Tempos Futuros

Like long-time partner in rhythm, drummer Ivan ‘Mamao’ Conti, Azymuth’s veteran bassist Alex Malheiros makes an occasional solo sortie. This is his first in a decade, taking its title from a 1995 demo recorded with Azymuth’s ex-keyboard artist and composer, José Roberto Bertrami, who died in 2012. Hearing his original contribution on this finished version is like resurrecting a long-lost friend.

The album, though, bears a contemporary stamp even if it doesn’t stray far from a well-worn path of swirling, melodious synth washes propelled by snappy bass and deft cymbal-work. Familiar Azymuthian territory, then – apart from the richly atmospheric ‘Kuarup’, which sounds as if the great percussionist, Naná Vasconcelos, hooked up with Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters. Malheiros occasionally steps up front in numbers like ‘Requiem for a Storm’ and ‘Sereno’, but mainly he’s there, reliably steering along these dozen self-penned numbers like an indomitable helmsman. Daughter Sabrina’s jaunty vocals feature on ‘Prece’ and the current single, ‘Alto Verão’, and the label’s go-to saxophonist, Sean Khan, colours the sinuous ‘Retrato’. Written and recorded in Niterói, overlooking Rio de Janeiro, with the assistance of regular Far Out producer, Daniel Maunick, this will please many a samba-jazz enthusiast.