LUZAZUL

11-10-2013 "Each song offers a small sensation"

POP Luzazul Canvas ( Mundo Records) *****

In spite of all culture finance cuts, the Netherlands still provides a breeding ground for musical experimentation with the border between jazz , pop and world as a fertile testing ground. In particular, the Rotterdam Conservatory has helped them. Two exponents of that program were (Zuco 103) and (Luzazul), pioneers of a new direction. As Zuco 103 combined Brazilian tradition with dance beats, now Luzazul connects southern European flamenco and fado with subtile Latin improvisations. Their second album 'Canvas' captivates from beginning to end because of the wealth of ideas and the mellifluous voice of Magda Mendes. As liquid honey her voice adds to the meandering compositions by band leader / guitarist Martijn Morselt. Each song offers a small sensation, a perfect illustration of how you can refresh tradition. Flamenco guitar, electric piano and feathery percussion flow into each other in virtuoso cadence. Surprising is also the mix of bird chirping, child sounds and guitar in the evocative ' Amsterdao, a graceful reference to Luis Bonfa's "Manha De Carnaval". Canvas is a cd for framing (Dutch expression for high appreciation)

Stan Rijven - TROUW (Dutch Newspaper) - Stan Rijven

JAZZISM sept. 2013 - Luzazul - Canvas / Mundo Records / world ****

Luzazul is the brainchild of singer Magda Mendes Portuguese and Dutch musician and producer Martijn Morselt. On their debut album, named after the group, Luzazul allready combined flamenco with Brazilian influences. Which can be heard in the Portuguese vocals of Mendes, guitarist Alain Labrie gives the music a passionate flamenco twist. The combination of Brazilian with flamenco works very good on Canvas. All are good catchy songs that evoke a summery feel, cheerful and sometimes melancholic. You can dance to it, listen to it, or get carried away by the mysterious Amor, one of the most beautiful songs of Canvas. With stunning warm guitarplay, the undulating sounds along with the subtle percussion of Udo Demandt support the voice of Mendes impassioned. Monção is such a gem, it seems you hear the gentle murmur of a tropical sea through the music.

Rik van Boeckel - Jazzism (magazine) - Rik van Boeckel

Luzazul - CANVAS 8 - MundoRecords/Xango

Aline Frazão -MOVIMENTO 7,5 -Coast To Coast

Brazilian tinted world music.
Now the summer finally has arrived, the world music lover likes to bring the sun inside. Do you like a Brazilian tint and preferably with some other influences incorporated, then you could have less luck with these two extremely enjoyable cd’s. Luzazul is a Dutch band with a Portuguese singer, who soon after its start seven years ago became one of the top bands in the Dutch world music scene. Because of the many performances they barely had time to record their second album. Fortunately, it eventually succeeded, because CANVAS is a top record to Dutch world music standards, but also seen from internationally viewpoint. Beautifully sung by Magda Mendes, who also wrote all the lyrics, the songs composed by the Luzazul frontman and multi-instrumentalist Martijn Morselt are very well constructed, airily but not on a superficial way, melancholic Brazilian rhythms and melodies are combined with fado, flamenco and Cape Verdean elements, which brings the music to a higher level.

A similar mainly acoustic Brazilian / Cape Verdean atmosphere but with many Angolan elements is created on the beautiful third cd of the Angolan singer-songwriter Aline Frazão: MOVIMENTO. Something more raw and less airily in tone but not less melancholic, Frazão shows she is an engaging singer, perhaps less flexible than Luzazul’s Magda Mendes but with just as much eloquence, even if you understand nothing of its Portuguese texts. It makes MOVIMENTO an ideal cd as the sun has set and you want to recover from the day. - HEAVEN (Belgium) - Pieter Wijnstekers

Luz Azul regresa con Canvas, un impresionante álbum que mezcla la melancolía del fado portugués, la sensualidad de la música flamenca y los ritmos brasileros y africanos con algunos tintes provenientes de esa fuente inagotable de sonidos y melodías que es Cabo Verde.

Su primer álbum, homónimo, había aparecido hace ya mas de 7 años, y en esta ocasión, la agrupación holandesa – conformada por el multi-instrumentalista Martijn Morselt en Ámsterdam en el 2006- alrededor de la vocalista portuguesa Magda Mendes se supera con creces. El álbum abre con el track que le da titulo al disco, una composición a dos manos entre Mendes y Morselt que se caracteriza por su energía y melodías de Cabo Verde incrustadas en toda su atmosfera. La guitarra interpretada por Alain Labrie le confiere cierta picardía a este numero. De Maas es una bella y melancólica pieza donde Mendes demuestra toda su capacidad como vocalista, Martijn Morselty en los teclados y Alain Labrie en la guitarra flamenca se complementas de manera fascinante, y trasmiten el mensaje, claro por lo demás, de la agrupación holandesa.
Luzazul logra crear con Canvas algo totalmente diferente, no por casualidad titularon su segundo disco de esta forma. Como pinceladas sobre canvas, de esta misma forma, el quinteto conformado en Holanda logra un nuevo mundo de melodías y sonidos.

Tracks:
Canvas
De Maas
Amor
Monção
Mais uma Vez
Ondas
Deslizando
Nunca Se Cansa
Segredo
Calor
Amsterdão

Musicos
Magda Mendes: vocales y guitarra acustica (track 11)
Martijn Morselt: bajo, guitarra acustica, piano, wurlitzer, beats
Alain Labrie: guitarra flamenca
Emiel van Rijthoven: wurlitzer, clavinete, sintetizador
Udo Demandt: percusion
Invitados
Roël Calister: percusion,cajon, pandeiro
IJburg Birds & Kids

MunDo Records , 2013 - SOLAR JAZZ&WORLD – “UN IMPRESIONANTE ÁLBUM”

CD Canvas (MunDoRecords - XangoMusic - 2013)
# TROUW (newspaper)  "Canvas mesmerizes with its wealth of ideas and the ear pleasing vocals" ✭✭✭✭✭
# Jazzism (magazine)  "the combination Brazil with flamenco works out very good on Canvas" ✭✭✭✭
# The Telegraph (newspaper)  "Luzazul hits the right note again" "we want more!" ✭✭✭✭
# NRC (newspaper)  "a rocking soundtrack for a hot summer" ✭✭✭
# HEAVEN (Belgium)  "Top album, internationally seen" ✭✭✭✭
# SOLAR JAZZ&WORLD (Colombia) – “Un Impresionante Álbum”

debut CD Luzazul (MQN-Coast to Coast - 2006)
# HEAVEN (Belgium) “Competition for Zuco 103″ ✭✭✭✭
# NRC (newspaper) “Sparkling, Melodious, Diverse, Professional, Enthusiastic” ✭✭✭✭
# OOR (magazine) “Clear and Sparkling Poppy Album”
# JAZZ (magazine) “What a beautiful Album!”
# PLATO “Part of the best on offer in World Music these days”
“warm and passionate music that sounds original as well as contemporary” ✭✭✭✭ - TROUW, NRC, JAZZISM, HEAVEN, The TELEGRAPH, OOR, PLATO, SOLAR JAZZ&WORLD

A happy continuation

Luzazul hits the right note again
Six years after the (acclaimed) album of the sympathetic world musicians there is the new CD Canvas.
A cheerful mix of Brazilian sounds, Spanish flamenco and fado elements. The repertoire of musician and producer Martijn Morselt, Magda Mendes (vocals), Alain Labrie, Emiel van Rijthoven and Udo Demandt has expanded in recent years, but fortunately the strong band remained loyal to the 'blue light' that stands for passion, joy and melancholy.
The opening track canvas is swinging, Amor reinforces the desire for romance and after listening to the penultimate song, Calor, there is only one desire: we want more!
4 stars (5)

Luzazul - Canvas

by Ronneke van der Genugten
[worldmusic] - De Telegraaf (biggest Dutch Newspaper) - Ronneke van der Genugten