Aline Morales

When it comes to Toronto, ON's Brazilian music scene, Aline Morales has her finger in every pie. From her involvement in a slew of jazz collectives and percussion ensembles, particularly maracatu (many of which she leads), to graduating from being Luanda Jones's sidekick in Luandaline, Morales is finally releasing a solo record. Refusing to take shortcuts, she forges her own path with Flores Tambores E Amores, rather than picking up on the dub/electronica formula of her contemporaries Céu and Luísa Maita. Her roots-oriented bossa-samba, though glazed with the urban groove of MPB, reflects great reverence for bossa nova classics, '70s Tropicália and forro. The minor key Tropicália of "Musa," as it slowly expands with trumpet arrangements and its tongue-in-cheek reference to lyrics of bossa standards, is absolutely delicious, as is "Pra Que Sambar" (translated: "why samba"). Sounding like a long-lost track from Jobim's catalogue, her musical soliloquy culminates with the words, "It's a story of pain transformed into joy," providing a poetic addendum to Jobim's defence of his new style on "Desafinado." Flores Tambores E Amores is a quiet thrill, a noteworthy demonstration of Aline Morale's talent for thumping on our rhythmic hearts as she does the maracatu's alfaia.