Album Review: Christmastime in Rio from Romero Lubambo and Pamela Driggs

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Album:  Christmastime in Rio
Artists:  Romero Lubambo and Pamela Driggs
Label:  Sunnyside Records
Website:  https://www.romerolubambo.com

Ringing in the holiday season, vocalist Pamela Driggs and her husband, guitarist Romero Lubambo, present Christmastime in Rio to audiences.  The 12-track holiday special is a selection of ambient, fireside melodies that will enliven spirits and elicit good cheer.  Joining the couple is their daughter Luisa on vocals in addition to Peter Martin on piano, Vitor Gonçalves on accordion, Joe Locke on vibraphone, Itaiguara Brandão on bass, and Rafael Barata on drums.

Lubambo's breezy guitar strokes illuminating "Christmas Love Song" encircle Driggs's vocals in whispery flutters like sparkles radiating from tinsel on a tree.  Driggs cradles the lyrics with a perceptive regard for family ties, emblematic of a nightingale.  Her phrasing displays a sentimentality with warm timbres that are magnetic.  She expresses a lovingness that is endearing, kindling a familial bond that vibrates throughout the recording.

Their rendition of "Silent Night" is tweaked with echoey vocals and a reverberating resonance that gives the melody a dreamy texture, traversing to a balmy, moonlight atmosphere along "Presenta de Natal."  The track is anchored by a boss nova-induced rhythm, as the twinkles materializing from Joe Locke's vibraphone sow warm shimmers through the melody.  The pair's love and gratefulness for family is intimated in each track, as Driggs emotes an endearing sentimentality for familial ties.

Lubambo and Driggs create a cozy, fireside ambience for people to relax and meditate over familial bonds.  Combining classic holiday motifs with Latin rhythms, the couple hone a festive mood with the simplicity of warm vocals and smooth serenading in the melodic trimmings.

Musicians:
Romero Lubambo - guitar, percussion and all arrangements
Pamela Driggs - vocals and background vocals
Luisa Lubambo - vocals, background vocals, and all background vocal arrangements
Peter Martin - piano
Vitor Gonçalves - accordion
Joe Locke - vibraphone
Itaiguara Brandão - bass
Rafael Barata - drums

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