Poinciana-Ahmad Jamal
346639
Love it! Had the vinyl LP when I was in high school, was very happy to find it as a cd.  When it's good,it's always good, even after 50 years.
1858197
Fans of jazz will appreciate the different take here, as will fans of Brazilian music.  It is a very nice, eclectic collection; very enjoyable for the music lover.  Out of several collections of Bazilian music I have listened to, it is the most jazz oriented.
3020030
I met the art of Maneli Jamal through Youtube a few years ago and was impressed back then by his playing technique. However, to have technique without heart is like asking a computer to compose and play a piece. It will be technically perfect, but something will be missing. While listening to Maneli I was able to see his skill but more importantly feel his heart in the Ziur Movement (the first piece I hear from him). To this day I can still feel my heart pounding to the beat of his art. HeART worth appreciating!
3641045
First Line: Less than an hour after Juraci Santos was unceremoniously dumped into the back seat of her kidnappers' getaway car, Luca Vaz crept through her front gate and poisoned her bougainvilleas.

The kidnapping of this woman constitutes a national emergency. You see, it's the eve of the FIFA World Cup, and Brazil is the host country. Brazil is assured of a victory due to the skill of Tico "The Artist" Santos, and since the entire country is football (soccer) mad, the level of celebration will be beyond imagining. However... Juraci Santos is The Artist's mother, and her kidnapping insures that The Artist is out of the game.

Since this is such a serious matter, Chief Inspector Mario Silva and his team are called upon to save the day (and the victory).  There is no lack of suspects, and each one must be questioned carefully, doublechecking motives, opportunity, and alibis. Are the kidnappers supporters of arch rival Argentina's team? The Artist's gold-digging girlfriend whom his mother hated? His main rival in Brazil? The man whose career Tico Santos destroyed? Or someone completely different?

I think I had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading this book. I love the camaraderie of Silva's team, how they work together and tease each other, and that was sorely missing in the last book of the series, Every Bitter Thing. (This camaraderie reminds me a bit of that enjoyed by Inspector Montalbano's team in Andrea Camilleri's excellent series.) Part and parcel of how this team works together is the skill with which Silva dangles just the right carrot in front of his burro-ish bureaucrat of a boss. The interaction of these characters is one of the things that makes this series so special.

Investigating each of the suspects turns out to be a marvelous guided tour of life in present-day Brazil, from the high to the low. It's also where Gage neatly disguises his excellent bit of misdirection. Whether I like it or not, I sometimes think I have a bit of the Eye of Sauron in me as I read crime fiction. My "eye" passes over each character until it suddenly stops, staring intently at The One Who Did It. In A Vine in the Blood, my eye was hoodwinked, and I liked that very much.

Whether it's characterization, plot or setting, A Vine in the Blood is possibly the best book in this series. If you have yet to sample it, fear not. This book stands on its own very well. My personal recommendation would be to read the entire series. Each book is a window into a fascinating country.
4724115
This c.d. gives a good overall view of the amazingly talented Luiz Bonfa. For fifty years he has been one of my great heros. It's hard to imagine that only one guitar and the players voice are involved. If you play the guitar or just like its sound this is one not to miss!
1793003
The Pablo label was a jazz paradise -- so many great records off the beaten track, and so many of them with a great, laid-back, "We're just hanging out and playing music" feeling. The performers were often aligned with Norman Granz, who had earlier founded and then sold off the great Verve label -- Granz produced Night Rider among many other classics on Pablo. This recording's team-up of two of the all-time piano greats, Count Basie and Oscar Peterson, makes it in my view one of the greatest albums Pablo ever released. It's one of my all-time favorites.

It starts out the title track, a wonderful bass-driven, 12-minute marathon that I sometimes think of as the "Inna Gadda Da Vida" of jazz. "Memories Of You" is an amazing combination of Count Basie on painfully soulful organ chords combined with Peterson's delicate piano taking the top line. "Blues for Pamela" reverses the electric/acoustic division of labor, with Peterson on Fender Rhodes and Basie on piano.

I like all the tracks on this record, but these three are really some of my jazz favorites. This album is highly recommended!
1594416
Comovente, emocionante e inspirador!
Genevieve  uma guerreira e vencedora! Ela nos ensina que nunca devemos desistir dos nossos sonhos e de ns mesmos. Que devemos lutar sempre e enfrentar os desafios com f e coragem e acreditar que Deus sempre reserva algo de bom para aqueles que buscam o caminho do bem, da superao e da perseverana. Mudana de Vida nos faz refletir sobre os caminhos que damos as nossas vidas. Nos faz sonhar e acreditar! Nos faz conhecer o viajar e conhecer o velho mundo pelos olhos de Genevieve. Boa leitura! Assim como eu, voc tambm vai se emocionar!!!
4678144
I love this album. Frisina's music is a beautiful reinterpretation and blending of classic jazz and samba. The songs are sophisticated, fun and filled with attitude. The melodies stay with you. My favorites on the album included the gods of yoruba, jazzy ally, gosto de que e bom and batucafro.
387505
Great story told in the words of his mother. Freddie was bi-polar too bad it wasn't diagnosed. His mother who truly loved him as every Latin mother does her son unfortunately was it a enabler. Wish we could get George Lopez to produce a bio-pic. Before George Lopez , Paul Rodriuez, we had a prinze!!!
4747756
Antonio Carlos Jobim is my all time favorite composer and I have followed his carreer ever since I heard Desafinado when I was 13 years old.  I am now 66.  I was very happy to see that his sister's book had been translated into English, because I was very eager to read it.  The book arrived before due date and was "new" although I bought it "used" - in very excellent
condition.  I have started reading it and I enjoy every page.  Very well written, easy to read, very happy with my book.
681880
I have always loved Martini's Madriani character. I was looking forward to reading The Jury and was very pleased by it. Although I have a bit of a problem with the title (the Jury wasn't a big part of the book) Martini can tell a courtroom story with the best of them. Of course, the fact that my favorite actor Chris Noth portrayed Madriani in a recent TV mini series just increased my love for this character.
A must read if you are a fan of the legal thriller.
777201
Hola; les escribo desde Argentina para comentarles que este es otro gran disco de este gran saxofonista alto, como es Frank Strozier,nada
menos que con Walter >Perkins en piano y otros grandes musicos; se los recomiendo a todos los fans del jazz.
802496
I love this CD!  Great music and excellent message!  Mumia Abu-Jamal is NOT a murderer but a brilliant journalist who was targeted by the Philadelphia Police Department for reporting on police brutality, and was railroaded to a murder conviction for SURVIVING a police officer's attempt to murder him.  It's too late to save Bob Marley but we can honor Marley's memory by freeing Mumia!<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Reggae-Free-Mumia/dp/B00004NS1H/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Reggae Free Mumia</a>
1199466
Como es ya una costumbre jazzanova nos da una probadita mas de que en europa esta la batuta del electro mundial, nuevas tendencias, mezclas ricas en contenidos y no solo pasar de una pieza a otra, esta sesion es una gala de atrevido groove fuera de lo convencional. Se agradece el groove con toques jazzy, que jazzanova lo tiene ya muy estudiado, voces ya conocidas en producciones anteriores y algunos nuevos valuartes del sello sonar kollectiv o jcr, hacen de este cd otro proximo clasico el jazz-electro.
671574
~ This 60-minute documentary is part of the excellent PBS American Experience series.  It documents the life and times of Roberto Clemente from his birth in Puerto Rico to his untimely death on a flight to Nicaragua. While his baseball career is of course discussed, that is not the main main purpose of the documentary.  The main focus is on his experience coming to America as one of the first Latin American baseball players to appear in the major leagues.  The documentary deals sensitively with the prejudice he endured and how he rose above that prejudice to become not only an excellent athlete but a role model and hero to people throughout Latin America.  Indeed, most of the documentary deals with how Roberto channeled his energies into serving his community and his family.  Even today, decades after he died on a flight taking supplies to earthquake victims, he continues to inspire others.
~ If Roberto Clemente had played out his career and retired, he would be remembered by a few as a great baseball player.  Instead, because of his pride and social conscience he is remembered by many as a great man.
~ Highly recommended.
3459120
There are different forms of Brazilian music, just as there are many colors in the American pop music palette. Few people like all approaches to a music genre.  But, just about anyone interested in Brazilian music can find something to enjoy in the work of Antonio Carlos Jobim.  This LP is a jazz-bossa nova classic, arranged by Claus Ogerman, who really knew how to evoke a breezy beauty when working with strings.  Mr. Ogerman also arranged the excellent Sinatra-Jobim album.  This is a somewhat understated but very rhythmic work that has an atmosphere reminiscent of a trip to St. Maarten or Antigua.  Somehow, you just feel like you're in the deep Carribean when listening to this album.  The musicianship is excellent: Jimmy Cleveland and Urbie Green on trombones and a group of fine violinists whose names you will know if you read album covers.  Recorded by the eminent engineer, Rudy Van Gelder, it's essential for anyone interested in Jobim's music. I recall that this LP received a fair amount of play on the local jazz station when it was released ca. 1967.  But, it's not straight jazz.  It's Jobim at his best.  To steal a phrase from an old TV commercial: Try it, you'll like it!
1561204
This was released on the Ben's House Of Music label on EMI in 2009. Music samples are available on the Ben's website. I don't think it holds together as a collection, mainly because of the gross sounding old Ronnie Laws track from 1975 stuck in the middle.

There are a few nice tracks from the usual high quality suspects - Euge Groove, Braxton Brothers and Candy Dulfer, with the album's standout being from (not surprisingly) Norman Brown, "Soul Dance" from 2007's "Stay With Me". I think he is clearly the outstanding smooth jazz guitarist in the world today.

Even though it is not a great collection, at least it introduced me to a very good new player I didn't know about - Eric Darius. He's good enough to stay in the front group of a very packed field of good saxophonists.