''Bird of Paradise'' is an album by the Brazilian musician
Djavan. It was released in 1988 via
Columbia Records, part of a Brazilian push by the label that also included albums by
Milton Nascimento
Milton Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
He has toured across the world.
Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his alb ...
(''Yauaretê'') and
Simone (''Vicio'').
Production
The album was produced by
Ronnie Foster
Ronnie Foster (born May 12, 1950) is an American funk and soul jazz organist, and record producer. His albums recorded for Blue Note Records in the 1970s have gained a cult following after the emergence of acid jazz.
Early life
Foster was born ...
.
[ Three of its songs are sung in English; Djavan had others write the lyrics to them. Djavan recorded the album in Los Angeles, using session musicians.]Soweto
Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...
.[
]
Critical reception
The ''Sun Sentinel
The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding B ...
'' wrote that Djavan's "voice is a clear, strong, masculine baritone, his guitar distinctly grounded in but not enslaved to the samba beat, the melodies are long, lilting, undulating lines rising above a plush, complex harmonic carpet." ''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' thought that "Djavan's upbeat Anglo-Brazilian pop will appeal to West Coast jazz fusion fans as well as pop listeners."
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' determined that "as slick and predictable as it is, though, the album is redeemed by a few of Djavan's lyrics, including the compulsive love song 'Madness' and the temptress tale 'Miss Susanna'."The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' concluded that "as a singer, Djavan doesn't have the angelic, impeccable intonation of Mr. Nascimento or Mr. aetanoVeloso; he sounds a little more fallible and earthly, perhaps more approachable for American pop listeners." ''The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' deemed the album "predictable, Westernized funk."AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
called the album "full of strong, haunting, lusciously melodic songs often backed by that gently jumping, uplifting rhythm that runs through much of his material."
Track listing
References
{{Authority control
Djavan albums
1988 albums
Columbia Records albums