João Almeida, Rodrigo Pinheiro & Vasco Furtado Linae

Three weeks after completing his meeting with Luiz Bonfá and only two days after the epochal Getz/Gilberto sessions, Stan Getz was back in the studio recording more bossa nova. Producer Creed Taylor was obviously striking while the iron was hot, getting in as many Brazilian sessions as he could, yet the quality of the music-making remained consistently marvelous…

Originally recorded for the Japanese East Wind label, this Lp features the great Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida on a peaceful and inwardly passionate unaccompanied set of music. There are medleys from "Black Orpheus" and Gershwin, four standards (including "Holiday For Strings"), one original and the 9 1/2 minute title cut. Almeida's classically-oriented guitar sounds beautiful throughout.

A fluent and skilled musician, famous in his native country as a classical Spanish guitar player, Almeida went to the USA in the 40s to work in film and television studios. His jazz work was first widely exposed during a spell with Stan Kenton in the late 40s. Although continuing his film and television work, Almeida also took many opportunities to play jazz, joining forces with bass player Harry Babasin, altoist Bud Shank and drummer Roy Harte in 1953. The work of this group anticipated many of the hallmarks of the bossa nova craze that came a few years later. During his career Almeida won Grammy awards in 1959 for his performance on Danzas, and the following year for The Spanish Guitars Of Laurindo Almeida and Conversations With The Guitar…

Fernando Lopes-Graça was one of the greatest Portuguese composers of the 20th century. He composed songs in many genres, including folk-song arrangements, modernist settings of Portuguese poetry, and songs connected to political and historical events, all of which are represented here in this second volume (Volume 1 is on 8.579039). Early songs reveal the harmonic influence of Debussy, while Lopes-Graça’s utopian vision of international fraternity can be heard in his harmonisations of Greek, Czech and Slovak songs, which range from lament and defiance to pastoral sentiment.

Inspired by the music of the extraordinary pianist Bill Evans, the Pinheiro - Ineke - Cavalli Trio explores in this new album musical landscapes constructed from delicate arrangements and intricate musical interaction. In this vibrant recording, the trio reaches a new level of maturity and consolidated artistry that appears in the way the group develops musical discourse and improvisation. The guitar/bass/drums trio is here reinvented by the hand of these talented and experienced musicians.

At the age of 27, Elida Almeida already stands out, with her honeyed smile and solar energy, as youthful as she is mature, as the muse of Cape Verde's new musical generation. She deploys this status like a banner and inscribes it on the front of her new album, entitled Gerasonobu ('New Generation' in Cape Verdean Creole). Together with other fellow musicians, the young woman, whose roots lie on the island of Santiago, is helping to explode the codes of Cape Verdean music: a tradition illuminated by the guardian figure of Cesaria Evora, jealously watched over by so-called 'experts', who grumble as soon as one takes a (dance) step outside the norm. But Elida is not satisfied: 'Even Cesaria's creations are different from 'traditional' pieces.

The first of at least four meetings on record between the great Brazilian-styled guitarists Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd, this very logical matchup (in a quartet with bassist Bob Magnusson and percussionist Milt Holland) is quite succesful. The music is tightly arranged with very little improvisation but the beauty of the two guitarist's distinctive tones and the colorful melodies makes this a rewarding set. From "Carioca" and Jobim's "Stone Flower" to several Brazilian classical pieces and even "Don't Cry For Me Argentina," everything works.

The first of at least four meetings on record between the great Brazilian-styled guitarists Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd, this very logical matchup (in a quartet with bassist Bob Magnusson and percussionist Milt Holland) is quite succesful. The music is tightly arranged with very little improvisation but the beauty of the two guitarist's distinctive tones and the colorful melodies makes this a rewarding set. From "Carioca" and Jobim's "Stone Flower" to several Brazilian classical pieces and even "Don't Cry For Me Argentina," everything works.