AURORA DE PAZ
Elton Medeiros (2001)
Crítica
Cotação: 
The elegant samba composer Elton Medeiros releases his first solo album since 1996. Aurora de Paz, containing 11 new songs and 2 re-recordings, redeems the stylistic strength of the 70-year-old composer. Along with Dona Ivone Lara’s new CD Nasci Pra Sonhar e Cantar, this album proves that there’s no age limit for creativity in the real samba (nor for the true samba artists).
Aurora de Paz has a sober tone. The new songs reveal a melancholic Elton. This impression is reinforced by the "classic" and economic standardization of the arrangements (where the brass section is a plus). The album is full of creative energy, though it is more on the "dark side" of samba. The title track - a classic song originally recorded in 1967 -, Samba do Meu Drama and Pra Fugir da Saudade can be mentioned as good examples of the close association between the melancholy and inventiveness in the composer’s universe. Elton surprises the listener with songs like Conversa de Solidão and Não Te Esqueças de Mim, bonding crooked harmonies with lyrics about love pains. Another revelation is the elegant Valsa Breve, when the samba sequence is broken, baring the composer’s versatility; even in "unfamiliar territory", such as the waltz, he is able to print his personal touch. The exquisite Recato, a duet with Zezé Gozaga, stands out as the most beautiful moment of the album.
Psiquiatra, Estrela and Culpa do Santo temporarily break the nostalgic mood, with uplifting verses and melodies, in the tradition of the good humored partido alto. And there’s still enough filling for an instrumental chorinho incursion (on Azulzinho and Serenata Para Trombone). This album celebrates the triumph of a veteran who, although being part of samba’s tradition, has not been trapped by neither nostalgia nor repetition.
(Marco Antonio Barbosa)
Aurora de Paz has a sober tone. The new songs reveal a melancholic Elton. This impression is reinforced by the "classic" and economic standardization of the arrangements (where the brass section is a plus). The album is full of creative energy, though it is more on the "dark side" of samba. The title track - a classic song originally recorded in 1967 -, Samba do Meu Drama and Pra Fugir da Saudade can be mentioned as good examples of the close association between the melancholy and inventiveness in the composer’s universe. Elton surprises the listener with songs like Conversa de Solidão and Não Te Esqueças de Mim, bonding crooked harmonies with lyrics about love pains. Another revelation is the elegant Valsa Breve, when the samba sequence is broken, baring the composer’s versatility; even in "unfamiliar territory", such as the waltz, he is able to print his personal touch. The exquisite Recato, a duet with Zezé Gozaga, stands out as the most beautiful moment of the album.
Psiquiatra, Estrela and Culpa do Santo temporarily break the nostalgic mood, with uplifting verses and melodies, in the tradition of the good humored partido alto. And there’s still enough filling for an instrumental chorinho incursion (on Azulzinho and Serenata Para Trombone). This album celebrates the triumph of a veteran who, although being part of samba’s tradition, has not been trapped by neither nostalgia nor repetition.
(Marco Antonio Barbosa)
Tracks
MetaMusica