New Yorker: Assads "Jardim Abandonado" Exquisite

In the October 29 issue of The New Yorker, writer Russell Platt reviews Jardim Abandonado, the new record by Sérgio and Odair Assad, calling the Brazilian brothers' take on four classic tunes by Antônio Carlos Jobim "exquisite miniatures of ardent desire and ineffable regret." Platt also singles out the album's two transcriptions of French composer Darius Milhaud's "Scaramouche," which, in the Assads hands, "become mellow drops of sunshine"; and the album's "pièce de résistance ... a transcription of 'Rhapsody in Blue.' Instead of the crazy energy of Manhattan, we get the sultry glamour of Rio de Janeiro."

The album also features a work by Sérgio himself, four from his daughter Clarice, two pieces from Debussy's Suite Bergamasque, and a version of Adam Guettel's Octet from his Tony Award–winning The Light in the Piazza. For Platt, the Assads' arrangements "give all the pieces, whether popular or classical, an intimate sense of tonal richness and a new range of scintillating colors."

Listen to tracks from Jardim Abandonado:

"Brazileira" from Scaramouche (Milhaud) 2:11

"Vif" from Scaramouche (Milhaud) 3:13

"Jardim Abandonado" (Jobim) 2:33

"Rhapsody in Blue" (excerpt) (Gershwin) 0:30

To read the complete New Yorker review, visit newyorker.com. 

For more information on Jardim Abandonado, click here.