CATINA DELUNA & OTMARO RUIZ, Lado B Brazilian Project 2

Nine years after Catina DeLuna and Otmaro Ruiz regaled listeners with their Lado B Brazilian Project – an album that took a fresh approach to bossa nova and samba, celebrating the lesser known “b-sides” of the genre - the richly storied, multi-talented husband and wife Brazilian-Venezuelan vocal-piano duo returns for Lado B Brazilian Project 2, another magical, inspiring volume with an extended ensemble that includes original participants Larry Koonse (guitar) and Edwin Livingston (bass) and newcomers legendary Brazilian drummer Edu Ribiero, percussionist Gregory Beyer and famed L.A. saxophonist Bob Sheppard.

Bassist Abraham Laboriel gets it exactly right when he calls the project “a quantum leap forward in style and imagination.” DeLuna & Ruiz stick to their “mine new adventures out of the obscure tunes” aesthetic throughout the infectious, buoyant set with one glorious exception - a spirited, intoxicating spin on Jobim’s very familiar “Aguas De Marco” featuring re-imagined piano harmonies and Sheppard’s cheerful flute pairing with DeLuna’s sensual voice (which, no offense to the brilliant Ruiz, truly drives the emotional power of each piece throughout).

The nine other gems roll hypnotically like a hop, skip and jump through 20^th Century Brazilian music history, representing “lesser known Jobim” with the scat and vocal choir spiced “Passarim” while also tapping the catalogues of everyone from Dorival Caymmi (the quirky choro arrangement of the saucy “Requebre Que Eu Dou Um Doce,” the speedy paced piano-vocal closer “Vatapa”) and Chico Buarque de Hollanda (the haunting, cautionary ballad “Mar E Luna”) to Ivan Lins and Vitor Martins (the lyrical heartbreaking romance “Choro Das Aguas,” presented as a vocal duet with Fabio Cadore. Mentioning these tunes merely scratches the surface of all the intricate, beautifully textured magic listeners will discover.

DeLuna and Ruiz’s multi-faceted dedication to the project extends to the liner notes (which translate and/or explain some of the Portuguese lyrics) and impressionistic album cover and insert art and design, created by Maya Ruiz.