Oscar Castro Neves - Oscar! (1987)

“Few musicians in the world today can boast a career that reflects a lifetime of accomplishments as diverse, rich and acclaimed as those Oscar Castro Neves has achieved. Renowned as a composer and arranger for his sophisticated harmonic concepts and the exquisite texture and color of his orchestrations, he is equally well known for his distinctive guitar style and as an accomplished record producer who has worked with dozens of major artists in a wide range of jazz, popular, Brazilian and classical idioms.

Famed jazz critic Leonard Feather wrote of Oscar, "The crystalline beauty of his arrangements is matched by the rare delicacy with which they are interpreted. Oscar Castro Neves is incapable of creating a dull moment, but that is an understatement: He is only capable of generating rhythmic, harmonic and melodic joy."

These two first paragraphs were taken from official Oscar Castro Neves website, since I could not make a better introduction to this post, that brings Oscar Castro Neves and Paul Winter on Oscar's 1987 album titled Oscar!

This is Oscar Castro Neves - Oscar! (1987), for Columbia. It is amazing that this album has gone out of print so early; Oscar Castro Neves has the accompaniment of members from what is called The Paul Winter Consort, bringing Paul Winter (sax) and others. Oscar Castro Neves is in charge of production, arrangements and playing also several instruments, as detailed on personnel listing. Tracks include:

Personnel

Oscar Castro Neves
(organ, vocal, guitar, percussion, piano, arrangements)
Ted Moore, Marcio Sapel, Gulherme Franco
(percussion)
John Clark
(flugelhorn, French horn)
Eugene Friesen
(cello)
Rus Landau
(bass, production)
Rhonda Larson
(flute)
Paul Halley
(organ, piano, pipe organ)
Paul Winter
(sax alto, sax soprano)

Track List

01 - Rancho do Carioca (Oscar Castro Neves)
02 - Rio Dawning (Oscar Castro Neves)
03 - Song For Joyce (Oscar Castro Neves)
04 - Summer Winds (P. Halley)
05 - Air On a 6 String (Johann Sebastian Bach)
06 - Onde Está Você (In Search For You) (Oscar Castro Neves / Luvercy Fiorini)
07 - Saudade (Nostalgic Longing) (Oscar Castro Neves)
08 - Bahia Calling (Oscar Castro Neves)
09 - Forgotten Dreams (Oscar Castro Neves)
10 - Luisana (Oscar Castro Neves)
11 - Cat Song (Tradicional) Música tradicional brasileira
12 - Street Corner Samba (Oscar Castro Neves)