 |
From the Vault...
08/18/2019
#1686 |
|
info
Eliane Elias
"Dance Of Time"
© Jazz Concord Records
Rating:
|
track listing
O Pato
You're Getting To Be
A Habit WIth Me
Copacabana
Coisa Feita
By Hand (Em Maos)
Sambou Sambou
Little Paradise
Speak Low
Samba De Orly
Na Batucada Da Vida
An Up Dawn
Not To Cry
(Pra Nao Chorar)
|
WSVNRadio Archives
Eliane Elias related sites:
|
|
|
Eliane Elias
"Dance Of Time"
Eliane Elias achieved the #1 spot on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart, in APril, 2017. Her album was Dance Of Time. Elias has been recording
albums since 1985. If you are a fan of Jazz, Smooth Jazz, and a popular artist from those genres, Diana Krall, then this album just maybe up your alley.
Eliane Elias is not only an accomplished singer, but piano player (just as Diana Krall). Elias' music is more structured in the Braziian Jazz.
As most of the songs form Dance Of Time is in the Portuguese language, and English. (The non-English titles are obvious.)
"O Pato" shows off her piano skills, as they are quite prominent. Also, most of the songs in her vocal range and style do relate of that to
Diana Krall. Yet, Krall's vocals are better than Elias', yet Elias' piano skills are superb. "O Pato" displays this. The same is also for the
next track, "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me." -- where Krall's voice is better than that of Elias', however Elias' piano skills are very
strong here.
"Copacabana" -- not the Barry Manilow song, yet it is very compared to Diana Krall. "Coisa Feita" has a guest vocalist, and he plays
guitar -- Joao Bosco. The style of this song, likewise for Bosco, sounds more of a recent song by Tony Bennett. Making this a duet, it could be
compared to Bennett and his duet with either Diana Krall or Lady Gaga. And speaking of Diana Krall, "By Hand (Em Maos)" is definitely a tune that
Krall could have easily recorded, as it sounds alot like her.
For the true Jazz fan, Cool Jazz has the next track, "Sambou Sambou." Picture yourself in a lounge bar, where you would hear cool lounge jazz,
with the Diana Krall'ish "Little Paradise." More Cool, Smooth Jazz has "Speak Low." But a least-sounding track, is the Samba Jazz of
"Samba De Orly." Yet more of the Smooth Jazz is heard on "Na Batucada Da Vida." "An Up Dawn" is more upbeat than the other tracks,
and more Cool Lounge Jazz returns on the last track, "Not To Cry (Pra Nao Chorar)."
Peter Jones of London Jazz News noted, "As smooth as a smoothie made of liquid silk, singer and pianist Eliane Elias has spent the last three
decades flying the flag for the kind of Brazilian music that first became internationally popular in the late 1950s. But far from being a mere nostalgist,
she keeps it alive and kicking with her bold, contempoarary arrangements... On this new album she focuses on the samba, with a side order of bossa nova,
But what makes it the best collection of hers that I've ever heard (and i must admit, I haven't heard all 23 albums) is the inclusion of some astounding
good sidemen. (From the Dance Of Time's Wikipedia page.)
From her website: Recorded in Brazil and produced by Steve Rodby and Marc Johnson, the musical and marital partner to Elias, the idea is to pay homage
to 100 years of samba music and it more than delivers on that score. As Elias has transitioned from a pianist/vocalist to a vocalist/pianist (yes, there is
a difference), some fans and certainly critics have wondered if she has wavered too close into crossing over into Diana Krall territory and leaving the
jazz behind in pursuit of reinventing hereself as a sultry chanteuse. That’s a suspicion born out in part to how many glamour shots of Elias clad in a
slinky black dress seem to be showing up in the CD booklet. Not to worry. Elias remains first and foremost a jazz musician whose piano playing precision is
impeccable. Whether she is singing in English or Portuguese, Elias remains as far from being a pop singer as a hot dog is from being prime rib.
`
These descriptions makes Eliane Elias' Dance Of Time well. It is unique, with her piano playing and vocals. Comparing more to that of Diana
Krall, this comparison is quite the compliment. Diana Krall is better, in my opinion, but this is because I am more familiar with her albums throughout
the decades. Eliane Elias also has her decades in her music. Yet Dance Of Time was my only introduction to her music, as it reached #1 on the
Billboard Jazz Albums chart.
Eliane Elias' Dance Of Time shines in it's moments. Her foreign language songs here are quite unique, and the sounds of Jazz, Smooth Jazz,
Brazilian Jazz, in her own style. Dance Of Time is worth checking out, for good Jazz, and relaxing jazz.
© WSVNRadio.net. All rights reserved.
Review or any portion may not be reproduced
without written permission. Cover art is the
intellectual property of
Jazz Concord Records
and is used for reference purposes only.
|
|
