Laurindo Almeida

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.

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.

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.

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.

Two acoustic-guitar aces, Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd, who were instrumental (no pun intended) in popularizing Brazilian bossa nova to American audiences (and subsequently, the world), join forces and stretch out on some tunes from, well, Brazil. The languid, sultry rhythms, the immaculate picking, the superbly tasteful backing by Milt Holland and Bob Magnusson–all one would need now is a floral-print shirt, an outdoor cafe (or porch), and one's favorite libation to live a life free from care and woe for at least as long as this disc plays. ~ CDUniverse