Surpresa

SSC1629 2021-08-20

Track List

Waiting - 3:21
Rio Negro - 3:39
Far Away - 3:03
How Long - 3:18
Surpresa - 3:35
Broken Umbrellas - 2:51
Ó, Maria - 4:24
Colibri - 4:33
Little Star - 2:43
West Broadway Shuffle - 1:27

Musicians

Vinicius Cantuaria - guitar, vocals, drums and percussion
Jesse Harris - guitar, vocals, drums and percussion
Melody Gardot - vocals
Bill Frisell - guitar - electric
Gabi Hartmann - vocals
CJ Camerieri - horn
Tony Scherr - bass- acoustic
Jeremy Gustin - percussion
Will Graefe - piano

The past year found the whole world waiting. The COVID-19 pandemic paused life for most people and found everybody looking ahead to when life would return to normalcy. Singer/songwriters Jesse Harris and Vinicius Cantuaria took the time provided by the lull to record a project that had been evolving over the previous few years. Surpresa is the enchanting culmination of their efforts and it shows that some things are well worth the wait. // Both artists are well-known for their superior songwriting abilities. Harris came to the attention of the music world as a member of Once Blue and, later, writing hit songs for Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Solomon Burke, and more. Beginning his professional work as a member of Caetano Veloso’s band, the multi-instrumentalist and composer Cantuaria has made a name for himself with his unique approach to the music of his native Brazil and his intriguing collaborations with artists as diverse as Ryuichi Sakamoto and Laurie Anderson. // Harris and Cantuaria initially met in 2011 when their mutual friend Dadi Carvalho introduced them, allowing Harris to stay at Cantuaria’s Rio de Janeiro home while Harris was in Brazil. Once he returned to New York, Harris visited Cantuaria and his wife Claire in Brooklyn. They struck up an immediate friendship and began hanging out and writing music. The writing eventually led to Harris inviting Cantuaria to play on gigs where they would incorporate each other’s songs and those of Tom Jobim into a working repertoire. Harris would go on to write “This Time” for Cantuaria’s 2012 recording, Indio De Apartamento. // It was about the time that they had decided to record together that the pandemic hit. Rather than becoming disillusioned, Harris began to ramp up his creative efforts. His home studio, Secret Sun West, allowed him to create any time he felt inspired to. When Cantuaria was able to finally return to the States, the two friends jumped immediately into recording Surpresa.