Sandy Cressman's "Homenagem Brasileira" celebrates the groove and passion of great Brazilian composers such as Hermeto Pascoal, Dori Caymmi, Edu Lobo, Milton Nascimento and more, with original arrangements that stay true to the beauty of the compositions themselves.
In the words of Larry Kelp of "Express":
"What Cressman and her musicians brought to the evening was a reverential tribute to the spirit of Brazil through its music, a sensual and warm performance that was both celebration and showcase for Cressman's fine singing."
Jesse Varela of Latin Beat:
"Homenagem Brasileira" is a cool shower of interpretive works that showcases the warmly superb and crystalline voice of this emerging diva.....The uptempo samba "Vale O Escrito" opens it and threads very nicely this well sequenced album. The melodicism of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Felicidade" showcases her superb intonation while the "Ivan Lins Medley", a passioinate rendition of six Lins classics, shows its radiance.
The band at Mo Pitkins will include Jovino Santos Neto, the Rio-born pianist and former musical director for Hermeto Pascoal, Peter Apfelbaum on Saxophones, and bassist Patrice Blanchard.