Moacir Santos: "Maestro"

Moacir Santos is a legend in his native Brazil, yet that kind of success eluded him when he pulled up roots and moved to the United States.  “Maestro” is the first of three albums he recorded for the Blue Note label, and while the other two have their moments, this LP is monumental in every way.  Santos is unlike many of his Brazilian contemporaries of the ‘70’s in that he doesn’t box himself into the funk-jazz styling of the day so immediately.  Instead, he prefers a more atmospheric approach, one that more clearly emphasizes the beautiful, lyrical songwriting at the heart of his compositions.  At times he vocalizes in an almost chant-like manner, sounding weighty and effervescent at different turns.  There is an underlying groove here, although it is of a more subtle persuasion than the rocking, backbeat-heavy work of someone like, say, Deodato.  That groove is most prevalent in the album opener, “Nana,” and it returns toward the end on the incredible “The Mirror’s Mirror.”  The latter is one of the darkest fusion tracks in existence, sounding like a cross between early Weather Report and Tropicalia-era Caetano Veloso, with layered Brazilian percussion filling in the spaces.  Though this underrated LP, along with Santos’ subsequent Blue Note efforts, has achieved a sort of unjust obscurity due to its lack of commercial sales, the presence of genius found within its dusty wax is readily apparent.  This album has an ethereal quality to it that cannot be done justice through words; the listener must give themselves over and commit to its sonic journey to attain the full range of experience offered, a process which I cannot recommend enough.