Marisa Monte Infinito Particular CD

The Brazilian singer and songwriter Marisa Monte was poised for a big American splash in the '90s but never quite made the requisite impact. Still, Monte has a gorgeously liquid voice and is clearly a successor to Gal Costa with her superior technique and Gal-like intellectual curiosity. Unlike Cibelle's overlong SHINE OF DRIED ELECTRIC LEAVES, this highly melodic album is also blessedly short--kind of old-school LP length. And for all the electronic underlay, all 13 songs remain unencumbered by extra production "touches."

Personnel: Marisa Monte (acoustic guitar, autoharp, ukulele, viola, melodica, vocoder, xylophone, bass guitar, kalimba, sound effects); Pedro Baby (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, dobro, viola, viola da gamba); Leonardo Reis (guitar, acoustic guitar, viola, bongos); Liminha (guitar, electric guitar, E-bow, electric bass); Ale Siqueira (guitar, electric guitar, programming); Rick Ferreira (steel guitar); Kitty Pereira, Tamie Kitahara (koto); Nicolas Krassik (violin); Jaques Morelenbaum (cello); Pedro Bernardes (melodica, piano); Juliano Barbosa (bassoon); Jessé Sadoc (trumpet, flugelhorn); Eduardo Morelenbaum (piano); Joao Donato (Fender Rhodes piano); Peu Meurray (drums, snare drum, caixa, cymbals, steel drum, surdo, tabla, percussion); Marcelo Costa (snare drum, pandeiro); Peu Meuharry (cymbals).

Audio Mixers: Flávio Souza; Ale Siqueira.

Recording information: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (10/03/2005-01/09/2006).

Photographers: Marssares; Leonardo Aversa.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Marcelo Costa; Jarbas Lopes.

Arrangers: Deodato; Joao Donato; Philip Glass.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.Down Beat (p.85) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The record reveals her continued gift for melody, and her airy, languid vocals hover over the drifting arrangements like drifting clouds."