Nilson Matta - East Side Rio Drive (2015)

At the center of it all is Nilson Matta, who is both an outstanding bassist and an exceptional maestro, to employ another overused term. As a bandleader, he has an innate sense of orchestration, of flow, of sequence, of musical space and together with New York based producer/arranger Humberto (Howard) Léder (no stranger to mixing musical cultures, e,g. B.B.King with legendary Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos), they masterfully conceived an idea to make one piece, with specifically-sized ensembles and a unique groove, and to proceed emotionally and logically, how to make a well-known melody seem fresh and exciting, and then, how to contrast it with something not quite so familiar.

Tracklist:

1. Sertao
2. Verde
3. Boogie Stop Shuffle
4. Mojave
5. Eh Menina
6. Blue In Green
7. Proemio Do Mingus
8. Luas De Nadine
9. Angela
10. Mambo Inn

Personnel:

Nilson Matta: acoustic bass;
Cyro Baptista: percussion and vocals (1),percussion ( 4, 8);
Romero Lubambo: guitar (1, 4, 8);
Craig Handy: tenor saxophone and flutes (1, 8), tenor saxophone (3, 5, 9, 10), bass clarinet (4, 8);
Ann Drummond: flutes (3, 5, 10);
Vince Cherico: drums (2, 3, 5, 9);
Edsel Gómez: piano (2, 3, 5, 9, 10);
Jesse Lynn: vocals (1);
Ayja and Nilson: vocals (5).