Masha Campagne: Reviews

While jazz is a quintessentially American art form, it has long been an international language, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to find Moscow-raised jazz singer Masha Campagne effortlessly delivering straight ahead and Brazilian grooves. Whether interpreting classics from the American Songbook or from Brazil’s equally rich treasure trove of standards, she displays impeccable taste in her selection of material, interpreting each piece with a finely honed musical sensibility. The fact that she’s surrounded herself with world-class players certainly helps explain the maturity of her conception.

Since moving to the Bay Area from Russia in 1991, Campagne has forged relationships with some of the region’s finest musicians, and she makes the most out of those ties on “Caminhos Cruzados,” her debut recording. Most importantly, she has collaborated widely with Weber Iago, a brilliant Rio de Janeiro-raised pianist/arranger who is now based on the Monterey Peninsula. Like Campagne, Iago (then known as Weber Drummond) grew up immersed in the European tradition. His classical career was taking off in 1987 when he toured throughout Brazil with the celebrated Tabajara Orchestra, but his interest in jazz and improvisation compelled him to take a different route, and in 1988 Iago moved to Los Angeles, where he started developing a new, improvisation-laced compositional approach through his studies with legendary arranger/composer Moacir Santos.

Iago displays his gift for writing for strings on two pieces by Guinga and Aldir Blanc, creating gorgeous settings for Campagne, who interprets the intricate melodies with poise and emotional focus. The album includes her sensitive version of “Doralice,” a sprightly love song by samba forefather Dorival Caymmi that Stan Getz and João Gilberto recorded on their landmark bossa nova session. Campagne shows off her jazz chops on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “It Might As Well Be Spring,” which features a lovely tenor solo by Bay Area reed master Harvey Wainapel. But Campagne’s at her most inventive on a series of medleys, the first of which weaves together three masterpieces by Jobim. The second medley opens the album, combining a soaring, jazz-steeped melody by Djavan with a lush Iago composition featuring the percussion tandem of Paul van Wageningen and Michael Spiro. The album closes with an intimate duet between Campagne and Iago on another captivating Djavan melody, leaving this listener eager for the next collaboration between these inspired jazz artists.