Marisa Monte Works Double Time

MARISA MONTE
Infinito Particular (Metro Blue)
Universo Ao Meu Redor (Metro Blue)

Brazil boasts few stars bigger than Marisa Monte, and for good reason. She has given the planet an inside ear into numerous forms of her homeland’s traditional music, showing how it evolves in beautifully tempered four-minute snippets. Her 15-year career has seen accolades pile up, including the hugely successful Tribalistas project with master percussionist Carlinhos Brown and impressive poet Analdo Antunes. Both lend helping hands on these companion releases, one honoring the samba tradition while the other revisits unfinished tracks over the last decade-and-a-half. Monte dreamed up Universo Ao Meu Redor after birthing her first child, a possible reflection of the coincidence of creation: herself giving life as does countries birth musical forms. In that vain she conceived a collection of never-recorded, obscure sambas, offering them permanent history. David Byrne signs on to help, as does Yerba Buena bandleader Andres Levin and a whole host of Morelenbaums. Her lullaby signature, indicative of earlier releases (Memories, Chronicles and Declarations of Love), shines on the title track. Throughout the album the acoustic production, especially utilizing the gorgeous cavinquinho playing, backed by an occasional DJ scratch or distorted vocal section, creates a scratchy surface underlying a depth few artists can create. Such the same for Infinito Particular, an album with even more guests: sambista rocker Seu Jorge, arrangements by famed composer Philip Glass, and, yes, more Morelenbaums. Monte’s proficiency on numerous instruments (ukulele, bass, kalimba, metalofone and autoharp) is extraordinary. The only greater virtue on these recordings is her voice. With that, she acquires fans with grace and ease.