Brazilian duo bring tropical lilt to SF Jazz Festival

October 26, 2:12 PMBay Area Jazz ExaminerDavid Becker

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Gal Costa is one of the key figures in modern Brazilian music.

San Francisco Jazz Festival

There was a bit of a chill in the air outside on Sunday night. But inside the Herbst Theater, it was all warm tropical languor, as Brazilian singer Gal Costa and guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves brought an enchanting air of Rio relaxation to their San Francisco Jazz Festival.

The performers are both key figures in the "Tropicalia" movement that brought Brazilian music into the modern age and presented the world with epochal talents such Antonio Carlos Jobim and Gilberto Gil.

For Sunday's SF Jazz Festival appearance, the pair amiably wandered through a "best of Brazil" selection of classic tunes, from "Corcovado" to "Girl from Ipanema." Costa remains remarkably consistent, considering that she's been at this for some 40 years, still gracing each song with a breezy, intimate style that neither demands or rewards any attempts at vocal acrobatics.

Castro-Neves revealed more straighahead jazz influence than one might expect, alternately coaxing out languid tropical rhythms and intricate melodic runs. He showed an odd attachment to effects, though, sometimes weighing down tunes with tinny-sounding synthetic orchestration.