Sujinho by Jackson Conti

Music Review

Sujinho by Jackson Conti
(Mochilla, 2008)

Brazil’s music history resembles its multi-cultural existence. People from Spain, Portugal, Western Africa, the Netherlands, and those indigenous to South America all influenced many of the sounds that emanate from this country. The phenomena of Brazilian jazz fusion developed in the post-Tropicalia movement and Azymuth was one of its children. The trio of keyboardist Jose Roberto Bertrami, lead/bass guitarist Alex Malheiros, and drummer/percussionist Ivan “Mamao” Conti elevated the group to stardom by producing classic albums such as Light As A Feather, which spawned the hit single Jazz Carnival. Otis Jackson, a.k.a. Mad Lib, is one of the most ambitious hip-hop and jazz producers of our time. The mastermind behind the solo act of Yesterday’s New Quintet, troublesome adventures of Quasimoto, and the remixing of the Blue Note catalogue is a huge Azymuth fan. Through some divine placement, both Otis Jackson and Ivan Conti were able to collaborate on Jackson Conti’s Sujinho which is symmetrically beautiful. Conti displays that he has not lost any of his skills on the hand drum and tambourine, while Jackson compliments the elder statesman with his dynamic rudiments on the drums. These sessions were recorded in Rio de Janeiro and later remixed in Los Angeles. The album contains uncut dialogue between Conti and Jackson as they discuss the method of percussion for each song. Both performers add original compositions to this album and evoke previous works by Joao Danoto, Marcos Valle, Airto, Don Um Romao, and George Duke. The achievement of this endeavor is heard in the songs "Papaia", "Pranca de Republica", "Waiting on the Corner" and "Casa Forte". Sujinho is a great introduction to the work of Azymuth, Mad Lib, and Brazilian music in general.