| "Mili Bermejo continues to offer provocatively powerful vocal music.
You don’t have to know the language—Spanish—to be moved." —Alan Bargebuhr, Cadence "...a style that is part poetry-folk, part Sarah Vaughn sophistication." "In one of her spoken introductions to these 10 songs—four
crafted by Bermejo, the remainder from such masters as Rubén Blades,
Rafael Mendoza and Marcial Alejandro—she says, 'We'll take care
of the earth, and discover its treasures.' Later, she sings what translates
as 'Let me be your strength; I'll be your peace when the world hurts us.'
It is those two sentiments that underline this remarkable album [De
Tierra] and define its subtle yet immense power." "Bermejo possesses a burnished, expressive voice... [Casa Corazón
is] an album that truly adds something new and fresh to the Latin jazz
scene." "Mexico and Argentina are in her blood, Boston academia and progressive
jazz are on her resume, and the Latin tinge that is her second nature is
at its most compelling when she's surrounded by a sizable ensemble of deft,
daring players. The singer doesn’t come down from New England often
enough." "The beauty and elegance of the Argentine are thoughtfully and melodically
meshed with the passion of the Mexican song. Very intense stuff." "Bermejo's passionate vocals provide the drama...unique Latin jazz." "Mili Bermejo has always been a musical explorer, seeking out new combinations
and new concepts in her multi-hued career." "Listening to Mili Bermejo's voice is like basking in a warm
breeze under the stars without a care in the world. Her music can literally
take you away." "…flat out one of the best singers we've ever had on Mountain
Stage." "The Mili Bermejo/George Schuller Octet brings together the worlds
of jazz, Latin music, classical, and storytelling..." "The sparse arrangements allow the members of the trio to fully interact
and support each other, with pianist Bruce Barth and double bassist Dan Greenspan
consistently evolving with Bermejo, rather than providing a mere foundation.
Equally important, Bermejo's voice fits ideally with the timbre of the instrumentation
and there's a legitimate sense she's putting her heart into many of the songs." "Mili Bermejo has long been one of the most creative artists on the
Boston scene. Her recent Tiempo de amar/A Time for Love (Pentagrama)
shows her at her best—her warm delivery, her feel for the popular and
folk idioms of all the Americas, her easy shifts between English and Spanish,
her unerring jazz swing. Bermejo has also penned several touching originals
for this elegiac cycle of songs, and working with just pianist Bruce Barth
and bassist Dan Greenspan, she's crafted perhaps her most direct and intimate
work." "Bermejo is not only one of Boston's most talented singers in any genre,
she’s also one of its most musical. Covering material from Cuba, Mexico,
Uraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, Bermejo took the approach favored by the
likes of Astrud Gilberto and Flora Punim one step further; she not only combined
Latin American music with jazz to showcase the vocals, she made her richly
shaded voice a seamless part of the mix…an uncanny sense of rhythm
and tempo to make her luxuriant phrasing sound emotionally genuine…compelling
listening." "A gentle warmth and beauty pervades in Mili Bermejo's throaty singing
and lilting songs that pushes the materials through any and all language
barriers." "Casa Corazón is an unqualified, impossibly beautiful
record! A sheer delight from start to finish." "… El contrabajo se extiende hasta los últimos rincones
para cubrir y descubrir, para improvisar sobre la luminosa voz de su compañera,
encima de ella, en un acto de fé y erotismo que no pretende ser
metáfora, sino algo tan real como sus sonidos y sus silencios.
El otrora ‘canto nuevo’ se ha fundido en los códigos
de Jazz…." |