ProJazz.net

This funky bit of samba by the king of bossa pianists was the second such album he recorded in the middle of the decade. Moving away from his earlier bossa nova and Latin jazz sound, João Donato cut Quem E Quem a year earlier with stellar results: The disc landed him on the charts for the first time in three years and was actually distributed in the U.S. to the fusion-hungry jazz audience. Lugar Comum is another step away. The bossa has been replaced by a more pronounced samba sound and there are few acoustic pianos on the disc at all. Furthermore, in addition to funking it up – in that light, airy, breezy Brazilian way – on electric keys, Donato handles all the lead vocal chores himself. As for his voice, well, Tom Jobim’s is worse, but not much. Nonetheless, Donato’s arrangements are lush, tight, and full of life and light, and they are well suited to tunes like the title track, the chorus-heavy “Patumbalacunde,” and the shimmering wisp that is “Xango E Da Be,” with its gorgeous strings and whistle-stop percussion. This is now regarded as a classic of the genre and, in some ways, the hep cats and kitties are right: While Airto and Flora and Deodato were moving into hard and heavy territory with rhythms clashing everywhere atop harried and crowded arrangements to adapt to the fusion market, Donato played it commercial in his own sweet, laid-back way. This is a beautiful, if very slick, album that should interest all fans of Brazilian pop (AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek, https://goo.gl/LwpbH7).

Track listing:

A1 Lugar Comum 3:32
Written-By – Gilberto Gil, João Donato
A2 Tudo Tem 3:20
Written-By – Gilberto Gil, João Donato
A3 A Bruxa De Mentira 3:21
Written-By – Gilberto Gil, João Donato
A4 É Menina 3:02
Written-By – Gutemberg Guarabyra, João Donato
A5 Bananeira 2:31
Written-By – Gilberto Gil, João Donato
A6 Patumbalacundê 3:05
Written-By – Durval Ferreira, Gilberto Gil, João Donato, Orlandivo
B1 Xangô É De Baê 3:13
Written-By – João Donato, Rubem Confete, Sidney da Conceição
B2 Pretty Dolly 2:19
Written-By – João Donato, Norman Gimbel
B3 Emoriô 3:25
Written-By – Gilberto Gil, João Donato
B4 Naturalmente 3:22
Written-By – Caetano Veloso, João Donato
B5 Que Besteira 3:37
Written-By – Gilberto Gil, João Donato
B6 Deixei Recado
Written-By – Gilberto Gil, João Donato

Personnel:

Acoustic Guitar – Rosinha de Valença
Art Direction – Aldo Luiz
Artwork – Jorge Vianna, Rogério Duarte
Backing Vocals – As Gatas
Baritone Saxophone – Genaldo
Bass – Novelli
Drums – Aladim, Wilson das Neves
Electric Guitar – Frederiko
Engineer – João Moreira, Luigi Hoffer, Luiz Claudio
Flute – Celso, Copinha, Geraldo (8), Jorginho
Harmony Vocals – Gilberto Gil
Lead Vocals, Piano, Electric Piano, Arranged By – João Donato
Musical Assistance – Zé Guilherme
Percussion – Alberto Das Neves, Luis Carlos
Photography By – Luiz Garrido
Producer – Tobi (4)
Soprano Saxophone – Netinho (2)
Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Aurino Ferreira, Bijou (7)
Trombone – Bogado*, Maciel*, Flamarion
Trumpet – Formiga

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Label: Philips ‎– 6349 138
Country: Brazil
Released: 1975