Cajueiro

Márcio Faraco has built a career in Europe (principally France) playing the kind of smooth, jazzy bossa nova Europe has long associated with Brazil. Here he breaks the mould – but only a little.

The soft crooning, gently plucked acoustic guitar and lush production remain. The backing band of light percussion, accordion and upright bass is still understated and without a note out of place. And there's plenty of choice bossa nova. But there are other rhythms and styles too: MPB on ‘Um Dia Estranho’, a hint of samba-canção on the title-track and a dash of forró on ‘Neguinha’. And ‘Paris’ – which is perhaps the strongest track on the album – is a homage to Faraco's adopted city, with elements of Django Reinhardt-style Gypsy jazz and sung in French as well as Portuguese. This is perfect coffee-bar music – as sweet and smooth as a Frappuccino and similarly non-challenging to the palate.