Mark Twain once said: There are three kind of lies: "Lies, damned lies and statistics!" LIES, DAMNED LIES AND STATISTICS. There's a redundancy of the same old of certain things. Mark Twain wasn't the first to attribute this statement in his autobiography. You would too. It's like, Shakespearean! 19th century, British prime minister, Benjamin Disreali was the man who said it. Perhaps, P.T. Barnum was right all along with tiny Tim and assorted others. The statement crosses all levels of hyperbole, as in this case, the Pond.

It's important to note that we, of the pop speaking English culture, acknowledge the apologist, (a person skilled in defense of the faith,) in this case, young bright Brazilian guitarist SANDRO ALBERT, with a whole new progressive view of Brazilian music. As this new THE COLOR OF THINGS, Sandro Albert will carry the torch to the future, an apologist of the 16th Century, can be construed as today's PR person, the eulogist, the purveyor of pontificating...

Let's not fog the horn of plenty, for Sandro Albert's conception is fresh, new, embracing, yet unfazed by previous Brazilian mythology, able to assimilate into his more contemporary eclectic style, together with an intricate harmonic blending of reeds, voice, keyboards to a new Bossa Nova form. There's something going on here. The ethnic, (the bottom) here is supported by the gifted percussionist Airto Moreira, who with his cousin Hermeto and Flora Purim released a flourish of great music in the seventies and eighties.

Add a hard-core, kick-up kind of guy on drums, Jimmy Branly and you have the basis of a powerful aggregation.

Imagine the rhythm section on stage, then give it back to Sandro Albert's inventive purifying voice on guitar, his writing in traditional, yet modern style, along with subtle modern voicings, human and other wise. There are other great musicians on this CD, reed player Katisse Buckingham, Russell Ferrante, piano. We played "Message From Across The Sea," "The Color Of Things" and "They Walk Among Us." There's also a nice acoustic guitar and piano duet, "Choro to Catarinaﾉ" "If We Could Dance Now" took me back to those bad old days in West Palm Beach. In the summer 1978, a band from Brazil, "Opa" played at O' Hara's on Palm Beach and every Friday- Saturday night we were there, DANCIN!!! One Sunday morning at O'Haras, Flora Purim sidled up to the microphone and sang a few, unannounced..,How cool is that! Small room with ﾔcatch your breath' Brazilian music and ambience.

You never forget those moments of musical joy. The song that'll blow you away is "Aguas" with a rap sequence, with some groovy scat singingﾉHow about twenty minutes of this in concert! They'll be dancing in the aisles.

        --Dick Crockett