Alegria de Viver

Alegria de Viver is an entirely solo album by the esteemed Brazilian guitarist Lula Galvão. He is generally betterknown as a sideman to a range of stars of the Brazilian jazz world, such as Joyce Moreno and Rosa Passos – the latter provides him an effusive tribute in the album sleeve.

Repertoire-wise, Galvão draws from a range of mid-20th century Brazilian greats, including Johnny Alf, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Dorival Caymmi and Edu Lobo. His beautiful reinterpretations of well-known standards such as Pixinguinha's ‘Carinhoso’ bring a real freshness to Brazilian classics that can so easily be rendered stale, and gives the listener a clear idea of why he was so in demand as an accompanist. His sheer technical abilities are on display throughout; he weaves delicate contrapuntal lines in and around those timeless melodies, and each track features a range of inventive and perfectly chosen jazz voicings.

Although the majority of the album draws from samba, bossa nova and the Brazilian jazz tradition, the variety of tempos and textures – plus the occasional snippet of the north-east, such as the baião touches on Lobo's ‘Zanzibar’ – ensure the album never fades into bossa wallpaper.