Astrud Gilberto / Walter Wanderley - A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness (1966)

Light and uplifting bossanova pop from the genre's legendary vocalist, backed on this occasion by organist/pianist Walter Wanderley's trio.  The two title tracks are up first, with A Certain Smile serving as a brief overture, and A Certain Sadness featuring an uncredited guitarist who may or may not have been João Gilberto.  From there, a breezy twenty-odd minutes goes by in lovely, classy style, staying true to the album's concept-of-sorts in contrasting downbeat ballads and frothy poppy numbers, with the emphasis on the latter.  Instant musical refreshment.

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Previously posted at SGTG:

Getz/Gilberto

The Astrud Gilberto Album

Look To The Rainbow

I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do

Gilberto With Turrentine (scroll past main post)

Astrud Gilberto - The Astrud Gilberto Album (1965)

Last week we had the album that introduced Astrud Gilberto to the world; now, here's her debut solo album from the following year.  The Astrud Gilberto Album has an even bigger Jobim presence, which is always a huge plus point for me: he's featured on guitar throughout, on vocals duetting with Gilberto on the classic Água De Beber, and the tracklist is heavy on his songwriting.  At the heart of this short and sweet record though is Gilberto's voice, still establishing herself as a singer but already imbued with a melancholic, wistful quality that shines on all these songs, whether in English or Portuguese.  Filling out the arrangements is the skilful touch of Marty Paich and Creed Taylor's production, making for a classic of Brazilian jazz-pop, always evocative of summers gone by.

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Previously posted at SGTG:

Getz/Gilberto

Look To The Rainbow

I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do

Gilberto With Turrentine (scroll past main post)

Stan Getz-João Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto (1964)

Something definitely authentically Latin today (Stan Getz gets a free pass at inclusion here given his role in popularising Brazilian music in jazz).  For this classic album, perhaps the definitive start of the bossanova craze in the US (following earlier introductions by Getz and Charlie Byrd), Getz collaborated with João Gilberto on guitar & vocals.  The rest of the lineup was none other than Antônio Carlos Jobim on piano, plus Sebastião Neto on bass and Milton Banana on percussion.

Getz/Gilberto also introduced another up and coming Brazilian star on vocals for two tracks, thanks to Getz's coaxing - Astrud Gilberto (João's then-wife, shortly to begin an affair with Getz) sings the English lyrics of the evergreen Girl From Ipanema and Corcovado/Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars.  João Gilberto's guitar accompaniment is perfectly languid throughout, and Getz's cool, accesible tones and the gorgeous tunes all contributed to the breakthrough popularity and lasting brilliance of this great record.

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Miles Davis with Gil Evans - Quiet Nights (1963)

Whilst not up to the standard of their previous collaborations (see Miles Ahead and Sketches of Spain links below), Miles Davis and Gil Evans' final album is still an enjoyable slice of summer-night loveliness.  The compromised nature of Quiet Nights is generally thought to have been due to pressure from CBS to make a more commercial bossanova cash-in, which Davis and Evans eventually grew frustrated with after months of sessions.  They abandoned the project with just 20 minutes of music completed.

The paltry runtime was filled out with an outtake from Miles' previous album and released by Teo Macero against the artist's wishes, causing a three-year rift in their working relationship.  When remastered for a Columbia Legacy CD, it was bulked up a little more with 12 minutes of music intended for a theatrical project.  For all its limitations, I've got a definite soft spot for Quiet Nights - not just because I love Miles Davis/Gil Evans and Brazilian music, but because it's a sweet, languid little record perfect for sitting with the windows open in August watching the sun set.

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Miles Davis at SGTG:
Conception
Walkin'
Blue Moods
Bags' Groove
Miles Ahead (with Gil Evans)
Sketches Of Spain (with Gil Evans)
On The Corner
Agharta

Antonio Carlos Jobim - Tide (1970)

Two albums were recorded simultaneously in the spring of 1970 by Jobim, with Eumir Deodato at the helm as arranger: one was the more contemporary-sounding Stone Flower (see list below), and the other was Tide.  This album was conceived more as an orchestral-Latin jazz sequel to Wave (also below), and was even packaged in an old-style album cover from the earliest days of CTI to match.  Furthering the link, the title track was a deft re-write of Wave's title track.

Nothing, of course (IMHO) could be as good as Wave, but Tide is still a gorgeous album on its own merits.  Deodato is never less than a fine arranger, concentrating on brass and winds where Claus Ogerman gave Wave its lightness of touch with strings.  Highlights include the flute-led Tema Jazz, the percussive Remember (which does sound a bit more of a piece with the material on Stone Flower) and the languid Caribe.

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Previously posted at SGTG:
The Composer of Desafinado, Plays
Wave
Stone Flower
Elis & Tom
Urubu

Antonio Carlos Jobim - The Composer Of Desafinado, Plays (1963)

Summer isn't summer without Jobim as far as I'm concerned.  So here's his debut solo album, recorded in New York, which became the launchpad for his international reknown.  The tracklist is a virtual bossanova songbook - just about every one of these twelve Jobim-penned tunes would become much-covered standards.  The album also marked the beginning of his working relationship with Claus Ogerman, who fleshes out every track in typically gorgeous style with his lush strings and flutes over Jobim's spare guitar and piano.

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Previously posted at SGTG:
Wave
Stone Flower
Elis & Tom
Urubu

Astrud Gilberto - Look To The Rainbow (1966)

Astrud Gilberto's third solo album showed her vocal range and interpretive skill beginnig to mature, and with this came a gorgeous half hour of arrangements by Gil Evans (with the exception of the third last and second last songs, arranged by Al Cohn) and production by Creed Taylor.  Perhaps trying to position Astrud as both international pop star and authentic bossanova voice, just over half the album's tracks are sung in English, and Look To The Rainbow presents a cracking selection of songs by the likes of Jobim, João Gilberto, Vinicius De Moraes and Baden Powell.

Mixed in with these are I Will Wait For You from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and Maria Quiet from the considerably less well known (and never fully performed as written) Brazilian musical, Pobre Menina Rica (Poor Rich Girl).  Without that context, the latter song, sung in English, can seem a little...odd, but never mind - as a whole, this album is pure bossanova-jazz-pop perfection.

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Previously posted at SGTG:
I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do
Gilberto With Turrentine

Elis Regina & Antonio Carlos Jobim - Elis & Tom (1974)

29-year old Elis Regina was already about 20 albums into her career when Philips Records of Brazil made a wish come true for her as a special anniversary gift (she'd been at the label for ten years): an album shared with Antonio Carlos 'Tom' Jobim.  The album that resulted became a hugely popular masterpiece for both artists - one of the elder statesmen of bossanova, and one of the biggest stars of Brazilian popular music, or MPB.

Sadly, Elis' star would only burn brightly for another seven years, before her death at just 36 from accidental overdose.  Elis & Tom remains one of the highlights of her catalogue, as well as Jobim's.  The album sets out a relaxed, informal vibe from the outset, as Jobim tries to make Elis laugh (and succeeds) towards the end of his classic naturalist free-association song, Águas de Março. 

After that, there's another thirteen classics by Jobim and some of his co-writers, including Triste (first released on Wave - see links below), Corcovado (aka Quiet Nights in its English versions), and Chovendo na Roseira, known as Children's Games on Stone Flower.  An absolutely gorgeous, late-night collection of songs from start to finish, in mostly understated arrangements.

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Jobim at SGTG:
Wave
Stone Flower
Urubu

Stanley Turrentine - Salt Song (1971)

Sometime in the late 90s, I couldn't sleep and turned on the radio.  What I randomly encountered in the wee small hours was a beautifully mellow piece of orchestrated jazz, led by a saxophone and featuring a gospel choir refrain of "I told Jesus, I told Jesus" - and I was hooked.  Found the album a few years later, on one of the first mp3 blogs I ever followed; which blog that was escapes me now, but the album's remained an enduring favourite.

Stanley Turrentine (1934-2000) spent the first decade of his career on Blue Note, before signing to Creed Taylor's newly independent CTI imprint.  Salt Song was Turrentine's second album for CTI, and arguably his best, with his gently breezy tone seemingly made for the in-house arrangements of Eumir Deodato.  I remember including Salt Song's opener, Freddie Hubbard's Gibraltar, on a mix CD for a DJ mate who was a Bob James obsessive, and he absolutely loved it.  Eric Gale's slinky guitar part is almost an equal lead instrument over the Carter & Cobham groove.

The album's second half starts in upbeat Latin mode, with the Milton Nascimento-penned title track, and ends with another muscular groove (and a great Gale solo) in Storm, the only Turrentine original.  In between is another lush ballad, I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do, which had also been done by Astrud Gilberto on her album of the same name.  CD remasters add another Nascimento tune, Vera Cruz - as mentioned on Friday - which dated back to the Spring of 1971, and the sessions for Turrentine's (sort of) collaboration with Gilberto.  All of which brings us neatly to the album below...

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bonus post: Gilberto With Turrentine

...and to Astrud Gilberto's only album for CTI.  If intended as a full collaboration with Turrentine as per the title, in the end only three tracks featured both artists, and only further track featured Stanley Turrentine.  Unhappy with the way the album was going, Gilberto then walked out on the sessions, leaving Vera Cruz instrumental, and the other instrumental track To A Flame featuring neither headline artist.

So if this album ended up as a bit of a 'could have been' - I'd certainly have loved to hear Astrud sing one of my favourite Stephen Stills songs - what remains is still a great listen for anyone who enjoys the CTI ensemble in its heyday.  The first two tracks, a Bacharach/David song then a Deodato arrangement of a Brazilian tune, certainly set up a potentially classic Astrud Gilberto album, and she's in fine voice throughout.

P.S. Just learned of the passing of João Gilberto, bossanova pioneer and Astrud's ex-husband - RIP.

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Luiz Bonfá - Introspection/The New Face Of Bonfa (1970/72)

Handy twofer of most of Bonfa's early 70s output for RCA - the album between these two, Sanctuary, is harder to come by but I'm keeping a lookout.  The New Face Of Bonfa, from 1970, was an attempt to cross over to a US audience with some success; the string arrangements are occasionally laid on a bit too thick, but Bonfa's phenomenal guitar talent is always front and centre (not least in Africana, my favourite track from this album).  In contrast to Braziliana, Maria Toledo only makes two appearances here as one of the backing vocalists on Macumba and Peixe Bom; all the other tracks are instrumental.

Original Introspection cover art. CD cover at top uses same pic as New Face LP.

And speaking of Bonfa's phenomenal guitar talent - that's the sole focus of the 1972 album Introspection, presented first on this CD reissue.  It's small but perfectly formed - eight tracks in under 27 minutes, and not a second wasted in showcasing Bonfa's sheer melodic and harmonic talent and staggering technique (check out the hovering-UFO evocations of Adventure In Space).  The sole concession here to production effects is the phasing on the opener, which kind of works, but other than that, Introspection is an utterly timeless masterpiece.

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Antonio Carlos Jobim - Stone Flower (1970)

Deodato the arranger this time, putting a perfect, not-too-lacquered sheen on what is probably my second favourite Jobim album (nothing can ever touch Wave).  Creed Taylor is of course in the producer's chair, with the CTi era now in full swing, and mellow electric pianos shimmer all over the place - not least in the most gorgeous ballad, Andorinha.  The definite highlight of this stunning record, though, has to be the extended groove through Ary Barroso's 1939 standard Aquarela do Brasil, listed here under its better known international title Brazil and topped off with a reverential Jobim vocal.  In summary, 34 minutes of summery perfection.

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Luiz Bonfa & Maria Toledo - Braziliana (1965)

Some classic bossanova/samba goodness to go in to the weekend with, courtesy of legendary guitarist and songwriter Luiz Bonfa and his wife Maria Toledo on vocals.  Just over half an hour of blissful, summery chillout, bookended by sweet wordless duetting and featuring Toledo's wonderful, Astrud-Gilberto's-older-sister voice on most of the tracks, with subtle, unobtrusive arrangements in the background.

Bonfa's unique and influential guitar genius takes the solo spotlight on two tracks, Boticaro and Improviso, and as part of sublime instrumental tracks on Sugar Loaf, Baroco and one of his most famous compositions Samba De Orfeu.  The latter originally came from the Black Orpheus soundtrack that springboarded Bonfa, Jobim and others to fame.  More to come in due course from all of these icons of Brazilian music, while the sun's still out (tempting fate round here, I know!).

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Antonio Carlos Jobim - Wave (1967)

Midsummer, and time for my listening habits to take their traditional holiday to Brazil.  I've been fascinated by Brazillian music from (mostly) the 60s and 70s ever since discovering this timeless album at university, and it's led to me discovering several other lifelong favourites ever since.  I had actually planned earlier in the year to spend the whole of July posting Brazillian albums, but on reflection thought that would a bit OTT and out of character for this blog, so it's just going to be one week.

To kick off then, here's possibly the finest, most exquisite example of 60s bossanova, with the legendary Antonio Carlos Jobim pairing up with arranger Claus Ogerman to produce a succinct album of instant classics, topped off with Creed Taylor's production sheen.  Right from the start of the title track, Ogerman's shimmering wall of strings establishes itself like an airport runway heathaze, then languid brass and winds waft in to provide a gentle breeze in the sweltering heat.  Jobim's guitar or piano are always mixed up front to carry these indelible melodies or carry the bossanova rhythms, and everything is securely underpinned by the great jazz bassist Ron Carter.

The perfection of Ogerman's arranging and Taylor's early-CTI production really can't be overstated here - on Antigua for instance, flutes carry the winding melody until Jobim brings in harpsichord for a star guest turn.  The reverb on the latter instrument is just enough to make the otherwise out-of-kilter baroque instrument sparkle like sunlight off the surface of the sea.  Wave is also a well-paced album; if a track like Dialogo starts to lull you into a poolside snooze, Lamento picks up the pace again, and features Jobim's smoky, melancholic voice for the only time on this flawless album.

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