Little did jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd and his friend saxophonist
Stan Getz know that their 1962
album called Jazz Samba would
create a
bossa nova craze throughout the United States, a
phenomenon
that would generate many other historical albums
and
influence musicians and fans all over the world.
by:
In 1962, jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd performed in Brazil during a USIS tour, and brought back several long-playing
albums by a group of local musicians that had been developing a new sound that blended elements of samba with West Coast
cool jazz and other influences.
Intrigued by that sound, then already called the
bossa nova, Byrd contacted New York saxophonist Stan Getz and
showed him the records. Getz quickly became interested in that music, and the two musicians decided to collaborate on an
album (recorded in only a few hours) with these songs, which was released later that year under the name
Jazz Samba (Verve Records).
Little did they know that their album would generate a
bossa nova craze throughout the country, a phenomenon that
would generate many other historical albums and influence musicians and fans all over the world.
Over the years, several compilations of bossa nova
hits have been released, but the problem with those albums is
that most of them always carry the same tracks, such as "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars" or "The Girl of Ipanema" from the
1964 Getz/Gilberto album or "How Insensitive", from Antonio Carlos Jobim’s classic collaboration with Frank Sinatra.
Which brings us to Bossa Nova Lounge series, whose songs come from the most unexpected sources, that might
surprise even those schooled in the genre. In its third installment, entitled
Look To The Sky, there are quite a few goodies to keep
an open ear to.
The opener is "Remember", an unlikely instrumental Antonio Carlos Jobim track from his 1970
Tide album. The reason I call it unlikely is because the song doesn’t even sound like Jobim. Gone are the softly played piano and the acoustic
guitar. Instead, the maestro pounds an electric keyboard accompanied by a very American-sounding jazz band.
Maybe that has to do with Eumir Deodato’s participation in the recording. Deodato, a Brazilian producer/musician
who wrote the arrangements on "Remember", has always enjoyed to experiment with music a bit, as can be heard elsewhere
on the album.
For instance, on "Você" (You), while guitarist Roberto Menescal and saxophonist J.T. Meireles expertly trade
licks throughout the song, Deodato plays weird piano chords on what was otherwise a very simple arrangement. Deodato’s
presence is also noticed on Marcos Valle’s rendition of "Ela É Carioca" (She’s a Carioca).
While Valle softly sings and plays guitar with a very traditional backing band, the producer (who also wrote the
arrangements on this 1963 recording) comments on proceedings by playing an electric keyboard that at times seems a bit out of place.
A very welcome tune is "Só Tinha de Ser com Você" (It Had to Be With You), performed by one of Brazil’s
greatest voices, Elis Regina. The song, a Jobim/Aloysio de Oliveira composition, tells us of a selfless love affair that, alas, was
meant to be.
Elis Regina (who passed away in 1982 at 36) was at the top of her form as a performer at the time of the recording,
and one of the great classics of Brazil’s music is her rendition of "Waters of March", which was released on her 1974
contribution with Jobim, Elis & Tom, where "Só Tinha de Ser com Você" was also featured. Also worthy of mention is "Mas Que
Nada" (No Way), popularized in the U.S. by Sergio Mendes in 1966.
On this album we hear the song’s composer, Jorge Ben, in a rare recording of the classic. Ben, unlike others who
remade it, took a very simple approach by singing and playing his guitar with a very simple backing band arranged by J.T. Meireles.
Another highlight is "Lost in Paradise", an English-language Caetano Veloso composition with a heartfelt vocal by
Gal Costa. "Lost in Paradise" was written while Veloso was in his enforced exile in Britain after being expelled from Brazil
by the military government, and the confused lyrics reflect the composer’s puzzlement with his situation:
My little grasshopper airplane
Cannot fly very high
I find you so far from my side
I’m lost in my old green light…
There are, of course, some weak moments. I did not understand, for instance, why the album’s producers included
yet another version of "Dreamer" in this album? Wasn’t it enough to feature it in a previous CD (OK, it was in English on
the other album). And was it really necessary to include Sergio Mendes’s take on "The Girl from Ipanema"?
The album ends with a beautiful Jobim instrumental, "Look to the Sky". On this 1967 recording, Tom (as he was
known in Brazil) sounds more like himself as he plays his ultra-soft right-hand piano solo backed by his own guitar and a
beautiful arrangement by Claus Ogerman, who also arranged and conducted Jobim’s album with Frank Sinatra.
Bossa Nova Lounge/Look To The Sky is a great album altogether, and it still sounds good after repeated hearings.
Highly recommended both for jazz lovers and to those who want to learn a little more about good Brazilian music.
Bossa Nova Lounge/Look To The Sky – Various Artists – Dubas Musica/Musicrama
Internet:
http://www.dubas.com.br –
http://www.musicrama.org
Ernest Barteldes is an ESL and Portuguese teacher. In addition to that, he is a freelance writer who has
regularly been contributing The Greenwich Village
Gazette since September 1999. His work has also been published by
Brazzil, The Staten Island Advance,
The Staten Island Register, The SI
Muse, The Villager, GLSSite and other
publications. He lives in Staten Island, NY. He can be reached at
ebarteldes@yahoo.com