El Matador

Despite the co-billing, Sete only appears on the second half of the album, leaving the Guaraldi trio to knock out a crisp series of standard pop tunes of the time ("I'm a Loser," "People," "More") and two memorable Guaraldi originals ("Nobody Else," "El Matador") in its patented mainstream and Latin modes in the first half. When Sete turns up, the set goes all-Brazilian as the two display their blended, intertwined teamwork for the third and last time on records in "Favela" and a brace of tunes from Black Orpheus. Though it is only a partial collaboration, this album has a bit more fire than their previous ones, possibly due to the live factor.

Three original Atlantic LPs by the biggest Bossa Nova star of the '60s - 34 tracks of Latin jazz-pop crammed into one 2-CD set! Pele is Mendes' accompanying music to the documentary about the soccer star; the other two LPs bring you live performances of Black Orpheus Medley; Samba De Jose; Noa Noa , and more and studio versions of I Say a Little Prayer; May Favorite Things; Comin' Home Baby, and more!

Kenny Dorham's Matador can safely claim the all too common distinction of being a classic among jazz connoisseurs while virtually unknown to the casual listener. Dorham is joined here by Jackie McLean, Bobby Timmons, Teddy Smith, and J.C. Moses, all of whom deliver outstanding performances. More than anything, this session is perhaps best known for including a stunning version of McLean's composition "Melody for Melonae," used less than a month earlier on his groundbreaking Blue Note LP Let Freedom Ring. For this session, though, the tune is renamed "Melanie" and, if not better, this version at least rivals the take under McLean's leadership. For starters, the addition of another horn adds some tonal depth to the proceedings, a situation arguably lacking in the tune's earlier recording…

The first and third of the three albums Vince Guaraldi and Bola Sete made together - Vince Guaraldi/Bola Sete & Friends (1963) and Vince Guaraldi & Bola Sete Live at El Matador (1966) - are combined onto one disc on this CD reissue. Actually, Sete only plays on two of the seven songs ("More" and "O Morro Nao Tem Vez") on the latter album, but no matter. Their collaboration could not be pegged as a peak in either man's careers, and did not particularly inspire either to forms or feelings they didn't achieve on their own. Nevertheless, they made pleasant, lightly swinging music together, often with a jazz-samba lilt, though at an easy enough pace that the music could fit comfortably into lounges. Vince Guaraldi/Bola Sete & Friends is certainly the more samba-oriented of the pair, not only because Sete is aboard for every cut, but also because the arrangements have more of a Brazilian feel…