Also coming out today: Arthur Verocai

"Arthur Verocai is a genius, one of the finest" - Quantic
"I could listen to (the Arthur Verocai) album everyday for the rest of my life" - Madlib

The first time I read Arthur Verocai's name in an album cover was on Som Imaginario's masterpiece, A Matança do Porco (Odeon) in 1973, when I was 10 years old. Verocai, Gaya and Paulo Moura were the orchestra conductors on that superb album.
Later on, I became astonished with his great arrangements for Ivan Lins' "Modo Livre" LP in 1974, on which he also played acoustic & electric guitars. I could never dream that, 27 years later, I would be able to produce the CD reissue of "Modo Livre on that acclaimed "RCA 100 Years of Music series~, distributed all over the world by BMG. Nor that I would record some sessions on Verocai`s old studio in Copacabana, back in 1995, for the album Almost In Love - Ithamara Koorax Sings Luiz Bonfa.

Now, the man is back on the block. His new studio album, Encore, recorded 2 years ago in Rio, is being released today (in Europe) by the Far Out label. In England`s dancefloor jazz scene, Verocai is regarded by many as Brazil's answer to David Axelrod & Charles Stepney. Featuring 11 new originals with guest musicians including Azymuth (Dona das Meninas, Eu Quero Paz), Ivan Lins (Filhos) and a nine-piece string section, with orchestral help from Azymuth`s Bertrami, 'Encore' is the highly anticipated follow up to Arthur's eponymous debut solo album from 1972, reissued on CD some years ago.