Together with
Marisa Monte and
Adriana Calcanhotto,
Zélia Duncan belongs to a brilliant generation of female Brazilian singers that, since the late '80s, has managed to balance commercial success with superior artistic achievement. What most ostensibly sets these singers apart from previous generations is their much greater authorial presence, both as composers and arrangers. Equally important is their desire for restless innovation, rather than sticking to tried-and-true formulas, or complying with the production dictates of the hour. At the same time, they all share that quintessential trait of Brazilian musicians, the ability to feel equally comfortable with modernity and tradition -- and a deep knowledge of both.
Duncan's work has been uniformly compelling, whether she was revisiting standards, experimenting with new sonorities, or working with young and old collaborators. For
Pelo Sabor do Gesto, her first studio album in four years,
Duncan decided to make a sophisticated pop record, that seamlessly intertwines acoustic instruments and percussion with electronica, or funk with MPB, all assured by the delicate singing of an exquisite chanteuse. The French wording is no coincidence, as both the opening and closing tracks are Portuguese versions of
Alex Beaupain's songs. and another one is titled "Telhados de Paris." The aesthetic vision of this album is so strong that it makes no difference that one half of the tracks are produced by John Ulhôa and the other by
Beto Villares, or that the songs were written by 15 different writers. Aside from the two
Beaupain songs mentioned above (which
Duncan translated here),
Duncan co-wrote the new material with
Zeca Baleiro,
Chico César, Dante Ozzetti,
Marcelo Jeneci, Edu Tedeschi, and
Moska, and also includes a previously unreleased song by the great
Itamar Assumpção,
Duncan's favorite composer, as well as numbers by Nei Lisboa,
Rita Lee, and
Marcos and Paulo Sérgio Valle that go back as far as 1969. In spite of all this diversity,
Pelo Sabor do Gesto is, musically and lyrically, nothing but a cohesive and contemporary statement by
Duncan and
Duncan alone. Eminently polished and utterly compelling from start to finish, this album should equally appeal to those interested in Brazilian pop music, as well as to
Feist or
Beth Orton fans. ~ Mariano Prunes