MATT FINLEY - BRAZILIAN WISH (2006)

Brazilian jazz samba and bossa nova by lyrical flugelhorn artist / composer Matt Finley, backed by Romero Lubambo, Mark Egan, Warren Bernhardt, Joel Rosenblatt, Jon Werking, others. Warm, bright & relaxed. It's Rio JAZZ in a box

Matt Finley, flugelhorn & trumpet

Romero Lubambo, acoustic guitar

Warren Bernhardt, piano (tracks 2,8,9)

Jon Werking, piano & keyboards (tracks 1,3,4,5,6,7)

Jeff Ciampa, electric guitar

Mark Egan, electric bass (tracks 1,3,4,5,6,7)

Dave Finck, acoustic bass (tracks 2,8,9)

Joel Rosenblatt, drums (tracks 1,3,4,5,6,7)

Jeff Siegel, drums (tracks 2,8)

Tomas Martin Lopez, Latin percussion and the Dubway horn section (tracks 1,3,4,6)

Barry Denielian, trumpet

David Mann, tenor & soprano sax

Dan Levine, trombone

more tracks can be heard on Vinilemania's Radio Channels

review by Kate Goldsmith courtesy Taconic Press

Warm, bright and relaxed! "Brazilian Wish" has a great energy: very warm, bright and relaxed. The nine original tracks by trumpeter and flugelhorn player Matt Finley feature arrangements by Jon Werking that sparkle and pop, with a propelling rhythmic infrastructure. The music is inspired and not pedantic; ideas are fully developed without overstatement. The album is nicely paced, and the performances are top-notch. Finley's playing is fluid and melodic, with satisfying nuance, and he has assembled some of the finest jazz artists around, including guitarists Romero Lubambo and Jeff Ciampa, bassist Mark Egan, keyboardists Warren Bernhardt and Werking, and former Spyro Gyra drummer Joel Rosenblatt, who plays drums on six of the nine tracks. The CD's opener, "Father's Day," is hip and assertive, more straight-ahead jazz than the others. The title track follows, a dusky little number reminiscent of Sergio Mendes and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Other standouts include "Childhood Home," a melodic showcase for the trumpet, with rhythmic counterpoint creating additional interest. "So Close" charges out of the gate and keeps up the pace throughout busy solo sections. The percussion break is wisely kept short and sweet, although it would lend itself well to extension in a concert setting. "Another Year" is sleepy and sensuous, nicely syncopated but more straightforward than some of the CD's other offerings. "Calm Waters," the longest song on the disc, lives up to its name at first, with a smooth-as-silk melody line that only hints at what's ahead. A double-time change in the middle indicates rougher waters, with an expressive piano solo by Bernhardt, before calmness is restored in the final third of the piece. "Softly Speaking," the wistful and introspective closing track, conveys the musical equivalent of the tropical sunset pictured on the CD's back cover. " - Kate Goldsmith (Editorial Director, Specialty Publications - Taconic Press)