I never doubted Maria Rita’s talent, though I was always suspicious of her music. To start with, being Elis Regina’s daughter can be more challenging than helpful if you decide to follow the parent’s steps as she did! But the truth is that after listening to Elo I have to say that her fourth album is exactly what I would like to hear from her, a good mix of samba and MPB influences with the slightest flirtation with jazz.

The tracklist is full of songs that are part of her repertory – but not her compositions – putting Rita in the interpreter role where she seems most comfortable. Together with the incredible work done by the power trio Tiago Costa (pianist), Sylvinho Mazzucca (acoustic bass) and Cuca Teixeira (drums), Rita challenges herself by interpreting Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Rita Lee and Djavan, among other giants of Brazilian music. Many of the songs were chosen by fan’s requests during live performances, the same fans who noticed the four-year-long-gap between her third album Samba Meu and Elo but who ultimately weren’t dissapointed when this CD finally arrived.

From this excellent material I would highlight the first track “Conceição dos Coqueiros” together with “Menino do Rio”, “A História de Lilly Braun”, “Nem um Dia” and “A Outra” – where I agree with Maria Rita when she recommends the heartbroken singing this in the four corners of their house – and the beautiful bonus track “Coração em Desalinho”.

This album sees Rita warming up for the the biggest challenge in her career, which is the project Viva Elis where she is singing her mother’s songs in a Brazilian tour that started in March this year.

Elo is a confident step, after early Latin Grammy success, a couple of million copies sold worldwide in the 10 years following her debut album and true proof that she didn’t want to let her hair down for so long.

You can buy Elo from Amazon and iTunes

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