Laurindo Almeida

Released in 1964, the aptly titled Softly, the Brazilian Sound was Joanie Sommers' seventh long-player for Warner Bros. in under five years. She had been marketed as a torch balladeer to popular jazz and Great American Songbook enthusiasts, as well as a teenybopper to a considerably younger audience. Sommers joins forces with Laurindo Almeida (guitarist/arranger) in a move that predates Frank Sinatra's collaborative efforts with Antonio Carlos Jobim by several years. In actuality, the so-called "bossa nova" movement was one of the only trends to have any effect on the American pop scene during the mid-'60s - particularly when going up against British Invasion bands. And it's little wonder that Jobim's name crops up throughout the effort, as he co-penned a couple of tunes - including the sultry opener, "Meditation" (Meditacao)…

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.

Stan Getz - With Guest Artist Laurindo Almeida (1963) {Verve Originals 0602517679238 rel 2008}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 218 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 77 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 12 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1963, 2008 Verve / UMG | 0602517679238 | Verve Originals Series
Jazz / Latin Jazz / Bossa Nova / Brazilian Traditions / Cool / Saxophone / Guitar

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. Continuing his practice of running through one star guitarist after another, this time Getz has Laurindo Almeida as the designated rhythm man, featured composer, and solo foil.

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.

Laurindo Almeida, a brilliant Brazilian guitarist who was equally skilled at both classical music and bossa novas, gained famed originally for his work with Bud Shank in the mid-1950s. However, in the 1960s, his string of LPs for Capitol were generally quite commercial and overly brief. This album is fairly typical in that the material contains a few songs used widely in jazz (such as "Secret Love" and "Here's that Rainy Day"), current pop tunes ("Call Me" and "Goin' Out of My Head") and a few lesser-known numbers. All 11 performances clock in between two and four minutes, as Almeida is joined by an anonymous string section, background horns and rhythm players, all arranged unimaginatively by Lex de Azevedo. The playing is pleasing but very predictable, and at best these soothing sounds work well as background music.