Latin Connections

Andy Scott Salt of the Earth; Lennon & McCartney Blackbird; Ramírez & Luna Alfonsina y el Mar; Hermeto Pascoal Bebê; Antônio Jobim Por Causa de você; Chick Corea Armando’s Rhumba; Antônio Jobim Lamento no Morro; Ismael Ledesma A mi Pueblo; Pixinguinha & Lacerda 1 x 0; Luiz Bonfá Manhã de Carnaval; Antônio Jobim This Happy Madness; Sara Dowling Adios; Egberto Gismonti A Fala da Paixão.

Aquarelle Guitar Quartet: Michael Baker, Vasilis Bessas, James Jervis and Craig Ogden.

Sara Dowling jazz vocals / cello / piano Chandos CHAN 20376 chandos.net

If you're already pining for those hazy, lazy days of summer—now surrendered to autumnal hues and that telltale nip in the air—then this gloriously feel-good release from Chandos will transport you straight back to warmer climes. Settle in with a glass of something pleasantly chilled and let your thoughts drift towards next year's holiday.

Latin Connections was six years in the making, originally conceived as a collaboration with the multi-instrumentalist and composer Clarice Assad. When global Covid restrictions forced a postponement, Assad became unavailable—a disappointment, certainly, but one that led to a serendipitous reunion with the award-winning jazz singer, cellist, pianist, and composer Sara Dowling, who brings all these formidable skills to bear on this vibrant recording.

Latin music, as the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet rightly observes, encompasses a colossal range of styles: salsa, samba, tango, cumbia, bossa nova, choro, merengue, rumba, candombe, and baião, to name but a few. The repertoire here is as rich and varied as any musical tradition globally, stemming from the cultural trinity of Spanish and Portuguese colonial influences in South America, African musical traditions resulting from the tragic slave trade, and indigenous Latin American music. Its incorporation into rock, pop, and jazz has only further popularised these styles, which remain such a vital part of South America's cultural identity.

At times, this soundtrack evokes toe-tapping, finger-clicking, and body-moving syncopated fun, brimming with rhythmic vibrancy and intimacy. Dowling's distinctive and seductive vocals combine beautifully with the guitars, creating textures that are at once sophisticated and utterly accessible. The quartet is technically flawless, and the interplay between the piano, vocals, and those delicious strings makes the album utterly irresistible. The improvisatory elements lend an authenticity that lifts the music beyond mere recreation into something genuinely alive.

The disc encompasses many sentiments. Towards the close, This Happy Madness is pure delight—imagine yourself in a bar with a whisky in hand, the evening stretching lazily before you. Then comes Adios for cellos and guitars, utterly exquisite. Dowling wrote it in December 2020 during a difficult time, grieving the loss of her cat, Moley. "He was my little ray of sunshine," she recalls, "and watching him fade was heartbreaking. The melody came from that raw emotion and stayed with me for a year before I finished it. The melodies we write have the ability to capture what we feel in a single moment, turning it into something that lasts forever."

It's left to Gismonti's A fala da paixão to close this delightful disc, the rich, warm textures of the instruments creating precisely the right ambience. As Craig Ogden notes, the album closes not in a sombre mood but in reflection, with the stunningly beautiful A Fala da Paixão (The Language of Passion).

An all-round delight.