Track listing, track times and composer:
1. Vocé e Eu 2:47 (Carlos Lyra-Vinícius de Moraes)
2. Isto Aqui o Que É 5:06 (Ary Barroso)
3. Chega de Saudade 3:12 (Antonio Carlos Jobim – Vinícius de Moraes)
4. Caminhos Cruzados 3:03 (Antonio Carlos Jobim-Newton Mendonça)
5. Garota de Ipanema 4:32 (Antonio Carlos Jobim-Vinícius de Moraes)
6. Smile 2:39 (Charlie Chaplin-Geoffrey Clarmont Parsons – John Turner)
7. O Barquinho 2:47 (Roberto Menescal – Ronaldo Bôscoli)
8. Desafinado 4:06 (Antonio Carlos Jobim-Newton Mendoça)
9. Águas de Março 3:07 (Antonio Carlos Jobim- Vinícius De Moraes)
10. El Hombre Que Yo Ame 5:49 (George Gershwin-Ira Gershwin-
Humberto Suarez)
Musicians: Rozina Pátkai – vocals, Balázs Pecze – trumpet, flugelhorn
Mátyás Tóth – guitar, Márton Soós – double bass
Balázs Cseh – drums, percussion, Áron Tálas – Fender Rhodes (5),
Tamás Mészáros (5, 6), The RTQ String Quartet (10)
Balázs Bujtor – violin, Erika Kovács – violin, Zsófi Winkler – viola,
Béla Gál – cello, feat. Norbert Mohácsi – double bass
Three Nominations 2014 Independent Music Awards
Latin Album Nominee
Jazz with Vocals album Nominee
Jazz Song Nominee for El Hombre Que Yo Ame (The Man I Love)
What The Press Is Saying About Você e Eu
Hungarian vocalist Rozina Patkai has made her bones performing her “new-jazz version of bossa nova in Europe. Her voice possesses the same European cadence as an Edith Piaf, giving her singing, on some songs, a bit of a sepia patina. Six of the ten selections included her areAntonio Carlos Jobim compositions and, yes, “Garota de Ipanema” and “Desafinado” are in attendance, but Patkai is establishing her bossa bona fides and what better way than with these two songs, delivered with a fresh authority and confidence. Patkai is supported by her “new-wave” jazz quintet with color provided by Balazs Pecze’s softly round, open-bell trumpet and flugelhorn. Patkai gives interesting treatment to Charlie Chaplin’s smile and turns the Gershwin brothers on their ears by shining their light through the lens of Humberto Suarez on “El Hombre Que Uo Ame” (“The Man I Love”) as if the standard were written for the southern hemispheric climes. This is smartly performed music by a youthful and adventurous voice.
Doug Boynton for Girlsingers.comIf you look up the phrase “bossa nova,” along with the word “melancholy,” you get 14 million possibilities. And yet, I’d suggest that “melancholy” is perhaps the wrong word to describe the style. “Indifference, maybe?”
Rozina Pátkai – born in Italy, living now in Hungary, embraces the genre with passion (well, as much as it will allow), first making the transition from classical music training: “I got a jazz album from my friend…where I heard such vocals and music that I had never heard before.”
And then to bossa nova as an exchange student in London: “I went to Portobello Road and bought bossa nova albums at the market…I stared to collect them and this is when I fell in love with this genre.”
So complex – this fusion of samba and jazz, yet Ms. Pátkai, winner of last year’s “Independent Music Awards Vox Pop Poll,” is able to convey so much, from plaintive to upbeat, within its narrow confines.
“Chega de Saudade,” translated alternately as “No More Blues,” or “Enough of Longing,” is one of my favorite tracks on this album. The song is generally considered one of the first bossa nova songs, traced back to the late 50s.
Many of the tracks are instantly recognizable – including the requisite “Garota De Ipanema,” and a Spanish “El Hombre Que Yo Ame” (“The Man I Love”), backed with strings from the RTQ String Quartet.
Mátyás Tóth on guitar and Balázs Pecze on trumpet and flugelhorn get some well-deserved showcase time. The rest of the quintet include Márton Soós on bass and Balázs Cseh on drums and percussion.
Ms. Pátkai cites Brazilian singer Rosa Passos as a major influence. Here in the US, perhaps the most famous bossa nova singer is Astrud Gilberto, she of “Girl From Ipanema” fame. Of Ms. Gilberto, critic Scott Yanow says, “…she went remarkably far with a limited voice, a trademark hit, and understated charisma.”
That sells the genre short, I think, which calls for passion within its boundaries. From Wikipedia: “…the word “bossa” is old-fashioned slang for something that is done with particular charm, natural flair or innate ability.”
Closer, I think.
So – is it melancholy, or indifference that makes a good bossa nova?
I think this needs further study. Highest recommendation for this gem.
