''The Three Americas'' is the eleventh studio album by Brazilian jazz artist

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias
BrowseBiography.com, 20 November 2011; retrieved 10 September 2014. is a Brazilian jazz pianist, sin ...

. The record was released in 1996 via

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

label. The name of the album is explained by Elias in the notes:"My intention for this recording is not only to present some of the innumerable sounds and rhythms of North, Central and South America but also to capture the musical essence of each America and combine their various rhythms and sounds to beat as one heart."

Reception

Josef Woodard of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' wrote "Brazilian-born jazz pianist Eliane Elias has lived in the States for nearly half her 37 years, and her impressive new album, The Three Americas, is a kind of homecoming, nodding to the Americas North, South, and Central. The concept flies. Elias ventures from the Brazilian turf of her infectious opener, ”An Up Dawn,” to a quasi-tango, ”Chorango,” to the urbane, New York-ish swagger of ”Jumping Fox,” all with her commanding touch."

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

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 databas ...

stated "Two sides of Eliane Elias are on display on this CD. She is heard as an effective soft-toned singer of bossa nova and (particularly on the last few numbers) as a strong post-bop jazz pianist. The bossas (which often feature guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves and flutist Dave Valentin) are enjoyable, if a bit lightweight, and "Chorango" (which has Gil Goldstein on accordion and violinist Mark Feldman) is a modern tango. But it is as a pianist that Elias is most significant, and fortunately, there are enough instrumentals on this release to make it worth picking up by jazz listeners."

Track listing

Credits

*Accordion (guest artist) –

Gil Goldstein Gil Goldstein (born November 6, 1950 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American jazz pianist and accordionist. He has won 5 Grammy Awards and he was nominated 8 time Biography He began studying accordion at age 5 after noticing it in The Lawrence We ...

*Arranged By, Producer – Eliane Elias *Bass (Acoustic) – Marc Johnson (tracks: 1 2 3 4 6 9 10 12) *Drums – Satoshi Takeishi (tracks: 1 2 3 4 6 9 10 12) *Executive Producer – Christine Martin *Flutes –

Dave Valentin David Peter Valentin (April 29, 1952 – March 8, 2017) was an American Latin jazz flautist of Puerto Rican descent. Life and career Valentin was born to Puerto Rican parents in The Bronx in New York City. He attended The High School of Mu ...

(tracks: 1 2 3 6) *Guitar (Acoustic) –

Oscar Castro-Neves Oscar Castro-Neves (May 15, 1940 - September 27, 2013), was a Brazilian guitarist, arranger, and composer who is considered a founding figure in bossa nova. Biography He was born in Rio de Janeiro as one of triplets and formed a band with his br ...

(tracks: 1 5 7) *Percussion –

Café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

(tracks: 1 3 6 7),

Manolo Badrena Manolo Badrena (born March 17, 1952, in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a percussionist most noted for his work with Weather Report from 1976 to 1977. He has made contributions to over 100 recordings that span jazz, world music, pop, and Latin music. B ...

(tracks: 2 9 10) *Piano – Eliane Elias (tracks: 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 12) *Vocals – Eliane Elias (tracks: 1 3 5 7 10)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Three Americas 1996 albums Eliane Elias albums Blue Note Records albums