural portrait of Bahia, the stronghold of Brazil’s vibrant African culture. The author of such fabled standards as “Samba da Minha Terra,” “Doralice” and “Voce Ja Foi a Bahia,” Caymmi has long been recognized as a singular figure in Brazilian popular culture, truly an artist without peers in a country noted for a profusion of legendary musicians.
“Dorival’s music lies just between the two major movements in MPB (Música Popular Brasileira, or Brazilian Popular Music),” Kenia explains, “the Samba of the 1920’s and 30’s and the Bossa Nova of the late 1950’s and 60’s. Caymmi’s music served as a kind of a smooth transition between these two styles. And, although he had two very distinct lines of composition, the link between these two movements is characterized by his firm foundation and understanding of Rio’s Samba, sprinkled with some Bahian spices.”
To insure an impeccably authentic interpretation of this collection of Caymmi classics, Kenia employed a rhythm section of first-call Brazilian musicians. Fernando Merlino, who crafted the arrangements and plays piano, is joined by bassist Leo Traversa and percussionist Airto Moreira, perhaps the most recorded Brazilian instrumentalist of his generation. The band also features guitarists Eric Susoeff and Marty Ashby, trombonist Jay Ashby, who arranged the song “Requebre” and joins Airto in the percussion section, and the singer’s son Lucas, who contributes his growing skills as a percussionist. The involvement of sound engineer Jay Dudt, a three time Grammy-winner, assured the sonic brilliance of Kenia Celebrates Dorival Caymmi.
Although several of Caymmi’s songs, including “Rosa Morena” and Samba da Minha Terra,” were immortalized by singer João Gilberto, many of them are not overly familiar to contemporary audiences. “Digging into Caymmi’s work has been an absolute joy,” Kenia confides. “His songbook takes me back in time. For instance, I discovered that ‘Roda Piao,’ a tune that Carmen Miranda made famous, was written by Caymmi. I was delighted to learn that the song had a beautiful introduction and interlude. Growing up, we only knew and sang the bridge. And for years I sang ‘Acalanto’ to my children, again not having any idea of the composer’s name. As challenging as it is to revisit some of these childhood memories, it was also very liberating.”
The singer was born Kenia Acidly into a family of Italian origins in the city of Nova Iguaçu, a working class suburb of Rio de Janeiro. When she was six, Kenia’s family moved to Copacabana, Rio’s chic beach-fronting neighborhood. As with most Cariocas, as natives of Rio are known, growing up in the 1960s during the bossa nova era meant that she played guitar by ear for many years before realizing that singing was her true calling. It helped that at that time Brazilian television was loaded with programs that featured such trend-setting vocalists as Elis Regina, Gal Costa, Nara Leão and Caymmi’s daughter Nana. “By the late 70’s and early 80’s,” she recalls, “I was madly in love with the music of Djavan and Ivan Lins. At the same time, through my friend, the late Durval Ferreira, a great composer, I was introduced to the beautiful voices of Sarah Vaughn and Carmen McRea.”
Arriving in the U.S. in 1980, Kenia quickly established herself as the new Brazilian singer on the scene and recorded her debut in the States with trumpeter Claudio Roditi on his album Red on Red. Several years later, she launched her solo recording career, producing four popular and critically-acclaimed albums for the MCA and Denon labels between 1987 and 1991. She also established herself as one of the most popular and successful U.S. based Brazilian musicians since the heyday of Sergio Mendes and Brazil ‘66. In 1997, Kenia launched her own label, Mooka Records, with a particularly ambitious effort; Project Ivan Lins, a tribute to the one of Brazil’s most prolific and popular contemporary songwriters, featuring Lins himself as a special guest.
Kenia Celebrates Dorival Caymmi represents a continuation of the effort she began on Simply Kenia to rediscover and explore in her own distinctive way hidden gems of 20th Century popular Brazilian music. “Dorival’s compositions address two distinct themes,” she comments. “There are the songs about the sea, where he so eloquently and romantically sang of the hardships, passion and faith of the fishermen of his beloved Bahia. These are known to Brazilians as canções praianas (Beach Songs). These compositions are very sophisticated in harmony and melody, with somewhat of an ECM-style jazz sound and a very folkloric feel.”
The second thematic track is equally satisfying. “He also had a particular way of writing about love, passion, sex and women that is very special,” the singer continues. “These songs have a certain swing, groove and movement. His subtlety and care with words is so natural. Dorival has a way composing that even describing a woman’s simple stroll to the supermarket becomes an amazingly charming experience both for the stroller and observers.”
Kenia Celebrates Dorival Caymmi provides a unique and exhilarating way for international audiences to fall under the trance of the late composer’s incomparable artistry while enjoying the heartfelt vocals of the supremely talented Kenia and the joyous instrumental interpretations of her all-star band.
“Interpreting Dorival’s songs is a wonderful consequence of my quest to reconnect with the music of my country,” Kenia acknowledges. “It has also allowed me to discover some modalities that I either forgot or was never exposed to. His music is so rich, his repertoire so vast and intriguing that I‘m already thinking about what’s to follow: A sequel to Kenia Celebrates Dorival Caymmi.”
The ' Kenia Celebrates Dorival Caymmi ' CD is available from :- KeniaAlive.com | CD Baby
News Update : 07/02/2010
Exciting News!
This Summer the new CD, "Kenia Celebrates Dorival Caymmi" is right at home among the top ten on the World Music Chart since it's release. Thank you all for supporting my work.
The excitement and music buzz continues with my opening the Cooper Union's inaugural show for their new series: Summer Samba and Jazz. If you are in the Manhattan area don't miss it! Check out the information below for news and details on more summer shows already scheduled so you don't miss a beat.
I've recently returned from a trip where I was shooting a promotional video for the Performing Arts Exchange Conference of the song "Eu Nao Tenho Onde Morar" off my new album "Kenia Celebrates Dorival Caymmi." The video will be posted on my website soon, keep checking for it. It was a lot of work but such fun! How can you complan about work days spent walking on the beach and singing?
Now I am at home and very happy to be enjoying the sun and have the opportunity to get out and attend to some much needed gardening. It's a very theraputic activity for me, and a great way to prepare for a busy summer season of concerts.
At Cooper Union I will be joined by a fantastic group of musicians who participated in the recording of the new album. Leo Traversa on the bass, Lucas Ashby on percussion, Jay Ashby on trombone and percussion, and a special participation of Claus Mueller on piano and keys.
I continue to be blessed by the freindship and talent of two great Brazilian musicians who will be joining me for a concert in Pittsburgh on July 17th. Teo Lima on drums, and Nema Antunes on bass. Mike Murray will be playing his killer keys and the accordeon.
Website :- www.keniaalive.com
