Various Artists - Blue Bossa, Vol. 2: Cool Cuts from the Tropics (1999)

Part of The Blue Series, issued by Blue Note Records.

This is a great collection of bossa nova music, one that deserves a start-to-finish listen every so often. Particularly appropriate for hot summer nights poolside. The cuts here are sometimes more more Afro-Cuban or samba than laid back bossa, but I'm not complaining because it turns out to be a very cohesive, well-sequenced compilation from the Blue Note vaults. Music here was first released in the years 1954 - 1976. It is difficult to find much information about Blue Note's The Blue Series online and the liner notes on this CD don't provide much help. You can't even find mention of the series at Blue Note's own website. It has become an increasingly hard-to-find series. It's currently available on iTunes, though. I need to stumble across a copy of volume 1. I rarely say this, but they just don't make 'em like this anymore.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart.

Tracks:

Song	Artist	Year
La Fiesta	Stanley Turrentine	1967
Old Devil Moon	J.J. Johnson	1954
Girl From Ipanema	Lou Rawls	1966
Book's Bossa	Donald Byrd	1967
You're Everything	Carmen McRae	1976
Swinging the Samba	Horace Silver	1958
Upa Neguinho	Duke Pearson	1969
Samba De Orfeu	Charlie Rouse	1963
Heading South	Horace Parlan	1960
Eclipso	Lee Morgan	1965
La Malanga	Bobby Hutcherson	1975
Love For Sale	Dexter Gordon	1962
Mama Inez	Grant Green	1962
Lloro Tu Despedida	Ike Quebec	1962
Blue Bossa	Joe Henderson	1963

Most are exceptional. Stronger cuts are Stanley Turrentine's La Fiesta, Samba De Orfeu by Charlie Rouse, and Eclipso by Lee Morgan. Low Rawls turns in an unexpected treat with his take on Girl From Ipanema. The weaker track is Carmen McRae's You're Everything (which is an out-of-place big band track). However, this CD is best enjoyed without worrying about who is playing on which track. Just let it play, man.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Capitol Rare: Funky Notes From The West Coast (1999)