Ricardo Peres is a Brazillian pianist currently living in Montreal. He playes general repertoire, for example his commendable Bach, Beethoven and Brahms CD (Port Royal 2211-2), and he is an especially persuasive advocate of Brazillian and other Latin American music.

The present collection begins with four pieces by Astor Piazzolla, the father of the classical tango. I've always been fascinated by the way Piazzolla and some of his followers have managed to create such a wide range of mood and such sophisticated musical form using tango rhythms and melodic ideas as their constant inspiration. European composers have seldom accomplished anything comparable with their waltzes, polonaises or mazurkas, though Smetana did something of the sort with his polkas.

Peres plays these concert tangos well, taking considerable liberties and improvising, according to the program notes.

There are three pieces by Peres included. Only Voyage II has a distinct tango-like feel to it, but all three have an unmistakable South American accent. Lampião, a depiction of a region in northeastern Brazil and named after a kind of Brazillian Robin Hood, is particularly fresh-sounding and animated.

The collection concludes with three lovely and varied pieces by a composer previously unknown to me, Egberto Gismonti. The program notes aren't explicit as to what the original settings are, but the piano arrangements, said to have the composer's endorsement, are by Peres. Each of the three has its own mood and each is a pleasure to hear.