My Favorite Cover Songs (94) "Setembro" Quincy Jones, Ivan Lins, Pedro Aznar, Marcus Miller

Following the Brazilian connection from last time, here is another song for autumn. September is "setembro" in Portuguese. I discovered this song on Quincy Jones's album "Back on the Block" (1989). It was his first album in eight years since the hit "The Dude," and it was highly acclaimed for featuring numerous luxurious guests.
This song has the subtitle "Brazilian Wedding Song," and it is a vocalise track overflowing with a sense of celebration, just as the title suggests. The vocals are by Take 6 (a male chorus group) and Sarah Vaughan! It features a beautiful melody that evokes early autumn (or early spring in Brazil?), along with refreshing instrumentation and chorus work. The electric piano is played by Herbie Hancock.

This song led me to get hooked on the composer, Ivan Lins (a Brazilian singer and composer, born 1945). I searched for imported CDs and even went to his concert at Blue Note Tokyo. Lins is still active today and remains a pillar of Brazilian music. This is the original version of the song.

This is from a 2002 live album by the Argentine singer and multi-instrumentalist Pedro Aznar (born 1959). He participated as a vocalist on several Pat Metheny Group works, leaving a strong impression with his beautiful voice, which is often described as angelic. "Dream of the Return" from "Letter from Home" (1989) is just the best.

Marcus Miller (born 1959) is a charismatic jazz-fusion bassist who covered this on his 2012 album. The vocals are by jazz singer Gretchen Parlato, and the interplay with the bass in the latter half is truly wonderful.
I believe Marcus Miller will be in the middle of his performances at Blue Note Tokyo around the time this article is published.