Album Notes

Pianist Roger Davidson has proven himself to be one of the most versatile composers in music today, with a repertory that ranges from classical chamber, symphonic and choral works to straight ahead jazz and various Afro-Caribbean and Latin American forms -- even Klezmer music and children’s songs. As a followup to his enthusiastically received album of his own original tangos with Raúl Jaurena, Pasion por La Vida, Davidson unveils his considerable talent for writing original music in the various song forms of Brazil - bossa nova, samba and chorinho - on his Brazilian Love Song, an album featuring eighteen of his own compositions in the style of that country’s intoxicating traditions.
Davidson knows that love comes in many forms and inspires myriad emotions. The music on Brazilian Love Song is as varied as life itself – ranging from tender to intense. Joined on various tracks by Brazilian master musicians, drummer Paulo Braga and percussionist Marivaldo Dos Santos, with the multitalented David Finck on bass and Aaron Heick on alto saxophone, Davidson weaves a multi-hued tapestry of truly moving music. Beginning with the quintet’s performance of the title tune - his first foray into the Brazilian sound, written in 1978, more than a decade after he was first attracted to the style following a hearing of the classic Getz/Gilberto album – we hear just how organically the pianist has absorbed the genre’s “syntax” into his own personal musical vocabulary. On the trio track “Calor do Coraçao, featuring Finck’s virtuoso arco bass playing, the composer makes evident his ability to express deep feelings with seemingly effortless simplicity. “Ritmo Das Flores,” “O Jogo” and “Samba da Sarah” each flows in its own special way with the intoxicating rhythms of Brazil, from Rio to Bahia. Throughout the album’s other pieces Davidson demonstrates his love of the music of that land with enchanting expressions of melodies and rhythms that recall its beauty.