“If purveyors of the high lonesome sound had hunkered down in northeast Brazil, the result might be something like Matuto. Based in New York City and fronted by American-born fusionists Clay Ross and Rob Curto, Matuto builds on a foundation of forro, the accordion/percussion-based folk style popularized by the legendary Luiz Gonzaga, “The Soul of the Sertao” (“sertao” being the term for Brazil’s arid Brazilian hinterlands). Widely regarded as the foremost ambassador of forro, Curto takes the accordion to town in unlikely selections such as the traditional blues ballad “John the Revelator.” Matuto means “bumpkin” in Brazilian slang, but this band aims for the heights of world-music sophistication.” – Chicago Sun Times