Description
Craig and Diane Martin: Executive Producers
Yarlung Records hits the trifecta–engaging unfamiliar music, committed performances and spectacular sound. Clarice Assad is a Brazilian-American composer/pianist, who moves effortlessly between classical, jazz, and popular idioms…. Yarlung’s sonics are revelatory…. ”
—Andrew Quint, The Absolute Sound July/August 2024
This volume includes half of the repertoire on Yarlung’s recording Takacs Assad Labro. The album earned a Latin Grammy® nomination and has delighted listeners and reviewers around the world. We hope you enjoy this 180-gram pressing mastered for you by Bernie Grundman.
J and Helen Schlichting kindly enabled Yarlung to commission Constellation, a three-movement work for violin and piano, performed together in this recording. Clarice Assad wrote for Takács violinist Harumi Rhodes on violin and for herself on piano. The work celebrates Clarice’s nuclear family of four. Clarice directs that the movements can be played in any order. For this record, Harumi and Clarice perform ‘Celestial’ first, in which Clarice envisions Stella, her as-yet-unborn daughter, still in the womb when Clarice composed it. (Stella was very much present at the time of this recording.) Clarice’s instinct told her something of what beautiful Stella would be like. She arrived peacefully and possessed a sense of calm that Clarice confessed she had never encountered before. ‘Estrellita (Little Star)’ comes next, a movement Clarice wrote as a children’s song for Antonia, Clarice’s older daughter, a little fireball of energy. ‘Antonia is like a shooting star, with bright eyes and a personality that fills our entire universe with excitement and bright colors.’
This performance ends with ‘Solais (Sunshine),’ a movement [that] pays homage and celebrates Clarice’s partner, evoking a sense of eternal, lasting love. It emanates warmth as this slow pulsating force sustains us, the revolving celestrial bodies dancing around it in awe and gratitude. Thank you Harumi and Clarice for painting such a happy domestic musical picture for us, and thank you Helen and J for your generous commission.
‘Luminous’ explodes with Clarice’s interpretation of the life-affirming power of Brazilian jazz. The percussive piano introduction launches the listener into the joyous syncopated rhythms and arching melodic lines associated with the genre. ‘Luminous’ alternates duple and triplet sections in rondo form to drive the musical dialogue to a breathless and ecstatic conclusion, a celebration of life and music. Clarice, performing both voice and piano in this version, wrote ‘Luminous’ as part of her Pendulum Suite.
Cravo e Canela (Clove and Cinnamon)’: This is a song by Milton Nascimento, one of Brazil’s most celebrated songwriters. Ronaldo Bastos wrote the Portuguese lyrics and the two created a classic Brazilian song that captures the essence of romance and the vivid colors of Brazil’s cultural tapestry. Clarice’s arrangement and performance breathes fresh energy into the song through her improvisation and innovative vocal techniques. Here she explores vocal techniques that push the boundaries of her beautiful voice. This was a treat to record, as I think you will understand when you listen.
Our musicians join me in thanking our valient executive producers Craig and Diane Martin. We also greatly appreciate Helen and J Schlichting, Raulee Marcus and her team of valiant underwriters Don Pattison, Ann Horton, Aaron Egigian, David Leavenworth, Stephen A. Block, Joel and Shayne Marine and Chip and Sharyn Moore. You are terrific friends and visionaries, and we are grateful to you for making this great music available to the public.
Fellow recording engineer and equipment designer Arian Jansen and I used SonoruS Holographic Imaging technology in the analog domain to refine the stereo image and Yarlung’s SonoruS ATR12 to record Agfa-formula 468 analog tape…We used our friend Ted Ancona’s AKG C24 microphone previously owned by Frank Sinatra, and Yarlung Audio vacuum tube microphone amplification designed and built for us by Elliot Midwood with power supply by Arian Jansen. It is always a pleasure to record in Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, with beautiful and adjustable natural acoustics, which enable us to capture the musicians’ brilliance just as they create it. Many thanks to our friends Aaron Egigian and David Leavenworth at Segerstrom Center for enabling us to work in this space. When you play this album, you can hear what Arian and I heard in the hall during our recording sessions. We ‘mix and master’ using microphone placement and hall adjustments. This means that no post production is necessary in a concert hall this beautiful, working with musicians and friends of this caliber. Thank you!”
-Bob Attiyeh, producer
Features
- 180g Vinyl
- 45rpm
- Recorded April 12-13, 2023 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts
- Recording Engineers: Bob Attiyeh & Arian Jansen
- Mastering Engineers: Steve Hoffman, Arian Jansen, Bob Attiyeh
- Vinyl Mastering: Bernie Grundman
- Made in Germany
Musicians
Clarice Assad, piano and voice
Harumi Rhodes, violin
Music Selections
Clarice Assad (b. 1978)
CONSTELLATION
- Celestial
- Estrellita (Little Star)
- Solais (Sunshine)
Clarice Assad
- Luminous
Milton Nascimento (b. 1942)
- Cravo e Canela
AKG C24 Microphone: Ancona Audio
Yarlung Audio Microphone Preamplification: Elliot Midwood
SonoruS Audio ATR12 Analog Tape Recorder
Steinway Technician: Kathy Smith
Album Cover Photograph: Marcelo Macaue
Graphic Layout: MikeDesign
Steve Guerrero –
Pure Passion And Delight!
Clarice’s creative Piano playing is refreshing and evocative. The pieces Clarice wrote for Harumi Rhodes, violin, are magnificent! There is undeniable imagery set forth by each piece. Harumi’s violin playing is as if her bow were a brush and with each and every note a different stroke of color completes a masterpiece of beautiful emotions.
Side A
Constellation
First Movement, Celestial: It’s springtime in the cosmos. Time lapse images of tall grassy meadows, rays of sunlight and budding wildflowers slowly swaying filled my mind. Interstellar landscapes. Celestial, sounds of innocence, nurturing love, mystery and miracles.
Estrellita (Little Star) If shooting stars had toddlers. A ballet of playful and inquisitive shooting stars bouncing freely back and forth on the vast interstellar stage of the universe. This piece filled me with a sense of security, delivering me to safe haven of love and joy, peace and freedom.
Solais (Sunshine)
Solais is filled with images of love, passion and history. At times it feels like a beautiful tango of the heart, mind, spirit and soul . The strength and elegance of Clarice’s piano pairs with the delicate ever so graceful violin of Harumi Rhodes to paint a musical portrait of a Royal Ballet.
Side B
Luminous: Clarice took me on a fast paced journey through, Brazil and its hustling and bustling streets and crowded sun-kissed-skin-body-beaches with an occasional trip through the treetops of the Amazon rainforest. Her scatting tour guide breathed cultural authenticity into her frolicking fast piano passages.
Cravo e Canela: This is now one of my favorite covers. Clarice breathes new life into Milton Mascimento’s 1972 Brazilian Classic, Cravo e Canela. Clarice’s piano playing and vocals together are captivating! How she uses her vocals is intriguing, innovative and sexy. She doesn’t just capture the spirit of this beautifully written classic, she sets it free, bathing her listeners in the glorious culture of Brazil. Cravo e Canela filled me with landscape images of intrigue and beauty with an authenticity I never imagined getting from a record. Clarice’s scat vocals (occasionally extremely sensual) and glorious piano together transcend audio-travel. Clarice brings Brazil into our hearts and homes. The end of this track is absolutely ear tickling, so much that I got up out of my chair and plastered my ear up close to the speaker. It was an amazing feeling. Clarice’s final acapella vocals felt like they were coming right from her mouth to my ear. That is just one of the many truly precision audiophile delights you will hear in all the Yarlung pressings. Bob Attiyeh and everyone he works with and employs produce state of the art recordings by the most discerning, virtuoso artists.
If you didn’t know you might think Luminous and Cravo e Canela were recorded in parts. No one could possibly scat that perfectly while playing the piano. Wrong! Clarice Scatastic!!
Steven Guerrero
Bob Levi –
World Premier LP Recording: CLARICE from Yarlung Records
Extraordinarily well recorded with every tube and analog bell and whistle, this 45 RPM LP of Clarice, pressed in Germany, is another Yarlung Records treat.
Considering that the producer, Bob Attiyeh, has taste levels superior to any other producer I know, I am not surprised. Recorded at the Samueli theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, the music was captured on a single AKG C24 stereo tube microphone and recorded on the very special SonoruS Audio ATR12 analog tape recorder by Arian Jansen.
Of course, CLARICE was mastered to vinyl by the incomparable Bernie Gundman. Craig and Diane Martin were the executive producers.
The first three selections, written by Clarice Assad for Yarlung Records, commemorates the birth of her three children. This world premier recording called “Constellation,” is a real beauty in every way. The composer plays the piano and Harumi Rhodes plays the violin.
Side A cut 1 “Celestial” is for both violin and piano. Featuring a glorious piano sound that is rounded and luminous, the violin is played with broad strokes yielding a combination of both crispness and calm. The music is melodic and dreamy, and quite celestial. Really charming.
Side A cut 2 “Estrellita” or “little star,” has a very attractive rhythm with high energy and exquisite melody. The violin sound is more rounded with a different expression. The glorious piano playing is dance-like and toe-tapping. The melody is now full bodied and very beautiful. The presentation is very airy and natural. This original piece is particularly gorgeous.
Side A cut 3 “Solais” or Sunshine is played on piano and violin. The piano is played slowly with feeling while the melody is carried by the violin. Here the violin is played sweetly, the theme accelerates to a bold melody, with a quiet ending on the piano. This is exquisite violin playing. Just when you thought there could be no more, there is a reprise of the melody with both instruments singing in joy, with an interesting ending. The piece leaves no variations untouched. What a gorgeous cut!
Side B Cut 1 “luminous” also by Clarice Assad. This a fresh interpretation of the totality of Brazilian jazz. With vocal punctuation, this is a very unique break from the average jazz recording. High energy piano notes complement the scat performed by Assad. This entire piece is an affirmation of the Brazilian beat. It is most approachable and entertaining.
Side B cut 2 “Cravo e Canela” or “clove and cinnamon” by Milton Nascimento is performed by Assad. She arranged the piece for piano and song, some “almost” words and some scat. This appealing melody was propelled by the rich piano tone. Expressive vocals are fascinating, fun, and very surprising. The interesting vocal solo ends with a brief dance-like melody. This special arrangement and performance is improvisation at its best.
The Sound
CLARICE is 100% analog from start to finish. This very dimensional and airy LP sounds to me like a direct-to-disc release. It just could not be better recorded. The spatial ques are open and realistic, while image height and depth are superb and in-the-room. Enjoy state of the art imaging with the instruments fully integrated on the stage.
This is A+ treatment of new material never before recorded. It is a treasure to be used as a reference LP for any great stereo system. I fully recommend the purchase of this amazing album for your own collection. Could not be better! Congratulations to Bob Attiyeh and team at Yarlung Records!
Bob Attiyeh –
Thank you so much, Maestro Bob Levi. And many thanks to Dr. David Robinson for allowing this post from his magazine Positive Feedback. Here is the link to the full article:
https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/music-reviews/clarice-yarlung-records/