Brazilian Nights

Personnel: Jack Jezzro (acoustic nylon string guitar); George Tidwell (flugelhorn); Denis Solee (flute); Pat Coil (piano, keyboards); Craig Nelson (acoustic & electric basses); Eric Darken, Glen Caruba (percussion).
Personnel: Jack Jezzro (acoustic guitar); Craig Nelson (acoustic guitar, electric bass); Denis Solee (flute); George Tidwell (flugelhorn); Pat Coil (piano, keyboards); Eric Darken, Glen Caruba (percussion).
Recording information: Wildwood Studios.
Jack Jezzro was among the more versatile session players of the 1980s and 1990s; though the guitarist did his share of country-pop dates in Nashville, he had no problem playing pop-jazz. One of the NAC-oriented albums he recorded as a leader was Brazilian Nights, a decent but unremarkable collection of pop-jazz mood music. The CD is light and gentle enough to appeal to 1990s NAC tastes, but as mellow as it is, Brazilian Nights has some substance and isn't outright elevator Muzak. As its title indicates, this release has strong Brazilian leanings -- instrumentals like "Latin Storm" (which bears a slight resemblance to Kenny Dorham's "Blue Bossa"), "Señor Samba," and "Café Calypso" underscore Jezzro's appreciation of bossa nova. But not everything on the CD is Brazilian-minded "Ladrón de Corazon," for example, has more of an Andean/Peruvian/Bolivian appeal, while "Fiesta Español" is flamenco-influenced. Not fantastic but generally pleasant, Brazilian Nights has more going for it than a lot of the NAC releases that came in the late 1990s. ~ Alex Henderson