What’s that Anthony Bourdain quote that goes like, “order the cream sauce at your local restaurant, have a negroni or a cold pint in a near-empty bar at 4am?” This is a musical accompaniment for that dripping-with-verve message to the soul. Everything here is rich and velvety, but anchored to a congealed romantic realism. Its tragic tone is offset by the fidelity Caymmi has to living. Like a wealthy opera singer brought up by the streets, he seems to cocoon the entire breadth of experience in his compositions. This is not telescopic philosophising; it’s a pitch-perfect, diaphragm-clearing exhale of love.
29/30
A favourite: ‘O Mar’
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