Antônio Carlos & Jocafi: ‘JID 26’

Collaborating with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad for Jazz Is Dead Records, Antônio Carlos and Jocaf have released a wonderful collection of tracks filled with life, rhythm and creativity.

Antônio Carlos and Jocaf are the legendary Bahian duo behind the classic Você Abusou - one of the most recorded songs in the history of Brazilian popular music - and now they’ve combined with Jazz is Dead for this collection of nine immensely creative and infectious tracks.

This is a true act of collaboration, with these eminent musicians bringing together their disparate backgrounds in composing and infectious improvising.

Humour infuses this latest offering from Jazz is Dead, from the vibrant opening track - Rala Bucho - which comes from the Portugese language evoking dancers rubbing bellies. But there is also a sense of Brazil’s history with Canarin da Alemanha, a traditional Capoeira song.

Even for those of us unfamiliar with the language, the lyrics of tracks like Menina Do Tororo and Ta Com Medo Por Que evoke a life in Brazil, with musical influences from the more American styles of Younge and Muhammad that infuses the Jazz is Dead releases.

By the time we reach the final track on this rather glorious album - Loca Passion (feat. Loren Oden) - understanding the lyrics is unnecessary as they weave between Portugese and English. This is a fabulous combination of traditional and modern, Brazilian and jazz musical elements.

Antonio Carlos & Jocafi ‘JID 026’ is available now on Bandcamp