An effusively performed minor classic of Brazilian jazz fusion, percussionist Airto Moreira's 1988 album Samba de Flora found him diving into an organic mix of originals and covers alongside equally gifted collaborators including his wife vocalist Flora Purim, Argentine pianist Jorge Dalto, bassist Alphonso Johnson, percussionist Don Alias, Cuban conga player Cachete, and others. The album was originally released on the cult independent Montuno Records label, based out of the Record Mart record store located in the Times Square subway station.
This classic solo debut aptly captures the feeling of a loner retreating from the noisy tension of life with others and finding solace in musical solitude. It was, in fact, recorded alone on a four-track in a basement, and there's a restless unhappiness in his fragmented stories of alienated urbanites. After that description, a reference to the definitive folk loner, Nick Drake, is inevitable -- Smith's whispery vocals, haunting melodies, and able fingerpicking deserve the comparison.