The Brazilian music album drops January 31. Videos for the first two singles are out now.
Eager to explore and expand upon the chemistry they discovered while collaborating on multiple recordings over the last couple of years, pianist Ricardo Bacelar and cellist Jaques Morelenbaum packed up their instruments and set off on holiday together in the peaceful and exquisite coastal enclave of Aracati, Ceará in the Northeast corner of Brazil. There, the two musicians, composers, arrangers, and producers immersed themselves in the culture of their surroundings in order to craft a ten-song set titled for the cliffside oceanfront locale, “Aracati.” The Jasmin Music album comprised of nine instrumentals and one vocal track drops on January 31.
Bacelar and Morelenbaum enjoyed a week in Aracati before returning to Jasmin Studio, a trailblazing immersive audio production facility in Fortaleza where they spent eight days tracking the collection of Brazilian rhythms and melodies that swirl jazz and classical elements. The pair wrote three songs together while in Aracati, including the first single, “Fogueira,” which is available now accompanied by a video that captures the spirit and ethos of the recording project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-evlk9hwado). The rest of the compositions were penned individually by Morelenbaum or Bacelar with two new tunes cowritten by the pianist.
“I set up a small studio in a room in the house where we were staying. I brought the electric piano, Jaques brought the cello, and we immersed ourselves in that environment. We spent a week amidst the dunes, the sea, and the natural beauty of Aracati. We talked and played a lot, and all of this inspired us to create this album,” said Bacelar.
The focal point of “Aracati” is the interplay between Bacelar’s agile, poetic, and lyrical piano expressions and Morelenbaum’s colorful cello that ranges from dramatic and impassioned to playful and celebratory illustrations. On the album, Bacelar plays acoustic piano, keyboards, vocals, accordion, Hammond organ, and percussion while Morelenbaum adds cello, acoustic piano, and keyboards. Embellishing the lavish melodies and rich harmonies are rhythmic beats and grooves skillfully constructed by percussionist Hoto Júnior and drummer Luiz Orssano.
The album opens with Morelenbaum’s “Correios,” which was the theme of the Academy Award nominated film “Central Station,” a best international film contender in 1999. While it is a piece from the artist’s catalogue, the track perfectly sets the tone for “Aracati” and the collaborative collection.
After lighting a bonfire on the beach in Aracati, the duo was inspired to write the spirited and festive “Fogueira” as a tribute to the impact made by iconic Brazilian composer Egberto Gismonti.
Bacelar emotes vocally on “Quando a Noite Vem,” a sultry romancer that he wrote with Giuliano Eriston set to a subtle bolero. Morelenbaum’s cello adds a comforting caress.
Morelenbaum conjured up a bird named Firu and wrote a song to the imagined bird’s song, which can be heard in the background throughout “Fi_Ru_Hay_Kay.” One can hear the bird’s careful, tentative, and deliberate emerging and exploring prior to taking flight.
The second single from “Aracati” that was released on Friday (December 13) along with a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGolvV0mT2U), “Caminhos de Areia” is a contemplative Bacelar song about a cowboy’s spiritual journey.
It wasn’t all sun and fun in Aracati. One day, Morelenbaum’s belongings were carried out to sea by a mischievous wave and were later retrieved after a local fisherman dove in after them. The unlikely and miraculous adventure was set to music as “Milagres.”
“We went to watch the sunset on a little corner of the beach, and I left my belongings on top of a high rock. We went into the sea and when I looked back, the tide had risen and taken my things, including my cell phone. I was devastated until a native fisher who knows the region well pulled my cell phone out of the sea. The song was inspired by these unlikely events,” explained Morelenbaum.
Bacelar’s “Sargaço” is a sprawling seaweed inspired tale that tosses, turns, and churns into a cascading swoon through the tropical region.
Another Bacelar and Morelenbaum cowrite, “Voo da Graúna” is a piece inspired by the native graúna birds that proliferate Aracati and the Northeastern region of Brazil.
Mesmerized by the sand formations of the region that were sculpted by the ocean, wind, and rain, Bacelar wrote “Falésias” with Luciano Raulino, a song as exquisitely beautiful as the vibrant setting that inspired it.
Morelenbaum’s “Ar Livre” closes the set on a melancholy note of reflection interspersed with melodic rays of sunny gratitude for the time the musicians spent together in Aracati.
Bacelar and Morelenbaum met in 2022 while the cellist was recording a track with Gilberto Gil that was produced by the pianist. A year ago, Morelenbaum guested on a Bacelar single, “O Meio do Mundo.” More recently, Morelenbaum performed on an album by Bacelar and Leila Pinheiro titled “Donato.”
The Rio de Janeiro-based Morelenbaum has assembled a remarkable resume that boasts playing with seminal artists such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Sting, and David Byrne. Bacelar got his start thirty years ago as a member of Brazilian rock band Hanoi Hanoi. A copyright lawyer who helms Jasmin Music and Jasmin Studio, he’s played a role in cultivating a catalogue of Brazilian music consisting of albums and singles by Gil, Flávio Ventunini, Toninho Horta, Roberto Menescal, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, and Delia Fischer. His prolific production slate includes an upcoming February video release with Megan Nicole titled “Love Like This” followed by album that he produced paying homage to Brazilian singer-songwriter Rita Lee, a rock project releasing in March on which he sings, plays piano, and keyboards.
Bacelar is proud of “Aracati,” the unique vibe and energy of the record capturing the time he shared with Morelenbaum in the city.
“This album was made with great care and carries a grand personality. The songs tell stories, coexistence and collaboration, which we celebrate through the construction of this work. I really like the end result. ‘Aracati’ is a beautiful album of new partnerships and songs that we gathered for the project,” concludes Bacelar.
“Aracati” contains the following songs:
“Correios”
“Fogueira”
“Quando a Noite Vem”
“FI_RU_HAY_KAY”
“Caminhos de Areia”
“Milagres”
“Sargaço”
“Voo da Graúna”
“Falésias”
“Ar Livre”
For more information:
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ABOUT JASMIN STUDIO
Ricardo Bacelar’s Jasmin Studio, located in Fortaleza, Brazil, is considered one of the most advanced Dolby Atmos certified residential facilities in the world. Opened in 2016, the world-class studio is an audio lab equipped with state-of-the-art gear and technology that combines analog and digital production capabilities - from stereo to immersive 7.1.4. For more information, visit https://jasminmus.com/jasmin-studio.
Jazz from Amazon.com
