1995
Bill in Brazil

Featuring two never heard bonus tracks, Monk's Ask Me Now, and an original, Pont D'Azucar

1. Samba Feliz 7:18
2. Cast Your Fate to the Wind 4:25
3. Leblon 6:06
4. She Moves On 5:23
5. Gentle Rain 7:33
6. Surfboard 5:46
7. Belinda 5:40
8. Long Time Coming 4:51
9. Cancao 5:41
10. First Encounter 6:51
11. Canto De Ossanha 5:09
12. Ask Me Now 5:15
13. Pont D'Azucar 6:06

Ricardo Silveira, Oscar Castro Neves, Ramon Stagnaro - guitar
Nico Assumpcao, Dave Carpenter, Jerry Watts - bass
Elcio Cafaro, Joe La Barbera, Alex Acuna - drums
Mingo Araujo, Brian Kilgore, Paulino Da Costa - percussion

Recorded by Talley Sherwood and Geraldo Tavares. Mastered by Joe Gastwirt.

In the liner notes to his latest release, the aptly titled Bill in Brazil, Bill Cunliffe relates the amusing story of his numerous logistical misadventures in South America. Setting out for Rio so as to lend a cultural authenticity to his Brazilian jazz venture, the pianist found out he needed a visa as well as a passport and had to divert to Buenos Aires for a weekend while waiting to straighten things out at the Brazilian embassy. Then a local terrorist attack closed the airport and he spent another night just wandering the city and hanging around jazz clubs. Finally, after surviving a psycho cab driver and a wild World Cup parade, Cunliffe defied exhaustion and set to work with some of Brazil's top musicians, creating an album of extraordinary beauty ("Long Time Coming"), demonic jazz energy ("Belinda"), and friendly tributes (Jobim's "Surfboard"). Recorded in both Rio and Los Angeles, the disc features Ricardo Silveira, Oscar Castro-Neves, drummer Elio Cafaro, pianist Marcos Ariel, and Alex Acuña. The experience also inspired Cunliffe to write four of his own tunes, in addition to Brazilian staples and pop treasures like "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and Paul Simon's hooky "She Moves On."

–Jonathan Widran