The popularity of Brazilian song in the United States blossomed during the 1960s as the sounds of bossa nova and samba entered the spheres of jazz and popular music. The classic repertoire of Jobim, Gilberto, etc. have remained iconic and are routinely revisited in standard arrangements. Vocalist/composer Catina DeLuna and pianist/composer/arranger Otmaro Ruíz have chosen a different path, one highlighting obscure Brazilian gems and offering vastly revised versions of well-known classics in performance and on record. Their new recording, Lado B Brazilian Project 2, provides a perfect example of their achievements.

Originally from São Paulo, DeLuna moved to the States to get her Master’s degree, eventually settling in Los Angeles. Her talent and expertise in Brazilian music gained DeLuna a following, including the legendary drummer, Peter Erskine. It was Erskine who introduced DeLuna to Ruíz, a brilliant Venezuelan pianist and composer who had long made Los Angeles his home and established himself in the jazz and world music scenes.

DeLuna knew Ruíz’s work and had hoped to work with him and, when he heard DeLuna’s work, Ruíz knew that her command and artistic integrity would allow for a musical collaboration that could go anywhere artistically. After they were introduced, the couple’s mutual appreciation grew deeper, leading from a musical relationship to a personal one. Their partnership became a marriage in music and in life.