Original image by There Stands the Glass.
On March 7, 2020, I picked my life partner up at Kansas City International Airport and drove to the Folly Theater for a Luciana Souza concert. The Brazilian bandleader’s performance with Chico Pinheiro and Scott Colley was so good my wife didn’t even mention jet lag at the end of her business trip. Aside from a few parking lot buskers, I haven’t heard live music since.
The lingering echoes of Souza’s concert through the subsequent lost months may explain my unlikely affinity for Gretchen Parlato’s new album Flor. I ordinarily don’t fall for sophisticated adult pop that seems tailor made for international jetsetters.
Like Souza, Parlato blends Música Popular Brasileira with the varied styles associated with artists ranging from Sade to Édith Piaf. Much of Flor is undeniably precious, but the calming nature of the refined album is helping me avoid the temptation to inappropriately jump the vaccination line.
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Pat Metheny plays Arvo Pärt? Sold! I review Metheny’s new album Road to the Sun at Plastic Sax.