album rating: ★★★★☆
Genre
MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) / Brazilian jazz / Bossa nova. Anjo de Mim (roughly translatable as 'Angel Out of Me' or 'My Inner Angel') is Ivan Lins's nineteenth studio album and a representative example of his mature MPB style: an album of his own compositions performed with a refined, jazz-inflected chamber ensemble, supplemented by string arrangements on selected tracks. The repertoire is entirely original, with lyrics by Lins's long-standing collaborator Vítor Martins (thirteen of fourteen tracks) and by lyricists Will Jennings (track 1, English adaptation of the title track) and Norma Winstone (track 5); one track is a cover of Caetano Veloso's 'Dom de Iludir' (track 7). Brenda Russell's song 'Never Give Up' appears in a Portuguese translation (track 3). The album is notable for containing the Brazilian-language original of the song 'Anjo de Mim', whose English adaptation 'I'm Not Alone' (with lyrics by Will Jennings) became the album's primary international release title.
Release
Original Brazilian release: Velas (Brazil, 1995; CD catalogue SL 11-V076), phonographic copyright ℗ Velas Produções Artísticas Musicais e Com. Ltda. Manufactured by Microservice — Microfilmagens e Reproduções Técnicas da Amazônia Ltda. Cover concept by Marcos Arthur.
Production
The Discogs credits identify multiple conductors handling different tracks: Gil Jardim (tracks 1, 8, 10, 13), Mário Manga (tracks 2, 5, 6, 12), Claudio Leal Ferreira (track 3), and Eduardo Gudin (track 10).
Recorded between 14 February and 14 March 1995 at Estúdio Art-Mix, Vila Maria (a neighbourhood in northern São Paulo), São Paulo, Brazil.
Reception
Anjo de Mim was well received in Brazil and among Lins's international audience. The album marked the beginning of Lins's association with Velas, the Brazilian independent label that had also released the celebrated Valsa Brasileira by Zizi Possi (1993). Its US release as I'm Not Alone (Alex label, 1996) expanded his American audience, and the touring that followed made him, per the Encyclopedia.com biography, 'a consistent American nightclub draw' for the first time. The English-language adaptation of the title track, 'I'm Not Alone' (lyrics by Will Jennings — the Oscar-winning lyricist of 'My Heart Will Go On'), was Lins's principal crossover vehicle. The album appears on Discogs user list '1000 Great Brazilian Albums' and is rated 4.2 out of 5. The critical recognition of Lins's broader catalogue, which surrounds this album, is extraordinary: Terence Blanchard recorded the instrumental version of 'Anjo de Mim' on his 1995 album of Lins compositions; George Benson, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Carmen McRae, and the Manhattan Transfer have all recorded Lins songs. Lins went on to win two Latin Grammy Awards at the 2005 ceremony — Album of the Year and Best MPB Album for Cantando Histórias (2005), making him, as of 2025, the only Brazilian or Portuguese-language artist to win the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year.
Ivan Lins
Ivan Guimarães Lins (born 16 June 1945, Ituverava, São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, and pianist, one of the most celebrated and internationally recognised composers of Brazilian popular music and jazz. He was born in São Paulo state but spent his first two years in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his father — a naval engineer — pursued a graduate programme at MIT; American music, particularly Disney film songs and big band, left a permanent impression. He returned to Brazil at six and took up formal piano studies. He studied industrial chemical engineering at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and briefly considered professional volleyball before devoting himself fully to music. His first major success came in 1970 when Elis Regina recorded his song 'Madalena'; Ella Fitzgerald recorded her own version in 1971. Throughout the 1970s he recorded for a series of Brazilian labels while also becoming politically active, writing songs of resistance against the military dictatorship; his song 'Um Novo Tempo' (1980) was played at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 2023 to welcome Brazilian President Lula on a state visit. His American breakthrough came through Quincy Jones, who helped connect him with jazz artists in the early 1980s; his song 'Dinorah, Dinorah' appeared on George Benson's Give Me the Night (1980). His 1985 collaboration with Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour, Harlequin, was a commercial and critical success. He recorded for Reprise/Warner Bros. in English in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His long-standing composing partnership with lyricist Vítor Martins, which began in the early 1970s, has produced the majority of his catalogue. His songs have been covered by Patti Austin, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bublé, Jane Monheit, Take 6, Sting, Diane Schuur, Joe Pass, Toots Thielemans, and dozens of other major artists. He currently divides his time between Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon. He has received four Latin Grammy Awards.
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