Sarah McKenzie,
Jaques Morelenbaum,
Romero Lubambo
On 21 November 2022, it will be sixty years ago that an event occurred which has gone down in musical history. João Gilberto, Tom Jobim, Sérgio Mendes and a few other Brazilian superstars stood on the stage of New York's Carnegie Hall together with the American saxophonist Stan Getz and played a mix of samba and cool jazz that was just beginning to become popular in Brazil at the time. After this memorable evening, the bossa nova suddenly became famous all over the world.
The Australian singer, pianist and composer Sarah McKenzie pays homage to this anniversary with an album entitled Voice of Rio which she recorded with the Brazilian bossa nova legends Jaques Morelenbaum and Romero Lubambo. Both belonged to the intimate circle of musicians around Tom Jobim, the biggest star of this so incredibly successful new music craze from Brazil.
Due to their enforced absence from the stage thanks to Covid, the three recorded a video with their version of Jobim's classic Corcovado and released it on Facebook. In only a short time, the clip was viewed 1.7 million times, and it soon became clear that the entire production belonged onto one of the world's real stages. The programme includes classics by Jobim, other well-known bossa melodies and a few of their own compositions – and what could be more wonderful than a summer evening in the park with these timelessly beautiful, relaxed-easygoing Brazilian sounds, played by such amazing performers?
