Florence K Brésil, mon amour

I fell in love with the music of Antônio Carlos Jobim when I was a teenager. Like many people, I already knew the famous melody of "The Girl from Ipanema", but I wasn't familiar with the rest of his work. Then I landed a job as a pianist at the Stash Café, a Polish restaurant in Old Montreal, and to add to my repertoire, my mother gave me a book of scores of Jobim's complete repertoire. So it was on weekend evenings, between plates of pierogis on St-Paul Street, sitting at the restaurant's old piano, that I had the pleasure of discovering the richness and beauty of the songs of the greatest Brazilian composer the 20th century has given us.
Completely fascinated by the perfection of the melodies and ingenious chords of the founding father of bossa nova, I've bought every possible version of his works, performed by Jobim as well as some of the world's greats, including Frank Sinatra, Joao Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto, Elis Regina, Eliane Elias, Stan Getz and dozens of others.
I've never tired of hearing them sing of love, joy, nostalgia, saudade, sadness, celebration, nature, Rio, the little and big ups and downs of life... And although I've often inserted some of his musical gems in my shows or albums, I've always cherished the dream of recording a complete album of Jobim's music.

This dream came true last year, when Belgian guitarist Nicolas Fizsman was in the studio of my friend, producer Nick Petrowski. He called to tell me that I absolutely had to come and record something with the musical genius that is Nicolas Fizsman, and that Jobim's repertoire would be a thing of beauty between his fingers.

Three days later, it was done. Nicolas's guitar playing was too beautiful, too touching, too meaningful for us to even imagine adding a band, strings or anything else to his music. But true to my instrument, I sprinkled these bossa nova tunes with a few piano notes here and there. The project was piloted by Nick Petrowski, whose mix reflects a mood worthy of the early days when bossa nova rocked the entire planet, in the early 1960s.

I have sung these pieces with all my heart, with all my soul, and with the greatest respect for Brazilian musical culture and Jobim's poetry, the very same that has lulled me for decades. I hope that the love I put into this project will be reflected in your listening experience, and that Jobim's music will transport you to a universe where the chaos of our world disappears for a moment.

You'll also find a single piece on the album that isn't by Jobim, but rather by Jorge Ben, "Take it Easy My Brother Charles". It's a little gift I gave myself, and I'm sure Jobim would have approved!

Florence K
Brésil, mon amour