Through the Window by contrast shuffles in on electronic percussion, rubbery bass, fluttery flute and a chorus of Portuguese lyrics. Turning the tables again Remembering Milton is heavy on the funk with Malheiros slapping out a finger popping bass line against Bertrami s swirling keyboard patterns and the colorful percussion of Conti. A Woman showcases Einhorn s mournful harmonica atop a flaccid sea of keyboard textures and Malheiros stop time bass while Indian Pepper sounds suspiciously like a Jan Hammer Miami Vice outtake melded to Brazilian street rhythms. Rapid Transit , the disc s second half, treads much the same terrain, but with a slightly funkier bent. Derivative break beats abound on the opening Make Mine Guaran supporting Betrami s electronically treated vocal effects via vocoder.
Afternoon is a lengthy synth-saturated ballad that meanders for the better part of eight minutes.
But Missing Dot delivers an all to brief return to surprise balancing a wash of cadential percussion with a unison vocal chant and what sounds like toy piano. The closing Gate of Time is also unexpected both in terms of its haunting theme and reliance on purely acoustic instruments. But while these dates are bantam weight by jazz standards they re still an entertaining aperture into one band s well intentioned experiments with early 80s samba sounds. Fusion fans will almost certainly find the music of Azymuth more to their liking than listeners with allergies to amplified instruments and pervasive studio production. All About Jazz and contributing writers.