By Gary Fukushima | Published March 2022
Guitarist Romero Lumbabo has been an exquisite one-man band in duets with Luciana Souza and Diane Reeves, among many others in his hall-of-fame career. But as of late he has found himself in larger ensembles, such as with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for pop superstar Billie Eilish.
Lubambo’s new collaboration with fellow Brazilian and composer-arranger Rafel Piccolotto is not quite that epic, but their paring of a classic string quartet with a four-horn nonet is somehow both intimate and grandiose, displayed in 10 elaborate pieces performed in front of a raucous crowd at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.
The all-Brazilian rhythm section drives the music forward throughout with characteristic dynamism and agility. Piccolotto conjures a cornucopia of sonic textures from the horns and strings, and his writing for flute and piccolo is especially delightful on “Pro Romero.”
The delectable sonic smorgasbord leaves little else for Lubambo to do except play solo after virtuosic solo, impressive but denying the full range of his guitar prowess. What is revealed is his compositional acumen in contributing six pieces, including “Lukinha,” an angular minor blues, “Paquito In Bremen,” a bossa nova that pays slight homage to Jobim’s “Insensatez,” and “By The Stream,” a lovely ballad featuring guest vocalist Pamela Driggs.
The tour de force of the set is “Samba de Proveta,” an eerie prologue by the chamber group morphing into an impassioned improvisatory tale told on Lubambo’s guitar, accelerating with the full ensemble into urgency before the wave of sound and drama crests and dissipates to conclusion.
Ultimately, this is not really a showcase for Lubambo; it’s more like he is the life of a large Rio Carnival-style party he has hosted with the aid of Picolotto, sharing the spotlight with their musician friends in front of hundreds of other friends.
But who wouldn’t want to attend a party like that?
Live At Dizzy’s: Lukinha; Bachião; Pro Romero; By The Stream; Frevo Camarada; Samba de Proveta; Route 66; Paquito In Bremen; Prêt-à-Porter de Tafetá; Pro Flavio. (59:00)
Personnel: Rafael Piccolotto, arranger, conductor; Romero Lubamo, acoustic and electric guitars; Vitor Gonçalves; accordion; Helio Alves, piano; Itaiguara Brandão, bass; Mauricio Zottarelli, drums; Hadar Noiberg, flute, piccolo; Alejandro Aviles, alto saxophone, alto flute; Livio Almeida; tenor saxophone, clarinet; Stuart Mack, trumpet, flugelhorn; Patti Kilroy, Delaney Stockli, violins; Amanda Díaz, viola; Eric Allen, cello; Pamela Driggs, vocals (4, 7).
Ordering Info: Rafael Piccolotto, arranger, conductor; Romero Lubamo, acoustic and electric guitars; Vitor Gonçalves; accordion; Helio Alves, p
