Zona Sul - Pure Love (2004)

Zona Sul will appeal to anyone who fondly remembers the music of João and Astrud Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, or even Charlie Byrd. Discarding contemporary embellishments, Pure Love is a throwback of sorts, relying on quiet arrangements and soft vocals to create a gentle, lovely bossa nova. Sophie Wegener handles each vocal carefully, creating a "light as air" feel that perfectly underlines delicate songs like "O Cantador" and "Dans Mon Île." Pianist Tizian Jost, guitarist Pedro Tagliani, bassist Sava Medan, and drummer Hajo V. Hadeln join her, providing sensitive support that blends nicely with the compositions. The songs tend to stay in the three- and four-minute range, only leaving time for occasional solos. But Zona Sul's strength has less to do with their individual talents than their ability to play cohesively as a unit. The only oddity on Pure Love is that some songs -- "The Waters of March" and "Dreamer" -- are sung in English. Simply put, these songs just don't flow as poetically as those sung in Portuguese. The translation, arrangement, and supple vocal on Jobim/Gilbert's "If You Never Come to Me" transform a traditional piece of bossa nova into late-night cocktail jazz. Still, all of these selections are enjoyable and quite easy on the ears, and Pure Love is a fine turn on classic Brazilian jazz.© Ronnie D. Lankford Jr. /TiVo