Active since the swinging sixties, Alex Malheiros received his share of fame as part of Brazilian samba trio Azymuth. The threesome, famous for their ‘Crazy Samba,’ hit the big time during the seventies and eighties, culminating in 1979 with ‘Jazz Carnival,’ which became a big hit. Ever so active now on his own, the bass player recently felt the need to return to the grooving sounds he grew up with. Supported by Banda Utopia and his daughter Sabrina – also a recording artist for some years now – ‘The Wave’ grabs the mood of the Brazilian summer perfectly. And although Malheiros is famous for his funky bass playing, ‘The Wave’ is a real team effort, focusing on his compositions rather than his musical skills.

If anything, this album shines out in a lack of prominent bass licks. It harmoniously combines easy listening jazz with the sweet tunes of electric piano, Samba percussion and the rhythm of Brazilian life after five. All instrumentals bar one, Malheiros’ bass playing only leads on ‘Four Eyed Piper’ and ‘Uno Esta,’ the latter being the only cover on this album. Opener ‘Serenity’ and title song ‘The Wave’ sees a prominent role for the jazzy pianist, showing his skills for both lounge music and quick, rhythmic classic jazz, while ‘Vola,’ ‘Baixo Partido’ and ‘Carpo’ gives the brass band the opportunity to show off a little. Sabrina Malheiros, scatting her life away on ‘Uno Esta’ and ‘The Wave,’ is also responsible for the only real vocals on ‘Sem Pressa.’ All in all, the musicians make you feel part of life in the Garden of Eden, showing that the name Banda Utopia isn’t really a coincidence.

Perfectly transformable to remixes - Jazzanova among others remixed some of the classic Azymuth songs - the album closes with two new mixes of ‘The Wave’ and two of ‘Uno Esta.’ Miles way from the peace and relaxation of the original album, the remixes would have made a great impact on the Jazz dancefloor. Here, however, it sounds rather inappropriate and cheap; repeating licks supported with dance beats only, the remixes causes the only let down on the album.