Anne Simoni’s Debut CD
Minas Terra

Philadelphia - Brazilian singer and songwriter Anne Simoni’s exquisite debut CDdisplays a mastery of complex Brazilian rhythms including samba, bossa nova and baiao, reflecting the influence of musical greats Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento, and Gilberto Gil whose rhythms permeated her youth.  Evoking a serene sense of place, Simoni’s songs are both biographical and inspirational, tracking the twists and turns of her life defined by love, loss, hope and renewal. 

Many songs reflect the artist’s longing for her ancestral homeland, including the bewitching melody, “Minas Terra,” the album’s title song.  Recalling her province, Minas Gerais (Land of the precious stone and gold mines), the song is a moving and tender anthem to the home she left behind, a sentiment echoed in the bossa nova ”Back to Brazil” (sung in English), in which she muses upon her return.  The gentle samba “Áquas de Cambuquira,” conjures the natural fountains of mineral water found in the city of Cambuquira, the artist’s birthplace.

Powerful and haunting romantic ballads like “Este Sentimento” (This feeling) and “Longe de Mim” (Far from me) sung in Simoni’s signature seductive, sultry tone, express a yearning for emotional connection.  These are counterpoised by infectious, upbeat danceable rhythms like the baiao tune “Papagaio,” about a Brazilian parrot locked in a cage, destined to learn English rather than its native Portuguese, and “Unidos da Lavra,” a samba evocative of the authentic carnival parade.

Featuring Sergio Mendes musicians Carlos Yutaka on keyboards, Kleber Jorge on guitar and Mike Shapiro on drums, and arrangements by Brazilian guitarist Edgar de Almeida, Philadelphians Dan Kleiman and Joe Mass, Minas Terra , offers a rich blend of tropical rhythms infused by lyrics that deftly traverse emotional terrains of exuberance and desire.