Raul de Souza

Boasting a distinctive and highly appealing tone, Raul de Souza was a Brazilian trombonist who kept busy in the '70s but faded into obscurity in the '80s. De Souza, although essentially a jazz artist, was quite versatile -- he played his share of fusion, pop-jazz, and Brazilian jazz, but could also handle funk and disco. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 23, 1934, de Souza was employed as a sideman by some of Brazil's musical heavyweights in the '70s, including Sergio Mendez, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira, and Milton Nascimento. The trombonist, who also appeared on '70s albums by Sonny Rollins and Cal Tjader, signed with Capitol in 1976, and his first Capitol session, Sweet Lucy, was released the following year. Both Sweet Lucy and de Souza's second Capitol date, Don't Ask My Neighbors, were produced by George Duke. But de Souza changed producers on his next album, 'Til Tomorrow Comes, which was produced by Arthur Wright and found the Rio native jumping on the disco bandwagon. Devoid of jazz, the 1979 release is pure disco. 'Til Tomorrow Comes was his last album for Capitol -- after that, he faded into obscurity. All three of de Souza's Capitol albums are out of print, although his 1974 recording, Colors, is available on CD as part of Fantasy's Original Jazz Classics series. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide