(Brazilian Jazz, Crossover, Piano Jazz) Andre Mehmari - Lachrimae {Cavi Records CD-002, Brazil} - 2005, FLAC (tracks+.cue) lossless

Биография (англ.)
He has an active performing schedule with his two trios, solo piano and in duet with singers Monica Salmaso and Ná Ozzetti. With the later, he recorded the acclaimed "Piano e Voz", considered a true Brazilian masterpiece of recent MPB. Mehmari reguraly write compositions and arrangements for Brazilian leading orchestras (OESP) and chamber ensembles (Quinteto Villa-Lobos, Sao Paulo String Quartet). Recent compositions includes the "Angelus Piano Quintet" and "Dance Suite", commissioned by São Paulo State Symphony and 'Viagem de Verão', commissioned by Portuguese piansit Maria João Pires, for her Spanish Schubertíade.
He made his U.S. premiere at the 2005 edition of Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, stunning the audience with his blend of virtuosity, vitality, and musicality. Was invited to play at the TIM festival 2006, with his trio on the jazz stage. After winning the Carlos Gomes award for classical music revelation of the year of 2006, Mehmari was appointed resident composer for the São Paulo State Wind Band. Also wrote original orchestral music for the official PAN American games cerimonies, that took place on legendary Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, in July.
Played under direction of Maria Schneider at the Ouro Preto Jazz Festival in Minas Gerais. Released the 'Continuous Friendship' album (Adventure Music) , in duet with mandolin-virtuoso Hamilton de Holanda. In 2008 released a CD entirely dedicated to his own compositions: 'About waltzes and trees' and (aged 30) toured the northeast of Brazil with Ivan Lins, playing both Ivan's and his own compositions at the traditional Pixinguinha Project, 30th aniversary special edition. For Ivan Lins and the Metropole Orkest Amsterdam, wrote an arrangement, played under direction of Vince Mendoza.
A piano solo album entirely dedicated to the music of the Clube da Esquina was recently released. With the quintet album Nonada, Mehmari was nominated for the 2008 Latin Grammy Awards. Also he wrote a double concerto for jazz piano, clarinet and winds, performed with clarinet master Gabriele Mirabassi and Sao Paulo State Wind Band.
Composed and performed a Concert for Jazz Piano Trio and Strings, commissioned by the São Paulo State Orchestra. For the São Paulo Dance Company composed a full scale ballet, premiered this April.
A Mehmari-Mirabassi duet CD called MIRAMARI, is now released, both in Brazil and abroad. In 2010, signed with the main contemporary Italian label, EGEA . Composed "Contraponto, Ponte e Ponteio", for the Petrobras Sinfonica, premiered under Isaac Karabtchevsky at the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theater. After receiving a commission from the German TV Deutsche Welle, Mehmari wrote "The City of Sun", for the Heliopolis Symphony. The work was successfuly premiered in Germany, at the Beethovenfest, both in Bonn and Berlin.

Brazil Mehmari's Latest Release Dances Between Themes
Written by Bruce Gilman
Sunday, 10 April 2005 09:38
Pianist/composer/multi-instrumentalist André Mehmari has the rare distinction of being one of the most consistently inventive and absorbing, yet unacknowledged musicians in the forefront of Brazilian instrumental art.
Convincingly at ease in nearly all possible contexts, from Mozart to Monk, Mehmari possesses an impressive classical technique that is never just paraded; there is conviction in all he plays. His formidable improvisatory imagination and uninhibited lyricism have made his presence on any recording a strong assertion of its high quality.
Mehmari's latest super audio CD, Lachrimae, presents him as both writer and pianist in a thematically unified program of moody, atmospheric waltzes and ballads that mirror his own introspective nature.
Milton Nascimento's "Francisco" is a particularly striking example of how Mehmari works with a composition. Arranged for voice, cello, piano, contrabass, and drums, this hauntingly memorable performance with a fine supporting cast evokes love and loss and sublime stillness.
The exquisite Mônica Salmaso, letting her long notes shimmer, displays with her sensuous natural voice what Nascimento achieved in falsetto register.
The piano version of "Eternamente " (Eternally), a little waltz that appears three times on the CD in different ensemble settings, opens with a quote from Brahms's Intermezzo Op. 118 floating benignly above the pulse of the piece.
This short track, one of the best, reveals Mehmari as an impressive solo pianist, posed midway between the eclecticism of Egberto Gismonti and the delicate impressionism of Bill Evans before segueing into "Canto Primeiro" (First Song), where its principle motif is also quoted.
Originally composed for and first recorded on Canto (1999) with Mehmari playing all instruments - piano, acoustic bass, synthesizers, viola, violin, flute, clarinet, scaletta, and percussion - here it is arranged for trio.
Mehmari's tone, subtle pedal effects, and the phrases he uses, as well as the amount of space that he leaves open around them, carry an arranger's artistic reasoning. And Sérgio Reze's extraordinary brush work, changing the entire texture with a single punctuation, takes the mood from an airy splendor to a hushed pondering.
On "Uma Valsa em Forma de Árvore" (Waltz in the Form of a Tree), the sinuous grace of Luca Raele's clarinet, the ease of Mehmari's technique, and, above all, the intense warmth and melodic invention of the cello played by Dimos Goudaroulis remind the listener how a fresh alignment of great instrumentalists is always something of an occasion.
The composition, like most Mehmari originals, has the charm of both conception and interpretation that transcends the need to analyze structure or offer technical explanations.
When "Eternamente" makes its third appearance, it provides a particularly vivid, assured, and mature example of how two musicians can make perfect partners.
With a duo, nothing slips by unnoticed. Either you strike the magic chord, where you can anticipate your partner's every intention, answering questions before they have even been asked, or you sink into contrived chit chat.
Mônica Salmaso's alluring voice, rich in nuance and subtlety, combines with the pearl-like lyricism of Mehmari's melodic lines and his remarkable rubato in extracting everything from this piece. Their empathy, especially during the short improvisatory section, is extraordinary.
One of the most fascinating aspects of a Mehmari trio is that it is never just a pianist with rhythm accompaniment. There is constant switching of roles as first one player and then another steps into the foreground and then back.
The title track, Mehmari's "Lachrimae" (Tears), contains the extremes of his stylistic ambit, from an impossibly graceful touch to harsh drams of almost unbearable intensity; the pianist gets hand-in-glove- support from the emphatic Célio Barros on bass and Sérgio Reze on drums.
Borrowing its harmonic language and overall mood from English Renaissance composer John Dowland, and containing improvisations inspired by pre-baroque polyphony, the tune deserves more than a few listenings.
There is a cunning fraternity of ideas on "Passarinhadeira" (Bird Nests), a lyrically reflective ballad by Paulo César Pinheiro and Guinga.
With the contrabass played by Célio Barros and drummer Rogério Boccato's rhythmic color and propulsion unerringly centering the musical spotlight on the soloist, there is a keen sense of inquiry in this pared-down arrangement that establishes a marvelous tension. Chords are meticulously dissected and rearranged, probed for inner resonance; the whole form used to lyrical ends.
Affording a warmer sound, greater amplitude between instruments, and increased detail in dynamics, this super audio CD gets the balance between passion and beauty just right. Everything about it is superlative: the compositions, the free-flowing interplay, the level of inspiration, the brilliantly focused improvising.
Whether the poignancy of Edu Lobo's "Pra Dizer Adeus" (To Say Goodbye), the fragility and exposed vulnerability of Pixinguinha's "Carinhoso" (Affectionate), or Mehmari's own abstracted view of Nelson Cavaquinho's "Amor Perfeito" (Perfect Love), this recording is quintessential Mehmari.
No one forces the pace or distorts musical contours. The entire disc is infectious in its tone and substance. Everything breaths naturally. Like a good vintage wine that has many dimensions revealed upon opening, a bouquet of soft, intimate textures is aired on Lachrimae. ”
Source: Brazzil magazine, April 2005