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Milton Nascimento and Esperanza Spalding: Milton + Esperanza review | Ammar Kalia's global album of the month
The 81-year-old singer’s collaboration with the US jazz bassist reworks past songs in lively and expansive ways, masterfully blending their exciting voices
From his 60s samba-funk releases as part of the Clube de Esquina movement, where he sang with a soft, soaring falsetto, to his landmark 1975 collaboration with saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Native Dancer, and ensuing work with everyone from Herbie Hancock to Yusuf, Nascimento has matched their instrumental mastery with his maturing range. The artwork for Milton + EsperanzaThe new Cais slows the sprightly composition, allowing ample space for the yearning emotion of Nascimento’s older voice to anchor Leo Genovese’s tripping piano lines. Their debut album Nant(Squama) highlights the agility of Enji’s voice, percussively matching Popp’s textural drumming to create atmospheric work that masterfully treads the line between ambience and free jazz expression.
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