Ultracooked [CD]

Caixa Cubo - Ultracooked [CD]

The nicest guys in Brazilian jazz have been back in the cozinha. Ultracooked infuses the Sao Paulo trio's deep understanding of Brazilian music history with their consummate musicianship and infectious joy of playing. Their distinctly electric jazz-funk flavor rises to the top, as they pay homage to some of their musical heroes and teachers. Where previous albums nodded to the lineage of Azymuth, Antonio Adolfo, Cesar Camargo Mariano, and Marcos Resende, Ultracooked walks straight up to the greats and shakes their hands. Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso are here, with fresh versions of "Espresso 2222" and "Odara" respectively. Garoto -- the great choro guitarist and composer whose harmonic imagination quietly laid the ground for bossa nova -- is here too, and honored with a deconstructed reading of "Jorge do Fusa." Recorded in the wake of the passing of both João Donato and Hermeto Pascoal, each has a song on the album named after them. Listen to Caixa Cubo and you can see why, their playfulness echoes Donato's mischievous cheek, while their creative openness is clearly Hermeto inspired. But with both "Hermeto" and "Dontao" each featuring the sampled voice of the late masters themselves, the songs read more as conversations than eulogy. Caixa Cubo carry forward these legacies with care. In good company, Zé Leônidas, who lit up 2023's Agora, returns to sing on "Expresso 2222," "Essa é Pra Tocar no Rádio," and "Cortejo," while guitarist Edson Woiski brings his sinewy sound to those Gil interpretations and to "Cabaré," before adding his voice to the closing chorus. Ultracooked was produced by Caixa Cubo alongside Frederico Pacheco, who recorded and mixed the album at O&O Studios in São Paulo, with mastering by Casper Sutton at Gearbox Studios in London.

01. Expresso 2222
02. Odara
03. Marea
04. Cara do Meio
05. Cabaré
06. Essa é Pra Tocar no Rádio
07. Ribe
08. Superkick
09. Donato
10. Jorge do Fusa
11. Hermeto
12. Coisa Redonda
13. Cortejo