Azymuth - cascades / rapid transit

Azymuth could pretty much do it all. The Brazilian trio of keyboardist José Roberto Bertrami, bassist/guitarist Alex Malheiros, and drummer/percussionist Ivan Conti, aka "Mamão" (all b. 1946), dazzled with multi-tiered virtuosity, conjuring whirlwinds and waterfalls, lunarscapes or rainforests. Certain locomotive sambas might morph into furious jams, suggesting a rock power trio, or the group could lay back as if taking a cue from Ahmad Jamal. Cascades and Rapid Transit, the two LPs paired herein, from 1982 and 1983, respectively, capture Azymuth when their trademark samba doido ("crazy samba") was reaching its apex in America. There is, of course, nothing remotely crazy about fusing various beautiful and provocative sounds from all over Brazil with electro-funk and jazz, and Azymuth, occasionally abetted here by some of Brazil’s finest street and studio musicians, likely did it better than anyone, ever.