The Ipanemas

With only a small handful of discs actually bearing their name, musicians Wilson da Neves and Neco have largely earned their keep in the trenches of the Brazilian recording industry, cutting tracks behind some of the country’s greatest singers and songwriters of the past 40 years. But Call of The Gods takes the Ipanemas back to the decidedly Afro-Brazilian roots of their early ’60s debut, blending rich, enveloping samba moods with more rhythmically rustic offerings common to Brazil’s prevailing African-based religions. Das Neves’ warm, knowing vocal delivery on "Era Bom” offers a perfect pairing to the fuzzy trombone phrasings that accentuate the tune, a feeling matched via flugelhorn on instrumental samba "Tema do Neco.” Conversely, the breezy ocean sounds and propulsive Atabaque percussion of "Dorivᔠand shuffling, earthy rhythm of cuts like "Canto Pra Oxum” and set closer "Afro Imortais” bring the disc back to the spiritual connection that its title suggests.