album rating: ★★★★☆
a) Genre
MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) / Brazilian jazz / Chamber folk. Valsa Brasileira is Zizi Possi's twelfth studio album and a defining moment in her artistic evolution: a deliberately minimalist, intimate recording built around a small chamber trio and a carefully curated repertoire spanning Brazilian popular song from the early 20th century to the early 1990s. The album draws on choro (Pixinguinha's 'Lamentos'), Amazonian song (Waldemar Henrique's 'Uirapuru'), samba-canção, bossa nova, and contemporary MPB, interpreted with stripped-back piano, percussion, and synthesiser textures that stand in deliberate contrast to the lush, overproduced pop arrangements of Possi's late-1980s commercial period. Slipcue.com describes it as 'one of the freshest-sounding albums of its time', singling out its 'creative melodic and rhythmic twists' on material by Gilberto Gil, Edu Lobo, Geraldo Pereira, Pixinguinha, and Jackson do Pandeiro.
b) Release
Original release: Velas Records (Brazil, 1993; catalogue 101.275, CD). Velas was a Brazilian independent label that had become closely associated with the artistic renewal of MPB in the early 1990s, releasing albums by artists who had left major labels to pursue smaller-scale, artistically autonomous projects. The album is currently available on digital streaming platforms.
c) Production
Co-produced by Zizi Possi and Antonio Duncan. Musical conception and artistic direction were by Zizi Possi herself. The album liner credits note: 'Concepção, direção musical e artística Zizi Possi / Produtor musical Zizi Possi e Antonio Duncan.' Recording engineer: J.R. Coto; assistant engineers: Ivan Knopfler and Octavio Paixão. Mixing: J.R. Coto and Denilson Campos; mastering: Denilson Campos. The album liner notes specify that no arranger credits are printed on the disc (the discografia.discosdobrasil.com.br database notes: 'Ficha técnica do disco sem créditos aos arranjadores'), though it is established from the recording credits that Jether Garotti Junior arranged the majority of tracks, with additional arrangement contributions by Zizi Possi on specific tracks (3, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 13). The album was recorded on a Steinway D-Concert Grand piano provided by Girimport Music; a Roland Sound Space system was used on five tracks. Cover art and booklet design by Xo (Index); hand lettering by Takita; photography by Gal Oppido; group photography by Claudio Pedroso. The album was promoted by a tour of Brazilian cities directed by Zizi's brother, theatre director Jose Possi Neto.
d) Recording
Recorded at Artmix Estudio, São Paulo, São Paulo state, Brazil. The trio that performed throughout the album consisted of Benjamin Taubkin (piano, Roland JV-100 synthesiser on two tracks), Guello (Luiz Carlos Xavier Coelho Pinto) (percussion: pau de chuva, tablas, pandeiro, reco-reco, triangulo, congas, pratos, repinique, timbales, chimbal, surdo, and bumbo), and Jether Garotti Junior (piano on three tracks; Roland JV-1000 synthesiser). The repertoire spans compositions by Gilberto Gil, Vinicius de Moraes and Pixinguinha, Waldemar Henrique, Geraldo Pereira, Edu Lobo and Chico Buarque, Swami Junior and Paulo Freire, Chico Buarque and Djavan, Luiz Gonzaga Junior (Gonzaguinha), Luiz Avellar and Lyle Mays, Altay Veloso with Camille Saint-Saens (for the track 'Renascer'), and an original coda co-composed by Zizi Possi, Benjamin Taubkin, Jether Garotti Junior, and Guello.
e) Reception
Valsa Brasileira was acclaimed by the Brazilian critical community and won Possi the Melhor Cantora (Best Female Singer) award from the Associação Paulista de Criticos de Arte (APCA) for 1993 -- the second time she had won that award, having previously received it in 1991 for Sobre Todas as Coisas. The award confirmed the album's status as a defining moment in Possi's artistic trajectory. The Jornal do Brasil published a review on 25 November 1993 under the headline 'A sofisticada Zizi Possi', reflecting the sophisticated artistic ambition of the project. Slipcue.com called it 'the most strongly recommend[ed]' of Possi's albums, describing her as introducing 'some creative melodic and rhythmic twists into material by the likes of Gilberto Gil, Edu Lobo, Geraldo Pereira, and even old-timers like Pixinguinha and Jackson do Pandeiro.' The Last.fm biography notes it 'helped to put her up amongst the leading names on the MPB scene.' A show from one of the São Paulo tour dates was recorded and broadcast as a special within the programme Por Acaso, on Rede Bandeirantes, transmitted in October 1995.
Zizi Possi
Maria Izildinha Possi (born 28 March 1956, Bras neighbourhood, São Paulo, São Paulo state, Brazil), known professionally as Zizi Possi, is a Brazilian singer, actress, and occasional composer of Italian descent (her grandfather emigrated from Naples to Brazil at the age of 15). She began studying piano and singing at the age of five. She later travelled to Salvador, Bahia, to study musical composition, before returning to São Paulo and becoming involved in theatrical work alongside her brother, theatre director Jose Possi Neto. She recorded commercial jingles before moving to Rio de Janeiro, where she met producer Roberto Menescal, who brought her to Polygram. Her recording debut came as a guest vocalist on Chico Buarque's 1978 self-titled album, singing the duet 'Pedaco de Mim', which became a major hit. Her first solo album, Pedaco de Mim, was released in 1979 on Philips. Throughout the 1980s she achieved widespread popularity with romantic pop ballads including 'Asa Morena', 'Perigo', 'A Paz', and 'O Amor Vem Para Cada Um'. In 1981 she was named Cantora Revelação by the APCA. In 1990 she left Polygram and returned to São Paulo, pursuing a more intimate and independent artistic direction. The albums Sobre Todas as Coisas (1991, Eldorado), Valsa Brasileira (1993, Velas), and Mais Simples (1996, Philips) defined this new phase and earned critical consensus as her finest work. In 1997 she released Per Amore, a commercial success driven by Italian-language material; the follow-up Passione (1998) continued in this direction. Her 2000 album Puro Prazer received two Latin Grammy nominations, including Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 2003 she received the Premio Carosone Internazionale in Italy for her interpretations of Neapolitan songs. She has also received the Trofeu Imprensa for Best Female Singer.
This text was generated by Claude (Anthropic). It may contain errors or inaccuracies.