The Music of Ed Johnson: Movimento

This takes me back to my days at Messiah College, and the joys of Yahoo! Launchcast which may sadly no longer exist. I think this might particularly have been around those summers when I worked the night shift as a custodial assistant. After work got done, I usually walked over to one of our computer labs and spent a lot of my time listening to Launchcast. My musical list must have been quite eclectic because every so often a non-English track would come up - typically Spanish or Portuguese - and I got to indulge my taste buds in something different. (Must've been some variations on the Jazz preference I had chosen).

Anyway, one day I get this impressive Portuguese track that just resonates with my soul. Pretty guitar playing, wonderful percussion, all set to this fast paced tempo. At first glance of the artist, I'd have thought he was some ordinary Brazilian/Portuguese artist; it was only later that I came to find out that he was American (based out of Palo Alto, California), and that Portuguese is not his native tongue. This shouldn't be so strange, though, considering that bands have a flair for touring through multiple locations and picking influences as they go. I recall that the Pat Metheny Group - Pat himself receives a shout-out in the liner notes for this album - did an extensive tour of Brazil and a lot of that influence is palpable in a lot of his early works, especially Minuano (Six Eight).

Off the strength of the title track, I ended up buying the whole album, and later on 2 more albums from his back catalog. Time and time again, though, I find myself gravitating towards this album in particular. It really has something for every mood: Jazzy samba, ballads, dirges and even purely instrumental tracks. The track "Movimento" typifies something great about a lot of the songs on this album; they all have this "spark" that may occur at some moment in the song, and once you get to it, you just know you love the song.

1. In Movimento, this occurs one minute in, when you hear him belt out "...El Mundo a rodar..." for the first time; it lets you know that Ed Johnson is a professional at what he's doing, and he has the "pipes"to prove it. 
2. In "Exceto Nõs", the intro horn section lets me know I have a winner. 
3. In "Scotch Baião", a track where the soloing is shared between his guitar and a horn player, the horn section at 2:35 is the most beautiful portion of the whole song.
4. "O Bom Alvinho": I had initially tended to avoid this track, but when I gave it a listen, the portion where he engages in "scat-singing" (and especially its finale) keeps me enthralled for the whole tune.
5. "For T": beautiful instrumental track with occasional humming. The harmonized humming that closes out the track is the highlight of the song.
6.  "Silent Heart": haunting melody with a beautiful muted horn used to great effect; the only track sang in English. Here again, the harmonized humming that brings the track to a close caps off a great performance, and bookends a wonderful album. 

Sadly, the only track out of the ten that I've been unable to fall in love with is "Tara". This is by far the most straight ahead Jazz track on the recording. I just can't seem to resonate with the track.

All in all, it's still a solid effort. 4 instrumental tracks (Scotch Baião, Light's Return, For T and Tara), 2 Ballads (Exceto Nõs, Silent Heart), 2 cover songs (O Bom Alvinho, A felicidade), a requiem (Remembrance) and the wonderful title track.

The album is infinitely enjoyable and is something that you'll definitely play a couple of times. (my CD might currently be worse for wear). Grade A performance from a master craftsman. Definitely give it a listen if you have a chance.


God Bless