Camila Meza, Ámbar Review

Camila Meza is a composer, vocalist and guitarist from Chili. Her music is a magical blend of influences from South American rhythms and jazz harmonies and melodies. Meza has been methodically making a name for herself, starting with her first recording with Giovanni Cultrera, Espinoza y Cia (Navidad en Jazz), which was released in 2005. Soon Meza released her debut album Skylark, which further captured the ears of fans and critics alike. Meza followed with Retrato (2009); Prisma (2013); Traces (2016); and now, Ámbar. Meza’s vocals and guitar are expanded by the sound of The Nectar Orchestra, under the direction of bassist and arranger Noam Wiesenberg. The album contains twelve compositions full of outstanding sounds, playing and singing. Ámbar is Meza’s first recording for the Sony Music Entertainment Masterworks label.

Positives: Interesting sounds form the strings, solid guitar playing and in the pocket singing.

Bottom Line: Ámbar certainly is grounded in Meza’s South American roots, with each track having influences in both rhythmic and melodic embellishments throughout the album. Highlights include the opening track, “Kallfu,” which shows Meza’s range as a vocalist and guitarist. “All Your Colors” has an outstanding string orchestration that frames Meza’s dramatic melody. “Milagre dos Peixes” has interesting guitar/vocal passages and beautiful lyrics. The hues and song form is always changing and developing. In general, that is the key to the success of Ámba, which is the wide sonic and vocal palette that is used to paint wonderful musical colors that is jazz and beyond. Being a Masterworks recording means that the sound quality is excellent, allowing all the beautiful subtleties of Meza and The Nectar Orchestra to sound through. That’s the short of It!