New Yorker Benji Kaplan and Brazilian Rita Figueiredo, both accomplished musicians on their own, combine to form the duo of Benji & Rita on their self-titled, self-released (2019) first album. Fans of classic Brazilian styles will take an instant liking to this, and the abundance of strings and reeds in the arrangements are often employed to create sweetly moody interludes between passages where the rhythms kick in. Rita’s richly textured vocals engage from the start, Benji’s arrangements and guitar are as first rate as his compositions (please tell me I’m not the only one who hears melodic nods to “In the Hall of the Mountain King” on “Zenite e Nadir”), and topical sentiments like the anti-war “Memorial Day” take things even higher. It’s quite an impressive and wide-ranging debut, sporting roots in Brazil and branches in many other places. I hope this twosome stays and plays together for a long time.