Eager to explore and expand upon the chemistry they discovered while collaborating on multiple recordings over the last couple of years, pianist Ricardo Bacelar and cellist Jaques Morelenbaum packed up their instruments and set off on holiday together in the peaceful and exquisite coastal enclave of Aracati, Ceará in the Northeast corner of Brazil. There, the two musicians, composers, arrangers, and producers immersed themselves in the culture of their surroundings in order to craft a ten-song set titled for the cliffside oceanfront locale, “Aracati.” The Jasmin Music album comprised of nine instrumentals and one vocal track drops on January 31.
Bacelar and Morelenbaum enjoyed a week in Aracati before returning to Jasmin Studio, a trailblazing immersive audio production facility in Fortaleza where they spent eight days tracking the collection of Brazilian rhythms and melodies that swirl jazz and classical elements. The pair wrote three songs together while in Aracati, including the first single, “Fogueira,” which is available now accompanied by a video that captures the spirit and ethos of the recording project
The rest of the compositions were penned individually by Morelenbaum or Bacelar with two new tunes cowritten by the pianist.
Bacelar and Morelenbaum met in 2022 while the cellist was recording a track with Gilberto Gil that was produced by the pianist. A year ago, Morelenbaum guested on a Bacelar single, “O Meio do Mundo.” More recently, Morelenbaum performed on an album by Bacelar and Leila Pinheiro titled “Donato.”
The Rio de Janeiro-based Morelenbaum has assembled a remarkable resume that boasts playing with seminal artists such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Sting, and David Byrne. Bacelar got his start thirty years ago as a member of Brazilian rock band Hanoi Hanoi. A copyright lawyer who helms Jasmin Music and Jasmin Studio, he’s played a role in cultivating a catalogue of Brazilian music consisting of albums and singles by Gil, Flávio Ventunini, Toninho Horta, Roberto Menescal, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, and Delia Fischer. His prolific production slate includes an upcoming February video release with Megan Nicole titled “Love Like This” followed by album that he produced paying homage to Brazilian singer-songwriter Rita Lee, a rock project releasing in March on which he sings, plays piano, and keyboards.
Bacelar is proud of “Aracati,” the unique vibe and energy of the record capturing the time he shared with Morelenbaum in the city.
“This album was made with great care and carries a grand personality. The songs tell stories, coexistence and collaboration, which we celebrate through the construction of this work. I really like the end result. ‘Aracati’ is a beautiful album of new partnerships and songs that we gathered for the project,” concludes Bacelar.
“Aracati” contains the following songs:
“Correios”
“Fogueira”
“Quando a Noite Vem”
“FI_RU_HAY_KAY”
“Caminhos de Areia”
“Milagres”
“Sargaço”
“Voo da Graúna”
“Falésias”
“Ar Livre”