From the Heart in Bloomington, MN

In listening to this magically lyrical and sensually rhythmic U.S. debut
From the Heart
of this thoughtful and diverse composer, arranger, producer, and guitarist, the listener may lament why it's taken this long for his music to reach stateside. What
Mario Adnet
lacks in notoriety, however, he makes up for with his incredible associations with composers like
Michel Legrand
and the most famous of his musical countrymen,
Antonio Carlos Jobim
,
Milton Nascimento
, and
Joao Bosco
among them. Still, he's no stranger to fans of other
Adventure Music
projects, including co-producing two recordings by the late
Moacir Santos
as well as the Latin Grammy winning and Grammy nominated
Jobim Sinfonico
. The opening title track from his album,
, is a masterful
samba
, which moves from a gentle acoustic guitar and vocal beginning to a percussive blast with
Marcos Nimrichter
's piano and
Vittor Santos
' energetic tromboning. Digging back into his catalog for updated versions of his classics -- the disc is something of a compilation for a new audience --
Adnet
moodswings into the
film score
-lush
"Music Inside"
and the thoughtful and elegant
"Walking Song,"
on which
shares the lead melody with
Joao Donato
's lush piano and
Ricardo Silveria
's crackling electric guitar. There are a lot of unique influences throughout, from the
classical
strains behind
"Almost"
to the zippy Baiao flavors of
"Baiambe."
also ventures into
Ivan Lins
territory for one of his most heartfelt vocals on
"Paulistana No. 1."
Even some of the best Brazilian albums have a tendency to be somewhat predictable from track to track, but this sweep of
's history -- besides being a perfect introduction to the man's music -- avoids that trap and is consistently engaging. ~ Jonathan Widran