Vinicius Cantuaria – Indio De Apartamento
(Naïve Records NJ621871. CD review by Chris Parker)

Although, at first blush, the smoothly seductive samba-based sound of singer/songwriter Vinicius Cantuaria closely resembles that of his fellow Brazilian Caetano Veloso, there is enough subtlety and variety, of both rhythms and texture, in this compulsively listenable album to justify the ‘post-electronica acoustic’ description in its accompanying publicity material.

Cantuaria’s voice is a rich, elegant, flexible instrument that moves easily from an apparently effortless silky croon to deep bass notes and affectingly gentle high ones; his compositions weave lilting rhythms into a delicate mesh of sparingly applied electronics, the perfectly judged guitar commentaries of Bill Frisell (who — for the unreconstructed hippies among you – plays the Lee Underwood to Cantuaria’s Tim Buckley) and the odd guest contribution from pianists Ryuichi Sakamoto and Norah Jones and keyboard player Mario Laginha.

The resulting album is deliciously understated but consistently compelling, and a great appetite-whetter for Cantuaria’s forthcoming appearance at Ronnie Scott’s (7 November).