1. Alegria Brasileria [2:53]

2. Bossa Para Voce [3:08]

3. Amazing You [4:29]

4. Saudade do Brasil [3:30]

5. Comment Je t’Aime [4:45]

6. Amor Brasileiro [3:05]

7. Bossa Para Celia [4:25]

8. Crianca Feliz [3:54]

9. Tres Estrelas [3:39]

10. Um Amor, Um Abraco [4:32]

11. Dia Feliz [4:14]

12. Ceu Azul [3:43]

13. I Love You (Cole Porter) [4:19]

14. Tranquilidade [3:50]

15. Entardecer [3:38]

16. Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma) [5:29]

    TOTAL PLAYING TIME [63:33]

     

    Roger Davidson is a gifted pianist and composer and fluent in many styles of music, ranging from classical to bebop to Latin jazz. This disc, released in 2016, is the third in a series of live performances recorded at Caffe Vivaldi in Greenwich Village, New York City, where Roger and friends have performed regularly since 2012. All three albums feature different styles of Latin and Brazilian-themed jazz. Volume 1 was released in February 2015 and featured Roger on piano with bassist Pablo Aslan. In May 2015 Soundbrush Records released Volume 2, featuring Roger performing with bassist David Finck and drummer Adriano Santos. On this third release, Roger performs solo on piano and plays 16 songs. Cole Porter wrote I Love You in 1944 for the musicalMexican Hayride. Joseph Kosma composed Autumn Leaves in 1945, with French lyrics by Jacques Prevert and Engish lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Roger performs both ballads using similar arrangements, beginning the first verse slowly with languid, wandering musical explorations, then finding an appropriate Latin rhythm to improvise and develop for the rest of the number. Roger composed the other 14 songs on this disc. Alegria Brasileira, translated as “Brazilian joy”, is a charming samba with a bright melody and quick, happy rhythm. Roger alternates the melody line between single note runs and full block chords, adding to the texture and color. Another lovely samba, Crianca Feliz, (“happy child”), is in the same vein, a cheerful dancing melody to a bouncy samba beat, with interesting chord changes and dynamic piano keyboard effects.Dia Feliz sounds like a honky-tonk version of Back Home Again In Indiana, composed in 1897 by James F. Hanley, and is well-played but sounds out of place here and doesn’t fit the Brazilian theme of the rest of the album. Um Amor, Um Abraco (“one love, one embrace”), is a slow, dynamic tango, performed with alternating right and left hand melodies to beautiful effect. Entardecer is a delightfully melodic Spanish waltz, designed with a structure of embellished descending chords, slowly dancing their way down the scale, before leaping to the top to start again.

    This music was recorded live at Caffe Vivaldi, located at 32 Jones Street, New York City. Luis Bacque performed the recording and mastering. Roger Davidson is the executive producer.

    The liner notes are brief and limited to the disc cover. The sound quality is very good.

    Bruce McCollum

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