

Sulinha's trio (with Eduardo Mercuri and Julio Santos)
Fall 2018 MusicWith traditional and contemporary instruments and evocative sound effects, Brazilian singer-songwriter-music educator Sulinha and musicians Eduardo Mercuri and Julio Santos transform staples of children's music through remarkably sophisticated and mellow jazz arrangements of simple original songs—about pedestrian safety (a percussive "Cross the Street"), dental care ("I Brush My Teeth," sung in English and Portuguese on separate tracks), phonetics, vowels, and more-shaped around a memorable rhythmic sway. More highlights: "A Day on the Farm," irresistibly delivered Bossa Nova-style; the sweetly meditative "Rain Rain Rain," and a non-rhyming, factual but exotic evocation of elephants and their characteristics ("Elephants in the Jungle").