Hyldon: JID 023 in Bloomington, MN

Fans of Brazilian music will immediately recognize singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist
Hyldon De Santos Silva
-- one of the innovators who melded Brazilian soul, Tropicalia, and MPB in the 1970s; further, he was a core participant in the Black Rio movement.
Hyldon: JID 023
pairs him with producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist
Adrian Younge
of the
Jazz Is Dead
team, as well as
Azymuth
drummer
Ivan "Mamao" Conti
in one of his final sessions.
(who recorded
JID 004
with
Younge
and
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
) backed
Hyldon
for many years, on a host of albums -- including his iconic 1975 debut,
Na Rua, Na Chuva, Na Fazenda
-- and live. In 2022,
, a longtime admirer of
's music, was personally introduced to him by
. It led
to visit the singer at home in Rio, a meeting that was the catalyst for
's first-ever performance in Los Angeles, alongside
Marcos Valle
. The pair also brought a four-voice backing chorus into the studio. With
JID 023
,
aspire to match their best work. In so doing, they reclaim the elusive terrain where historic psychedelic Brazilian soul and MPB were filtered through Tropicalia, and in the process becomes something all their own.
"Viajante de Planeta Azul" is a blissed-out case in point. Set to a processional pace,
Conti
's kit guides a Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes piano, sitar, wah-wah guitars, horns, and plenty of pillowy reverb.
remains in excellent voice; his grainy high baritone floats, hovers, and accents the progression. In "Cacador de Estrelas," the duo seamlessly juxtapose MPB and jazzy
Philly International
-style soul. "Jenipapo Robot" is a hard-grooving, dirty collision of future funk and vintage soul adorned by chanted call-and-response vocals, simultaneously recalling
the Temptations
and early
War
. It's followed by the rumbling tom-toms and organic percussion intro to "Favela de Rio de Janeiro." The ritual sound of the rhythm tracks opens onto an elegant samba space featuring glorious vocal interplay between
and a chorus above a sophisticated, intricate melody articulated by electric piano and Hammond B-3. "Verao in California" ("Summertime in California") leans heavily on pop-soul as Tropicalia production textures, lithe rhythms, and swelling horns paint the backdrop for the singers as
's saxophones alternately outline the vocals, which are in turn painted by drum kit, bass, and elusive, hooky keyboards. "Um Lugar Legal" introduces itself as a funk jam but quickly detours into soft, Tropicalia-psychedelic soul thanks to
's poignantly emotional singing. Set-closer "Nhanderuvucu (The Creator God)" is a funky, driving Tropical rock stomp that marries the intensity of
Santana
's "Soul Sacrifice" to the sweeping jazz-funk of
Banda Black Rio
's signature keyboard production, with sitars, staggered chorus vocals, triple-timed drumming, and percussion, as
exhorts his singers to dig into a Carnaval-esque round while
's B-3 swirls around them.
is an exceptional creation. It not only elevates the still-astonishing vocal, compositional, and arranging genius of
in the 21st century, but reveals a
JID
music and production aesthetic that extends the reach of each musical style and tradition it encounters without relying on simple nostalgia. Wonderful. ~ Thom Jurek