Veludo is the follow-up to vocalist Guida de Palma's acclaimed Ed Motta-produced 2006 release ‘Atlas’. Produced by Graham Harvey of Incognito and Stacey Kent fame it features the “crème de la crème” of the British Jazz scene and soul star Leon Ware on one track.
Guida conceived the album as a timeless opus reminiscent of Burt Bacharach, Bill Withers or Roberta Flack; so the philharmonic strings section of Lisbon's Opera were enlisted. She wanted to bring back sophisticated melodies and complex harmonies, elements that recently have been overlooked.
To kick-start the project, the singer/composer Leon Ware contributed the lead track on the album, “A Seed in You”. This love duet spread like wild fire on the internet as a teaser and picked up heavy airplay on Jazz FM. Leon Ware, a veteran Motown artist was behind the ‘I Want You’ concept album for Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson's first ever solo hit “I Wanna Be Where You Are” and “Body Heat” with Quincy Jones, to name just a few of his many hits.
Personnel: Guida de Palma (vocals), Leon Ware (vocals – 1), Femi Temowo (guitar – 8), Ian Thomas (drums), Laurence Cottle (bass), John Parricelli (guitar), Graham Harvey (piano, Rhodes, keyboards), Thomas Dyani (percussion), Martyn Shaw (trumpet, flugel horn), Gareth Lockrane (flutes), strings by The Lisbon International Symphony Orchestra