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

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias (born 19 March 1960) is a Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, composer and arranger. Biography Elias was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on 19 March 1960. She started studying piano when she was seven, and at age twelve she was transcribing ...

. The record was released in 1996 via

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

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 online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' 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 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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 times. Biography He began studying accordion at age 5 after noticing it in The Lawrence ...

*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 Mus ...

(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 ...

(tracks: 1 5 7) *Percussion –

Café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

(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. ...

(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