Far Out Presents: Friends From Rio Project 2014

Far Out are 20 years old this year and to celebrate they are releasing this, a continuation of the two Friends From Rio albums they released in the 90s, which kick-started the label into life. And continuation is the right word: although Far Out, who have always specialised in Brazilian music, have released some experimental fare of late, this is very much a return to the jazzy, samba-tinged fusion of those earlier albums. This should not be too surprising as the bandleader here is Azymuth's veteran Alex Malheiros. He's joined by a rotating case of names from Rio's samba-funk and Brazilian soul movements; the singers Carlos Dafé and Aleh Ferreira provide two of the album's highlights in ‘Só Resta A Porta Se Abrir’ and ‘Aguaí’ respectively.

At its best the band evoke the nonchalant feel-good factor of Seu Jorge, yet the music has a propensity to stagnate – the excitement from a Jorge Ben-style guitar riff or funky drum break often dampened by meandering grooves and needless slap-bass interjections. Intentionally or not, Friends From Rio Project 2014 proves that Brazilian jazz-fusion hasn’t changed in 20 years.