O Aperto da Saudade

Far Out’s aim for this record was to compile a selection of Brazilian tracks that convincingly epitomise the untranslatable Portuguese concept of saudade. The term is often inadequately translated into English as bittersweet sadness, nostalgia or the longing for something indeterminable, and has come to be associated with a particularly Brazilian amalgamation of contradictory emotions, expressed musically to wonderful and diverse effect by many of Brazil’s finest artists. Yet, it is a shame that this record focuses on such a narrow musical interpretation of saudade, which here is largely limited to muted, dreamy, slow to mid-tempo variations of the bossa-jazz-funk axis.

The compilation features tracks by well-loved artists such as Joyce, Azymuth and Eumir Deodato, but in the label’s concern with presenting lesser-known gems, they have neglected these artists’ better material: some of these tracks are obscure for a reason. The subtle beauty of Joyce’s swirling, haunting ‘Jardim Dos Deuses’ gets lost among the other more mediocre choices of a similar vibe and tempo, as does Jose Mauro’s hypnotic ‘Ancoradouro’. Several tracks, including Marcos Ariel’s ‘A Ponte’ and Grupo Batuque’s ‘Tarumã’, are pure filler, as is the unimaginative and disappointing cover of the stunning 1968 Milton Nascimento composition ‘Vera Cruz’.