Página Central

Finally given a UK release, this colla¬boration between two past masters dates back to 2007, and pretty much steers clear of the clubbier experiments of Valle’s recent Far Out albums. Instead, Rio’s grizzled baroque-pop godfather lies back and thinks of his favourite film scores: it’s a drowsy, jazz-with-strings affair that never quite makes it out of first gear and – especially on the instrumental likes of ‘Trés da Tarde’ – has something of the immaculate atmosphere of the late-60s Tom Jobim milestone Wave.

Wile Fonseca’s gently brushed vocals take the occasional lead, as a whole the album sounds very much like Valle’s project, and it’s Valle’s efforts with another film score veteran, Jaques Morelenbaum, are arguably more interesting. It’s a joy to hear these two working together, Morelenbaum’s elegant cello playing a heartsick refrain as Valle conceives a typically extrovert resolve. José Roberto Bertrami, of Azymuth, adds inky ripples of Fender Rhodes on ‘Faz de Conta, almost four decades after Azymuth’s own soundtrack collaboration with Valle kickstarted their career in the early 70s. ‘Página Central’ is pure vintage Marcos Valle, an imaginary theme for a Brazilian equivalent of The Love Boat, dripping in luxurious instrumental chandlery and the club-class upgrade of a 16-strong string section. Longtime fans will embrace ‘Voo Livre’ as more of the same. For others, there are probably more illuminating places to start delving into the man’s back catalogue.