Rosa Passos - Me and my Heart (2001)

A combination of new and old material, Me and My Heart is a heartwarming release featuring only Rosa Passos (voice and acoustic guitar) and Paulo Paulelli (bass and mouth percussion). Recorded in only 4 days, the album sounds like a private performance with Rosa in your own living room. The album was first released in the international market and a year later in Brazil with the title Eu e Meu Corao.
This album contains a few songs previously released by Rosa Passos in some of her other albums, but with different arrangements. Instead of orchestral settings, we hear just voice, acoustic guitar and bass. Collectors and Rosa Passos fervent fans of course love the opportunity to hear her singing her standard repertoire, especially when that includes original songs such as "Juras," "Dunas" and "Minuano." Out of the batch of tunes not previously heard in Rosa's voice, "gua Doce" is the first in Me and My Heart. Paulelli's bass solos in this track are very rich and envelope Rosa's voice very gently and beautifully. The Pinto/Zilda classic "Aos Ps da Cruz" is very melancholic as is the case of the title track, "Eu e Meu Corao." Clearly one has the feeling that Rosa is almost whispering sweet nothings in our ears. Though she has not recorded Chico Buarque very often, it is a joy to hear Rosa's rendition for "Desencontro." At times, Rosa's voice is so tender that it sounds like she is singing a lullaby to get a child to sleep ("Se o Tempo Entendesse"). One of my all-time favorite Rosa Passos songs is "Dunas." Contrary to the original arrangement in Festa, here we hear a slower version of that song. The beauty of that song is everlasting. Before closing the album with Jobim's "guas de Maro," Rosa presents us with a moving rendition of Donato/Lysias' "Mentiras." As for "guas de Maro," Paulelli's mouth percussion is awesome, and Rosa does a remarkable job in her performance, too. Her voice and guitar accompaniment are outstanding in creating a nice duet between artist and instrument enhancing Jobim's voluminous lyrics.