Flac Bossa

A real standout from the great Shorty Rogers - and a smoking set that has him turning his many talents towards the world of bossa nova! By the time of this set, Shorty was as great an arranger as he was a trumpeter - really one of the go-to guys around LA for hipper soundtracks and vocal dates - and he really shows off his skills on a set of lively arrangements that pop and sparkle a lot more than other American bossa jazz outings of this nature! The set features lots of acoustic guitar and percussion - and bold trumpet and flugelhorn solos by Shorty.

A real standout from the great Shorty Rogers - and a smoking set that has him turning his many talents towards the world of bossa nova! By the time of this set, Shorty was as great an arranger as he was a trumpeter - really one of the go-to guys around LA for hipper soundtracks and vocal dates - and he really shows off his skills on a set of lively arrangements that pop and sparkle a lot more than other American bossa jazz outings of this nature! The set features lots of acoustic guitar and percussion - and bold trumpet and flugelhorn solos by Shorty.

Sérgio Mendes & Bossa Rio's Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (1964) is a true milestone in the evolution of Brazilian instrumental music post-bossa nova. Infinitely sophisticated, but still full of swing, Bossa Rio (Tiao Neto, bass; Edison Machado, batteries, Edson Maciel, Raul de Souza and Hector Costita, metals) deal here with the reinvention of bossa classics and original songs.

The title here is an ironic one. Hard Bossa is not "hard" at all. In fact, it is a low-key, gentle affair that has elements of breezy MPB, some Alcione-style samba, and some dreamy and jazzy bossa, and it flows from top to bottom. Joyce's softness and bounciness are everywhere present, and her guitar playing is as sharp as ever. Backed by a band that includes Tutty Moreno on drums and percussion, Lula Galvao on guitars, and upright bassist Jorge Helder, Joyce also employs the wonderful Ana Martins (who comes off sounding like a young Elis Regina) to sing lead on "Todos Os Santos," and vocalist Paulo César Pinheiro (who is her writing partner on most of these tracks), who sings lead on "Nome de Guerra." Joyce wrote or co-wrote everything on the set, and the romantic "Crianca," the shimmering "Juparana," the scattish title track, and the nostalgic "London Samba" are standouts…

Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn combined old and new compositions to create the album Afro-Bossa, a suite consisting of a dozen pieces that was never performed in its entirety in concert, though several of the works remained in the band's repertoire. The title cut is a new work, though the "Bossa" does not refer to Brazilian music; instead, it is a mix of African and Latin influences that slowly builds with insistent percussion to a blazing finale of brass and reeds. "Purple Gazelle" (which was also recorded as "Angelica" in Ellington's small group session with John Coltrane, was described by the pianist as a "ragtime cha-cha." Cootie Williams (on muted trumpet), Ray Nance, Paul Gonsalves, and the composer are all featured soloists…

Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn combined old and new compositions to create the album Afro-Bossa, a suite consisting of a dozen pieces that was never performed in its entirety in concert, though several of the works remained in the band's repertoire. The title cut is a new work, though the "Bossa" does not refer to Brazilian music; instead, it is a mix of African and Latin influences that slowly builds with insistent percussion to a blazing finale of brass and reeds. "Purple Gazelle" (which was also recorded as "Angelica" in Ellington's small group session with John Coltrane, was described by the pianist as a "ragtime cha-cha." Cootie Williams (on muted trumpet), Ray Nance, Paul Gonsalves, and the composer are all featured soloists…

Incredible work from the Japanese scene of the end of the 60s - a record that mixes together traditional instrumentation, bossa rhythms, and groovier jazz touches - all in a sublime blend that would have been a feather in the cap of A&M or Verve Records at the time! The work here is really unique - bits of koto and shakuhachi amidst the fuller, soaring backings of the New Herd of Toshiyuki Miyama - who themselves are supported by some extra Latin percussion! The mix of modes is wonderful - a strong bossa undercurrent that keeps the whole thing gliding along nicely - thanks in part also to a great array of tunes from Brazil, Europe, and the US.

The Story of Bossa Nova features 20 remastered original recordings from the late '50s/early '60s combined with a few modern interpretations of the genre, including 14 tracks written by composer Antonio Carlos Jobim. Taken from the vast EMI-Odeon archive of classic Brazilian music, this introductory set includes Marcos Valle's "Samba De Verao," Sylvia Telles' "Dindi," and the pre-Astrud Gilberto version of "Girl From Ipanema" by Pery Ribeiro.