Caçada Noturna

With his fourth solo album for the Swedish label, the Afro-Brazilian minstrel from Salvador reinforces a decade-long recording relationship and the return to top form signalled by Iroko, last year's joint project with pianist Omar Sosa. Although briefer than 2019's Vida-Código, conversely, it feels more substantial, more complete. Self-produced by this poetic artist who likes his albums to tell a tale, the seven songs cohere within one dreamily atmospheric entity. With the trademark delicate percussion less evident than before (apart from notably ‘Nkongo’), Caçada Noturna is very much a string-driven affair, with Santana's singular five-string acoustic ‘drum-guitar’ complemented by regular bass player Ldson Galter and guitarist Leonardo Mendes. The three of them share the arrangements and the musical honours, but ultimately, it's the human voice – Santana's own, of course, but also that of Fabiana Cozza, who guests on the gorgeous ‘O Véu’ – that captivates and nourishes the listener.