Samba Bamba – Sambasized! (Album Review)

Sambasized! is another highly accomplished 9-track album, conjured from the skill and imagination of Richard Knight Jr. Already a powerhouse of a songwriter, Knight Jr here shows his prowess in the genre of Samba, creating 9 original pieces that were played in his Samba band: Samba Bamba beginning in 1994. The tracks feature the band’s musicians, including an incredible talent from the female vocalist, Jen Zias.

This is another studio album, with clean instrument inputs and a balanced mix offering great vocal clarity. Regardless of whether you like the genre or not, this is a record to put on and feel your body start to zing! It’s filled with infectious human energy and a playfulness that is often less utilised in other genres.

The first track is ‘Lust for Samba’ with lyrics that call listeners to action: get dancing! This opens with a lovely, slow, sexy groove, where every instrument works in harmony, locking in a rhythm that is impossible not to move to! The simple chorus is whisper-sung ‘Lust for Samba!’ which offers a nice additional texture. The piano offers some nice moments of interest, with some lower, dark, creative stabs. Halfway through, there is an excellent buildup to a double-time switch. Fully opened up, this song then delivers infectious energy in piano and trumpet solos. There are lovely moments again of interaction between the instruments in the soloing, showing an intimate knowledge and understanding that band members build up together. Lovely breaks that would be joyous as an instrumentalist, the song feels like it refuses to end! In a playful ‘false’ turn effect, that means that a dancing audience is going to enjoy that woozy feeling of suddenly getting back into the groove. A fun, accomplished, confident and indicative track to start the record with.

Next is ‘Come When the Music Calls’, which offers lyrics that reinforce the message for continued audience movement and participation. It’s notable that the lyrics are about the music, adding to the impact of the song. This is an interesting second track which crosses over from Samba to pop/funk/dance…maybe even Ska! The vocals are more 80’s pop in delivery, with a sung hook that wouldn’t sound out of place in a modern EDM track. This is an interesting second track, it’s certainly infectious, but could have been produced to fit several different musical styles perhaps.

Track number three is ‘All At Once’, which shows a funkier edge to the genre. Lyrically, we have a more romantic angle, showing how music can bring people together in synergy. Kudos to the bass player in this track, who seamlessly moves between the verses where the bassline drives the song forward and the chorus’s funky slap-bass style. This track also really showcases the female vocalist with Jen’s strong, rounded tone and impressive vocal agility. The chorus is quite catchy, and due to the strength of the bassline, it’s again a song that’s impossible not to physically move to! This has a nice, concise, well-considered ending to this track.

‘Cha Cha Heels’ is track number 4, opening with more ominous chords and suspense, giving way to darker lyrics in a more narrative format. The lyrics are playful in their rhyming pattern, kudos for rhyming ‘next’ with ‘Kleenex’. The vocal delivery is flamboyant and animated, fully committed to portraying the story as one of dystopian fascination. This song is driven by the driving bassline and frenetic piano. The solo interlude has a wonderful theatrical spoken word moment; this feels like seeing a live show! This could have been topped and tailed with a live audience applause; this is like theatre meets ‘song’ format, and I like how far this is pushed.

‘Lover’s Moon’ comes in 5th with a sophisticated feel and that smooth, mature female vocal. The triangle and chime curtain elements offers a really lovely shimmery analogy to the moon, and the close backing vocals further reinforce this. A classy song, this has a wonderful vintage silver screen glamour to it. The refrain ‘Lover’s Moon’ is a really strong one to bed in the beautiful chords. The dusty, breathy trombone solo is wonderful, too. A really relaxing song that fades out gently. This is a really strong song.

Track number 6 is ‘Chica’ named after the band’s mascot! Within a few seconds of the introduction, it’s clear this mascot is a dog- from the barking noises! A true samba track, this track matches the energy of the music to the topic with wit. The playful, whimsical chorus lyrics portray a light-hearted song, but don’t think that means the performance is anything less than serious musical talent and delivery. I love the clear three-part vocals, particularly the female octave, which is loose and relaxed over the main vocal line. Jen Zias’s soft flourishes in the vocals are synonymous with how you would talk in a higher tone to a cute dog. It’s a nice touch, and I think it would be enjoyed by humans and dogs alike, as it’s packed with small-dog energy.

‘Chica’ had offered an exciting, fast-paced track, but next we open with the promise of an even higher tempo! ‘(I’ve Got My) Heart on Right’ (the Sugarloaf version) opens with just percussion and breathing noises, which is very fitting, as the speed of this track will leave you breathless! The lovely piano part helps to keep this song grounded and sophisticated through its pace. There is a lovely call and response from the male and female ‘lovers’, showing how Richard Knight Jr keeps playing with a theatrical element throughout this record. Somehow, a brilliantly fast solo gives way to a nice modulated section. Eventually, some funky electric guitar joins in a full party, before the song fades quickly to end.

The penultimate track is ‘Let the Night Go On’, which returns to another smooth, calmer number led by the excellent female vocal, supported by Knight Jr on backing vocals. Another celestial theme in the lyrics, delivered in great prosody through the melody and chords. This is a wonderful vocal performance that really suits her style of delivery. The song moves through its sections at quite a pace, and ends at 3:15. It could easily be lengthened a little more for enjoyment: perhaps adding some breaks between verses and chorus to delineate each section further, adding some pause for breath and reflection for the listener.

Now we are all calmed down for the final track, which is ‘Keep Dancing’, which is another high-tempo samba asking the audience to get up and move to the music. This offers a nice cycle back to the themes of the initial tracks on the record, showing good thought has been given to track order. The chorus lists styles of dance/music in a complex melody that showcases impressive vocal control. The male and female often sing in unison octaves, which works well to ensure the listener doesn’t get lost amongst the significant note changes.

Overall, Sambasized! is a great collection of originals that are all incredibly well written and composed by Knight Jr, and brilliantly played by all musicians featured on the tracks. The record could be elevated further by ‘lifting’ the listener into a live audience format to match some of the energy that can be felt in the music and singing. Adding a live audience element at the start and end of tracks would help transport me to a hot jazz club venue in my mind. How about some foley of a cigarette being lit, a floorboard creaking, a piano stool being pulled out? A martini glass being put down? Also, the songs could be produced to support that live feel through potentially using more slap delay on instruments and vocals, or a little more reverb to create a ‘room’ feel. Live claps, clicks, body percussion could help add depth, or even some vocals sung far back from the microphone (Think ‘The JBs’  You Can Have Watergate Just Gimme Some Bucks And I’ll Be Straight’). There are some really strong, memorable tracks here, in particular Lover’s Moon, and Lust for Samba.

SCORE/Excellent: A solid, reliably professional and accomplished record, showcasing incredible talent by all involved. The songs are really well written, composed, arranged and performed. This misses ‘Outstanding’ only in that it feels like a clean Studio mix, where Samba needs to evoke that nostalgic, innate human movement that sounds like a sweaty hot night in a backroom of a secret club in a lesser-known alleyway.

[We rank singles, EP’s and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent and Outstanding]

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