Thursday, June 28, 2007

Ithamara Koorax in Gilles Peterson's BBC radio show


‘Escravos de Jo’ by Ithamara Koorax, a highlight from the "Brazilian Butterfly" album (produced by Arnaldo DeSouteiro for JSR/IRMA), tonight in Gilles Peterson's show! London's BBC Radio 1!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/gillespeterson/index.shtml

Gilles Peterson – 28th June, 2007

first part
Dick Griffin – Peaceful Thinking (Trident)
Gerado Frisina – Stardust For Tomorrow (Sun Ra Mix) (Test)
Jazzistics – Untitled (Stones Throw)
Mtume – Yebo (bbe)
Tiombe Lockhart – Don’t Understand (Jazzy Sport)
John Legend & Jack Splash – We Don’t Care (Test)
The Politik - She’s Gone (Antipodean)
Walter Murphy – Afternoon of A Faun (Extended Pleasure)
Timmy Regisford – The Poem (Restricted Tracks)
Ithamara Koorax – Escravos De Jo (Irma)
Jazztronik – Bra Step (White)
Eva Be ft Joe Dukie – No memory of Time (Sonar Kollektiv)

second part
Gilles Peterson Slightly Psychedelic Mix
US 69 – 2069 A Spaced Oddity (Buddah Records)
Fifty Foot Hose – Rose (Limelight)
The Heavy – Bruk Pocket Lament (White)
The London Experimental Jazz Quartet – Destroy The Nihilist Picnic (Library)
Cortex – Mary et Jeff (Dare-Dare)
The Dragons – Are You There? (Ninja Tune)
Brian Auger – Straight Ahead (Rca)
Kashmere Stage Band – Super Strut pt 1 (Kenny Dope Re-edit) (Now-Again)
D’Angelo, Questlove & Christian McBride – Funky Drummer (White)
Tiombe Lockhart – G.P. (Jazzy Sport)
The Dinner at The Thompson’s – Untitled (Earth & Wake Records)
The Portico Quartet – Kontiki Expedition (White)
Herbie Hancock – Maiden Voyage (Blue Note)

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

"Brazilian Butterfly" - DownBeat review (4 stars)


Ithamara Koorax "Brazilian Butterfly"
4-star Review - DownBeat Magazine - February 2007
JSR/IRMA 830*
*** Rating: 4 starsBrazilian singer

Ithamara Koorax is delightfully unpredictable in her music.Her new album is a far cry from "Love Dance", her sultry lovefest ofsophisticated ballads. This mind-stretching sampler showcases her intimatedialogues with superb musicians (Dom Um Romão and Gonzalo Rubalcaba areback), flashing moods and eye-blink arrangements of scintilating tunes. Theenergy level and timing (78 minutes long) push the max as Koorax leapsheadlong into steamy, sexy and in-your-ear singing.

"Brazilian Butterfly" flutters free with Koorax's embracing virtuosity andastonishing range, and frames her crazy-quilt with jungle jams where toppercussionists Romão and Eloir de Moraes "talk the blues" over her volcanicvocalese and feral screeches. Koorax pours impure passion and hymnicsimplicity into earthy Bahiana wailers by Dorival Caymmi, and goeshead-to-head in raw duo with Thiago de Mello's berimbau, with stirring vocalunderdubs.

There's no let-up to this party until Koorax sweetly flaunts her command ofjazz vernacular on Herbie Hancock's "Butterfly" and voluptuously purrsPixinguinha's fabled "Carinhoso". This is Koorax's vital exploration ofblack Brazilian roots.

- Fred Bouchard
copyright 2007, DownBeat