Not long ago I had the occasion to survey a set of early demos by the groundbreaking Brazilian fusion outfit Azymuth. Demos (1973-75), Vols 1 &2 brought to light that this fledging group of Brazil’s top studio musicians had not only the chops but the vision to put a uniquely Brazilian stamp on fusion jazz during its classic period from the get-go. Over time, Azymuth’s music always stayed true to this mission but they also modernized the music somewhat to keep up with the times. Other than the demos, nothing they’ve done since their 1975 debut Azimuth that matched that same rawness and sense of discovery; even their revitalized selves on their last album Fênix (2016) hearkens back to their 80s popular peak rather their 70s beginnings.
Enter those merchants of 70s-style jazz grooves, Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. We last beheld their work when they took a Rick Rubin approach on crossover vibraphone king Roy Ayers and worked with him on new originals and arrangements that amounted to not just a new entry in Ayers’ catalog, but a belated new addition to his most celebrated period. Younge and Muhammad proceeded to do the same with other living legends of the era such as Marcos Valle and Doug Carn as part of their Jazz Is Dead series.
For their fourth entry in the Jazz Is Dead, Younge and Muhammad turned their attention to Valle’s old cohorts Azymuth for Azymuth JID 004. Original members Ivan Conti (drums, percussion) and bassist Alex Malheiros (electric bass) are joined by keyboardist Kiko Continentino, who replaced co-founder José Roberto Bertrami after Bertrami’s passing in 2012, and this band has been a three-man band for nearly its entire existence. Younge and Muhammad add a few instruments to the trio’s keyboards/bass/drum core — mostly notably, guitar and sax — but this remains the “crazy samba” of Azymuth, and the two younger collaborators put Conti, Malheiros and Continentino squarely at the front of everything.
Festive and inventive rhythms built around festive melodies is Azymuth’s stock in trade and the Younge/Muhammad team always keeps that in mind. It’s readily apparent on “A Redor Do Samba,” where Continentino’s electric piano adds colorful splotches in the proud tradition of the late Bertrami as the rhythm section asserts itself more over time. For “Sumaré” (video above) Malheiros’s rangy bass melds with Conti’s booming backbeat to create a groove that echoes with the anything-goes days of the early 70’s fusion, rock and RnB.
Conti continues to be an out-of-the-box drummer into his mid-seventies, as evidenced by the opening beats he conjures for “Cat Jump” and even on a breezier, mid-tempo song like “Fall Afternoon,” Azymuth’s rhythm section makes song sway in the most pleasing way.
“Friendship Samba” illuminates Azymuth’s fealty to the great Brazilian music that came before them even as they put their own twist on it, in particular Malheiros’ bass getting way inside that samba rhythm. Their psychedelic side comes out in a big way for “Apocaliptíco,” with a fuzz bass and the sweet, crunchy sounds of the clavinet and a noodling, analog synth.
Continentino goes to the acoustic piano on “Pulando Corda,” but it’s Conti whose busy rhythms propels this song. “Quiet Storm” — like all the songs here — sounds as if it pre-dates Quiet Storm music, a bossa nova that Azymuth had learned long ago how to electrify it while maintaining its essence.
Azymuth’s recent output shows that this band has plenty of gas left in the tank, but leave it to Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad to inspire them to get back their original mojo. Azymuth JID 004 is now on sale from Jazz Is Dead.
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