Where Rio de Janeiro Meets Bahia

This is a lovingly constructed collection of compositions designed to cross the boundary between music and anthropology, to create a window into the soul of Brazilian music. Mario Bakuna, a sparkling guitarist, plays with palpable feeling – his virtuosic fluency on the fretboard is controlled and flourishes are perfectly placed. His voice has a texture like heavy cloth; there's a warmth and freedom in his laid-back utterances that make for effortless, rapt listening. The brooding melody of ‘Deixa’ is a particularly good example of Bakuna's vocal performance, as well as ‘São Salvador’.

Carneiro's grooves are intense and inventive, using different types of percussion (from agogo to surdo) making each tune on the album distinct in character and timbre. From a percussionist that's worked with artists like Chucho Valdés and Baden Powell, I would expect no less. The ‘ooovf’ of the surdo (drum) is mixed beautifully throughout the record, gently pushing against Bakuna's vocal phrases. It seems odd to fixate over a single sound, but it really is yummy.

These two accomplished musicians have come together to create a gorgeous album. The tenderness is palpable. Where Rio de Janeiro Meets Bahia is infused with saudade (a notion of nostalgia and ‘missing’ that you can't quite translate into English) and well-honed talent achieved through in-depth research and years of experience. Muito bom!