Live at Blue Note Tokyo

Out of all of Oscar's albums has the best arrangements and and most of the cutsare fantastic. Paulo Calasans' piano is superb, as are all the other players.The new arrangement of My Sweet Sweetipie is great.If you're a Oscar Castro-Neves fan, get this one!

I recently saw Oscar Castro-Neves at Linclon Center with Toots Thielemans at Toot's 90th Birthday concert. Toots was surrounded by many Brazilian musicians with whom he recorded with over the decades. Herbie Hancock was there also. Oscar was co-director of the group and had wonderful solo spots also. He is player who beams with the joy and beauty of his music. A great uplifting experince to see him feed chords and trade lines with the others. He also is charming vocalist and champion of all things Brazilian and Jobim! Buy this cd. Waste no time. And also hear the great Airto on drums and some vocals also. I need to buy more Oscar soon.

The Brazilian guitar master. No wonder he appears on most of Eliane's recordings. There is quite a bit of variety contained here so you will surely like some tracks better than others, but there is always something interesting to listen for. When they get that Brazilian groove going, they assemble it perfectly, everything is in the right place, and it is wonderful to hear. Oscar performs so effortlessly you would think what he is doing is simple, but don't try this at home!

Great Brazilian jazz CD- has everything a fan of this music wants to hear. Now I know why Oscar is Eliane Elias's favoriteBrazilian jazz guitar player.

Castro-Neves Live is indeed a treat and a must have for his legion of fans! His guitar mastery is never more evident; wonderful recording!

Beautiful - RIP dear friend

Excellent

I'm always surprised at how little attention Brasilian acoustic guitarist, Oscar Castro-Neves has gotten over the years. Despite that every album he puts out is fresh and original. He's still probably the most sought after Brasilian acoustic rhythm guitarist in the world. His most famous recent recording is probably with Yo Yo Ma on Obrigado Brazil, which he produced and stars on the song, Tango.I always find Castro-Neves' phrasing both subtle and incredible. It what makes me come back to his music over and over again. On this album it's easiest to hear his phrasing and signature rhythm sound on his version of Jobim's Waters of March, which he does very fast.What's new on this album for him is forming an all-star Brasilian band with big names like Airto Moreira (percussion) and Leila Pinheiro (on bossa and ballad vocals). And also less well-known but equally great players like Marco Bosco (percussion nd kalimba), Paulo Calasans (piano and keyboards), and Marcelo Mariano (bass).The album starts of with standards like Ela É Carioca and Ponteio, but then journeys in to a retrospective of Castro-Neves' career with extroverted tunes like My Sweet Sweetiepie, and then music from his more atmospheric Paul Winter Living Music period like Rio Dawning, and the very ambient Brasilian rain forest type song, Tatiando featuring Marco Bosco. I loved what this band does with one of Airto's best songs, Misturada/Tombo. It starts out in sly slinky bossa groove and then Airto lets loose. He's got a couple of turns on the album like that.The album then comes back to bossa classics like a duet with Oscar and Leila on Chora Tua Tristeza and the inevitable Manhã De Carnaval, which Oscar turns in to a samba and twists it in several unexpected ways like he does with songs like that. I really love their version of the Baden Powell song, Canto De Ossanha that has the famous Castro-Neves phrasing and sly accents.The album ends with another Baden Powell song, the soulful Deixa that has Oscar's strange mix of saudade and sweetness. This is a lovely showcase album that has echoes of Castro-Neves's long career and also his always subtle originality. Nice job Oscar. This is my love letter to you, meu velho amigo.

This is a wonderful show with new versions, very well performed, of some classical MPB songs. Oscar is to be commended for gathering this excellent set of musicians and choices of musics.

Hidden gem, full of passion, virtuosity of all musicians and mutual enjoyment.You can feel the magic in the air. True representation of Brazilian standards with great arrangements by Oscar Castro-Neves.Highly recommended for anyone, but a must for Brazilian music lovers.

un peu décevant par rapport à ce que j'attendais de cet immense guitariste: c'est une bossa nova un peu hybride