Romero Lubambo - Softly

The sound of the guitar always fascinated me, even before I started playing the instrument. This includes the electric guitar, classical guitar, steel string acoustic guitar, and all the variations of string instruments. So it was always a dream of mine to record a CD using different combinations of those sounds to create interesting textures for each song.

I chose the songs and worked the arrangements with my wife, Pamela Driggs, in a way of keeping the same romantic vibe from the beginning to the end of the CD. To me, the music is best when accompanied by candlelight, a nice glass of wine, and the one you love close by. I chose five American standards, four well-known Brazilian songs, and five of my own originals. All are songs that I love and are really appropriate to create the mood I wanted.

Each original has an important reason to be here. Not only are the melodies well suited for the ambiance of the recording, but most have beautiful lyrics by Pamela. "Nature's Beauty" and "By the Stream" were written by Pamela and me for our daughter Luisa. "Fly So High" was inspired by a spectacular heron that lives in our neighborhood and visits our backyard frequently. "Heaven Here" is about the feeling in our home, and "Pamela Elaine," I wrote for my wife.

I'm very happy with the results of this project, and I hope you feel as good listening to it as I did recording it. Enjoy!

- Romero

GUITAR LISTING

A. Casa Gonzales - classical guitar (Spain)

B. Dieter Hopf - classical guitar (Germany)

C. Yamaha AEX 1500 - electric hollow body guitar (Japan)

D. Parker "Fly guitar" - electric solid body guitar (USA)

E. Do Souto - Cavaquinho (Brazil)

F. Manuel Rodriguez - Fretless guitar (Spain)

M - Melody; S - Solo; R1 - Rhythm 1; R2 - Rhythm 2; R3 - Rhythm 3; H - Harmony

TRACK LISTING

01. VITORIOSA Ivan Lins

- M - A; R1 - A; R2 - B; R3 - D 5:39

02. JUST THE TWO OF US Ralph McDonald, William Salter & Bill Withers

- M - A; S - A (with whistle); R1 - A 5:24

03. NATURE'S BEAUTY Romero Lubambo & Pamela Driggs (Lubambo Music - BMI)

- M - A; S - F; R1 - A; R2 - C 4:59

04. INGENUO Pixinguinha

- M - A; R1 - A; R2 - E 3:44

05. VIESTE Ivan Lins & Vitor Martins

- M - A; S - A; R1 - C; R2 - D 4:02

06. FLY SO HIGH Romero Lubambo & Pamela Driggs (Lubambo Music - BMI)

- M - A; S - F; R1 - A; R2 - A; R3 - E 5:04

07. IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE MORNING Bob Hilliard & David Mann

- M - A; S - A; R1 - A; R2 - B 3:56

08. HEAVEN HERE Romero Lubambo & Pamela Driggs (Lubambo Music - BMI)

- M - A; S - A; R1 - A; R2 - C 4:43

09. COMIN' HOME BABY Robert Dorough & Ben Tucker

- M - A; S - A; R1 - B; R2 - B 4:53

10. I FALL IN LOVE TOO EASILY Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne

- M - A; R1 - A; H - C 5:04

11. BY THE STREAM Romero Lubambo & Pamela Driggs (Lubambo Music - BMI)

- M - A (with whistle); R1 - A 4:26

12. PAMELA ELAINE - Romero Lubambo (Lubambo Music - BMI)

- M - A 4:05

13. HAPPY MADNESS Antonio Carlos Jobim

- M - A; S - A; R1 - A; R2 - C :01

14. TIME AFTER TIME - Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne

- M - A; R1 - B 4:16

Total Time 64:24

Recorded on June 15-18, 2006 at Bennett Studios, Englewood, NJ