Michael Franks

For his 17th album, Rendezvous in Rio (his first for Koch Records - in stores June 27), Michael Franks sways to a very familiar South American beat. The CD marks a 180-degree shift in scenario and temperature zone from his previous project, the holiday/winter CD Watching the Snow. On Rendezvous, Michael collaborates with old friends/producers Jeff Lorber, Jimmy Haslip (of the fusion band Yellowjackets) and guitarist Chuck Loeb, as well as newer partners engineer/bassist Scott Petito and his touring Musical Director and keyboardist Charles Blenzig. Blenzig proved literally 'instrumental' in the creation of the funky, melodic bossa that became the title track, "Rendezvous in Rio." "That song was originally an instrumental with a different title from a record that Charles recorded," Michael shares. "It was more Latin than Brazilian, but that was the first music I sat down and wrote to for this album in September of 2005." Brazilian music, culture and vibe have haunted Michael's work from early on. The country's renowned composer Antonio Carlos Jobim has been such a significant influence on his writing that Michael has dedicated three songs to him over the years: "Antonio's Song (The Rainbow)," "Like Water, Like Wind" and "Abandoned Garden." And for his third album, Sleeping Gypsy (1977), Michael flew down to Rio to record two now-classic compositions: "Down in Brazil" and "B'Wana-He No Home." Listening to his catalog as well as new songs like "Under the Sun," one might assume that Michael has journeyed often to the land of the cafe' au lait cariocas...but he's only been once. The first song Michael recorded for Rendezvous in Rio, which set the tone for the CD, represents a rarity for Michael - a cover. Though he has written lyrics for previously composed songs before, the songwriter isn't one to do straight renditions of other people's material. The fortunate exception here is a charming piece by Paolo Jobim and Ronaldo Bastos titled "Samba do Soho" that features lovely exchanges between the guitar and flute 'trading 8s.' "I admire this piece very much," Michael states. "There's just something so enduringly happy about it. My friends Astrud Gilberto and Paolo gave me a demo cassette of the song years ago. She'd recorded it on an album with the James Last Orchestra and Paolo had sung it on his father’s (Antonio Carlos Jobim’s) album, Passarim." Dueting with Michael on the chorus in Portugese is singer Pamela Driggs (wife of guitarist Romero Lubambo who plays on the title track). Another gem of the album is "The Chemistry of Love", an evocative meditation on organic oneness between a man and a woman. It's a composition of Michael's that was first recorded as the title track of an album by Japanese Flugelhorn player, Toku. For his own version, Michael called upon keyboardist Jeff Lorber at the start of this project and, as always, received simpatico results. "I gave Lorber 'Chemistry' and we talked about possible players. Jeff jumped on the song right away and e-mailed me an arrangement a few days later that was great." Receiving that track from Lorber so quickly got Michael's creative juices flowing for the tasks ahead of laying out the rest of the album, the most important aspect of which - beyond composing - is casting the proper musicians for each song as he goes...something for which he has become an undisputed master. From Gary Meek's laidback solo and sectional sax work that colors the clever wordplay of "Scatsville" (dig Michael's recurring scat line here) to Eric Marienthal's tangier tenor on the more robust ‘unrequited love’ song "The Question is Why," every player is hand-picked with the finesse of first class interior design. Moving into the meat of Rendezvous in Rio, we find four exceptionally introspective pieces that provide a peak into Michael's past and the fabric of his artistic self. The first is yet another selection from his musical Noa Noa that explores the life of the painter Gauguin. Since 1990, selecti