Recommended: Cyro Baptista – “BlueFly”

The newest from Cyro Baptista is rich with percussion, as most of his recordings tend to be.  And, as with many of his other projects, that percussion is both the center of attention and the foundation on which to launch off into other forms of expression and tangential directions.  BlueFly began with an impromptu recording session with cellist Vincent Segal, bassist Ira Coleman, percusionist Tim Keiper and Baptista’s percussion.  Those songs became the heart of the album.  Over time, Baptista sought out the contributions of a diverse array of guest musicians, and added their sounds to the mix.

And it’s that combination of a vast array of instrumentation and musicians and stages of studio work that led to music that is mysteriously vague in influence, yet strikingly compelling in expression.  And yet even with the jaw-dropping spectrum of sound that Baptista and crew offer up, it’s often catchy and terrifically easy to connect with.  Nothing about this music is simple, except for the story each song tells.

BlueFly may very be the most captivating album you hear in all of 2016.

Your album personnel:  Cyro Baptista (percussion, vocals), Vincent Segal (cello), Ira Coleman (bass), Tim Keiper (Kamale ngoni, drum set) and guests:  Romero Lubambo (guitar), Kevin Breit (Mandolin Orchestra), Ikue Mori (laptop), Brian Marsella (shahi baaja, Andes #25f, Fender Rhodes), Cabello (percussion), Cadu Costa (guitar, clarinet), Leni Stern (no instrument listed), Amir Ziv (drums), Max Pollak, Zé Maurício, Chikako Iwahori (surdos) and Steve Sandberg, Marcelo Paganini, Andy Caploe, Franca Landau, Alessandro Ciari, Mark Ari, Gene Torres, Felipe Calderon, Justin Bias (samples).

Released on Tzadik Records.

Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Soundcloud page.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon