Brazilian music legend Sergio Mendes spins his remarkable magic on his newest recording, a bona fide classic! This is a kaleidoscopic album that underscores the maestro's ear for addictive melodies, as well as his ability to cast incredibly talented singers and musicians from all over the world
Customer Review: a review for Brasil '66 fans
It's been around 40 years since Mendes reached an artistic and commercial peak with several classic albums that successfully mixed bossa nova, jazz, and pop music. Those albums still sound fresh today, thanks to the terrific songs, latin rhythms and some sparkling arrangements. Since then, Mendes has experimented with mixing his Brazilian sound with folk rock, funk, dance music, hip hop, and on "Encanto," some r&b. As someone who prefers the work he did with Brasil '66 to anything more recent, to my ears the album is pleasant though generally forgettable with the exception of a few wonderful tracks. Unsurprisingly the best tracks are those with strong melodies by Antonio Carlos Jobim, in particular "Somewhere in the Hills" and "Dreamer," both of which are direct descendants of the sound of Brasil '66. "Dreamer" includes both Herb Alpert and Lani Hall, who sounds remarkably like she did when she was fronting Brasil '66. This is a genuinely stunning track and easily the best on the album. Natalie Cole sings "Somewhere in the Hills" which is appropriately jazzy and is one of Jobim's strongest melodies. Other Jobim tracks include "Waters of March" which Mendes has covered several times in the past. It's a singer's song, and sounds a little rhythmically stiff here, as it has in his previous efforts. "Morning in Rio" is also good, with a more Brazilian styled melody and a nice trombone solo. The rest of the CD is listenable, but not such that I ever want to hear most of it again. "The Look of Love" is an unnecessary remake of a good song. What made the original great was a sensational big band arrangement which has been dropped in favor of a hip hop arrangement. I liked the Brazilian styled funk of "Odo-ya" and the mellow "Catavento" with Mendes' wife on lead vocals. On the other hand, "Funky Bahia" and "Lugar Comum," the latter of which features an Italian rapper doing a little snippet of "Volare," are disposable pop/hip hop songs. If I could get into Mendes' head, I would try to convince him do an album of Jobim and Marcos Valle songs with Herb Alpert and Lani Hall and a small jazz/bossa combo. It might not sell a million copies, but it would be an artistic triumph. If you're an unreconstructed fan of Brasil '66 as I am, I can recommend this with reservations. You might be better off just downloading a handful of tracks. But "Dreamer" should not be missed.
Customer Review: Summery and enchanting.
"Encanto" follows the highly acclaimed 2006 collaboration with will.i.am Timeless and with this latest release, Sergio takes us even deeper into Brazil, having recorded all the basic tracks in Rio and Bahia and finally finishing up in in California, where the studio band included Alphonso Johnson. For "Encanto" (in Spanish for Enchantment), Mendes has also enlisted the formidable and enchantingly diverse talents of an array of guest musicians who hail from the world over. Latin superstar Juanes from Colombia and multi-talented Carlinhos Brown & Vanessa da Mata from Brazil jostle alongside the foremost Japanese pop group Dreams Come True, Belgium's Zap Mama and Italian rapper Jovanotti. This international cast is completed by the American stars Fergie, Siedah Garrett and Herb Alpert who is accompanied by his wife, original Brasil '66 singer, Lani Hall. Old smoothie Mendes gets jiggy on a selection of bossa-favourites with a raft of guest stars including the ubiquitous Will.i.am and Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, Natalie Cole and Herb Alpert et all... This new album essentially is a cross between Mendes' soft, salsa-tinged melodies and modern day R'n'B. The opening track, "The Look of Love" with rap/vocals by Fergie, is a deliciously moreish funky-fusion, and for the first third or so, the combination of Sergio's Rhodes with the hip-hopped production style is terrific. Perhaps this new version of Burt Bacharach's "The Look Of Love", which Mendes had originally transposed to bossa nova heaven in 1967 is the boldest track on "Encanto". This new interpretation, produced by Black Eyed Peas will.i.am, preserves the alluring melody of the original while bringing the song into the new millennium with crisp drum programming and a sexy rap by Fergie. Then it goes all smooth jazz on you. Not bad, though. Whether you are a Sergio Mendes fan especially the earlier stuff, Brasil 66, Equinox, etc or a Black Eyed Peas fan, or indeed R&B then there's something on this album to please everyone. I'd say for such a challenging album there are only a couple of songs that are just to heavy hip hop for me. The rest is a joy to listen to, if you are open minded about remixes and love to see what Sergio has been up to. This album is a grower. The more I listen to it, the better it gets. You will like it. Picks of the album: "The Look of Love", "Waters Of March", "Dreamer", and "Somewhere In The Hills (O Morro Nao Tem Vez)". Equinox Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Greatest Hits The Very Best of Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66
There are so many different genres of dance that one can feel overwhelmed when he or she thinks of learning to dance. However it is not as complicated as it seems.
Firstly, to excel at a certain style it may take years of practice, to be able to cope with several types of dancing is not quite as hard. For many people who enjoy a range of activities, it is much more beneficial to learn a little about each style and not a lot about just one. This is because the usual person in today's world will be exposed and often "pressured" into dancing at a variety of events. Therefore someone may encounter hip-hop, ballroom, and break dancing styles all in a very short period of time.
The purpose of this article is to give an overview of the main types of dance and some of the moves needed for each.
Hip-hop is a great dance style to be familiar with as it can be used whenever there is a faster beat. Also, don't think that hip-hop is just for those with baggy pants and lots of neck chains, anyone can benefit from acquiring this skill.
The most basic element of this genre is time-steps, a name also used for ballet moves. These require that you step in certain directions in time with the beat that is playing. "Step-tap" is one of these moves where you step to one side and then follow with your other foot and tapping it as it lands, continue this left and right.
A variation of this is "tap-step" where you tap with your first foot. You can experiment with many variations of these time-steps and maybe even create some of your own.
Another basic movement which looks great with a fast beat is isolations, where you separate movement in the upper body from the lower body. This can mean moving your shoulders back and forward while the rest of your body is still or swiveling your ankles creating movement while the rest of your body is still. These moves are the basics of hip-hop dance and should help in any club or dance party.
Ballroom dances can be some of the most difficult to perform perfectly due to the high levels of coordination required. However with some very handy tips, you should be able to impress, even if it's only at your next wedding.
Firstly, always move in a counterclockwise direction and the closer you are to the middle of the dance floor, the slower you should go. This is a helpful tip to remember as it gives direction and purpose which will affect the rest of your dancing. Another easy tip is that if you are a woman, you should start with your right foot as opposed to a man, who should lead with his left.
If you want to impress your dancing partner, try this one technique. Just before you launch off, lean into the direction you will go and lean according to how far you will step. This tells your partner you are ready to go and does not jerk them roughly. These tips will hopefully save you from embarrassment on the slower dance floors where everything is under scrutiny.
Although break dancing may sound like something you would never want to do let alone try doing, break dancing for beginners can give you a few simple moves that will help keep you in time with the beat while helping you relax and enjoy your time spent dancing.
These moves are for the club or disco although you are free to show them off at the next ball or wedding you attend. The first move is the hand glide and just requires you to put one hand on the floor and tuck the other into your chest, then use your free hand to push yourself around until you are spinning on your hand. You can go as fast as you can manage. A head spin is a great looking move which isn't as hard as it seems, place your head and hands on the floor and spin around. Much practice may be needed!
Not only are these moves fun, but they are great at building muscle strength.
So don't worry if you can't master all of these techniques, as long as you got some handy tips then you are already much better off. You are probably now a much better dancer than the average person. If you were very intrigued by one or more of these styles then maybe you should take up a course in your local town or city in order to really improve your skills. You may not have seen yourself as a dancer but it is something that with a little practice, anyone can impress with.
Ant Onaf is a content producer in association with LearnClubDance.com ( http://www.learnclubdance.com ), an online retailer which sell videos to those who want to learn how to dance.
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