David Lyndon Huff and Jack Jezzro have teamed up to create Worldbeat Brazil. This collaboration consists of (mostly) instrumental Latin-style guitar and piano playing accompanied by a pleasant, light techno/dance background beat. While this CD "...is not straight Brazilian music in the classic sense," according to Jezzro, it definitely has that Latin rhythmic conceptual sound.

In my mind, this album is perhaps what would happen if Ottmar Liebert, Delerium, Deep Forest and Enigma came together to produce a CD with a Brazilian feel.

Jezzro & Huff are currently based out of Nashville. Both artists have had successful solo careers as well as backed up a Who's Who list of not only country artists, but also pop, heavy metal, jazz and R&B acts! Each of them have also contributed to several movie soundtracks as well.

Huff seems to be the more structured of the two. He created the initial song layouts and was responsible for the main rhythms, chord changes and backing tracks. Huff plays keyboards/synthesizer, drums/percussion and bass on Worldbeat Brazil.

Jezzro took a more improvisational approach while creating the CD. After listening to rough mixes of Huff's ideas, Jezzro crafted the lead Brazilian styled guitar melodies. He would basically let the feel of the rough mixes dictate the direction of flow for his guitar playing on each song.

Despite their vastly different styles at creating music, this album really sounds fantastic.

"Carnival" starts off the CD with Latin guitar rhythms which evoke an upbeat, festive mood. "Romantique" features more guitar, a much slower tempo and a percussive clapping rhythm in the background. I really appreciate how smoothly Jezzro & Huff transition between the faster and slower paced songs.

Several pieces feature both guitar (or two guitars) and piano in the foreground. Some of the better tunes of this type include "Rain Forest," "Night In Bolivia" and "El Dorado." On "El Dorado" you can hear some chanting/singing in the background that really adds to the song.

Usually, both of my cats ignore my music. However, while playing "Passion," for the first time, the cat that was dozing in my office and the one that came running in were both interested in the bird and jungle noises that were added. While this story has nothing to do with the music itself, I was rather amused to see both cats actively try to seek out where the sounds were coming from.

I really like the bass in the background on "Mystical Garden." This song has a bit of an Delerium feel to it. There are female voices that are barely perceptable in the background. I cannot make out any lyrics, which makes me think the voices are being used as additional instruments. A few other songs are similar. "Summer Dream" has more up-front vocals, but again, no words that I can discern. The song has a little bit of a jazzy backbeat. "Shadows" has more promonent female vocals as instrumental accopanyment as well.

"Spirit of Brazil" has Enigma-like Gregorian sounding male vocals in the background. This song ends the CD on an upbeat note. It has two guitars and is a little heavier on drums. The music trails out with insect/night time noises. Unfortunately, my cats were not fooled again.

Worldbeat Brazil is quite an enjoyable CD. I like playing it in the background while working on my computer. Sometimes the music is strong enough to take all my attention while at other times I can easily multitask while still enjoying the soothing sounds. This CD is not so relaxing that you would fall asleep listening to it, but it is tranquil enough to lightly lift your spirits and reduce your stress level, regardless how tough your day has been.

[ by Wil Owen ]