Rodrigo Lima One of the most inventive artists to come along from Brazil in recent years, Rodrigo Lima is releasing his debut album as a leader, Saga, a stunning 2-CD set that has the brilliant guitarist/composer/arranger working in modes that range from his Brazilian samba & bossa roots to chamber jazz, with lots of stops in between. Produced by Arnaldo DeSouteiro (João Gilberto, Luiz Bonfá, Deodato) for the Jazz Station Records (JSR) label, recorded in LA, NY, Rio and Curitiba, “Saga” features an all-star cast: Hubert Laws, Anat Cohen, Don Sebesky, Mike Mainieri, Hermeto Pascoal, Ithamara Koorax, Sammy Figueroa, Raul de Souza, Joao Palma and Laudir de Oliveira, to name a few. The cover pic is by the legendary photographer Pete Turner (John Coltrane, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Oscar Peterson, Weather Report), and the list of engineers includes the renowned Jay Messina (Miles Davis, John Lennon, Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones.) The repertoire brings songs based on several Brazilian rhythms such as choro (“Anat’s Song”), baião (“Brasileirão”), samba (“Samba da Mistura”) and bossa nova (“Altinho”), plus two tunes composed by Hermeto Pascoal, Brazilian living genius, specially to this album, some experimental adventures, and the 20-minute long “Brahms,” a loose jazz version of Johannes Brahms’ Symphony #3. Lima plays acoustic guitar with a deftness that rivals some of his most notable Brazilian predecessors like Luiz Bonfa and Laurindo Almeida -- and that includes some of the best bossa and choro talents as well, blended with the influence of Jim Hall and Pat Metheny. The range of settings in the album is varied, but extremely unified too, thanks to a coherent sense of production and presentation that really holds the listener’s interest throughout. In some songs, Lima’s vocal lines complement the mesmerizing melodies and the soulful guitar solos. An intuitive guitar ace whose instincts and passions are balanced by his versatility and technical dexterity, Rodrigo Lima is also an actor with multiple awards for his work on Brazilian TV and movie productions, for which he often writes the soundtracks as well. #rodrigolima #mondayintroduction