Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd - Jazz Samba (1962)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 1997 Verve Master Edition.

I wasn't around in 1962, but from what I read, it appears this thing was unexpectedly huge. Guitarist/arranger Charlie Byrd had fallen in love with the bossa nova sounds coming out of Brazil in the late '50s, most notably Chega de Saudade by João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim's soundtrack to the 1959 film Black Orpheus. Byrd brought in Stan Getz to record these songs on Tuesday, February 13, 1962 in Pierce Hall at the All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C. Two hours later, the album was finished and the bossa nova craze would hit the U.S. The term 'bossa nova' was simply created to described the merging of the traditional Brazilian samba with jazz music. So, the title Jazz Samba is synonymous with term bossa nova. Not bad for a day's work. This album became the only jazz album to ever hit #1 on the Billboard 200 and Getz would then record four more bossa albums in 13 months, including Getz/Gilberto.

The instrumentation includes two percussionists and, on some tracks, two bass players, both taken from the Brazilian samba tradition. The lead track and lead single, Desafinado, won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, eventually losing to Tony Bennett's I Left My Heart In San Francisco. The album itself was nominated for Album of the Year, bowing to the comedy album The First Family. In 2010, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Not a bad place to start a journey into bossa nova (but I'd say the same about Getz/Gilberto). As for my journey, I've just checked out the following book from the local library: Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music That Seduced the World by Ruy Castro.

Speaking of books...for its inclusion in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Andrew Gilbert wrote, "the album is a perfect melding of swing and samba, with Getz's velvet tenor flowing semlessly from one track to another."

Original liner notes by Dom Cerulli.

Reviews/ratings:

• Downbeat (★★★★½ ): "beautifully turned little gems played by a pair of brilliant jazz musicians who seem very much in rapport."
• Stereo Review: "a surprisingly varied listening experience."
• High Fidelity: "The playing is unpretentious and thoroughly delightful."
• Billboard: "Another beautiful set"
• CashBox: "The wax marriage of these two jazz names, should in itself bring out a host of fans."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #1
• CashBox (Stereo): #1

Tracks: The two singles from this album, Desafinado (#15 pop, #4 easy listening) and Samba de Uma Nota Só (did not chart) were written by Jobim. While I prefer the latter to the former, all the the tracks are great and with a running time of under 35 minutes, there's no reason to play the whole thing through (maybe twice).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Verve Jazz Masters 53: Bossa Nova (1996)
Getz/Gilberto (1964)

Stan Getz - Verve Jazz Masters 53: Bossa Nova (1996)

BRAZIL WEEK (FEBRUARY 4-10, 2013)

We couldn't have a Brazil Week without including some bossa nova from Stan Getz, who appropriated the sound, made it his own, and imported it to US audiences. Getz's best work were his collaborations with Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto. Getz eventually tired of playing only bossa nova and moved on to other musical genres, which makes this compilation of only bossa nova tunes the disc for me as other "greatest hits" packages span his entire career. I suppose I could have gone with the 4 CD set of The Bossa Nova Years, but that would probably be overkill for me (I don't host that many '60s-themed cocktail parties).

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

Tracks:  They're all good. Included here are Menina Moca, One Note Samba, Doralice, and O Grande Amor (featuring some very tasty piano work by Chick Corea). The versions of Desafinado and The Girl From Ipanema included on this disc are alternate or live versions of the ones on Getz/Gilberto; its nice to have them included instead of the more familiar takes we've all heard before.

That website isn't around anymore, but check out Getz blowin' and groovin' in a polyester suit. Dig!

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Purchased around 2000 at a record store on the Drag in Austin. I was helping chaperone/transport a high school jazz band as they attended the Longhorn Jazz Festival with clinician Michael Brecker.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Getz/Gilberto (1964)

Stan Getz, João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim - Getz/Gilberto (1964)

Note: this CD is the 1997 reissue containing 2 bonus tracks.

One of my favorites. This classic album is so sublime that I don't have the words to fully describe it, so I'm going to be lazy and cut-and-paste from the allmusic.com review. (I'd also prefer to enjoy the CD without thinking and writing). Here's some of what Steve Huey had to say about this album and I'm in complete agreement with everything he writes:

One of the biggest-selling jazz albums of all time, not to mention bossa nova's finest moment, Getz/Gilberto trumped Jazz Samba by bringing two of bossa nova's greatest innovators -- guitarist/singer João Gilberto and composer/pianist Antonio Carlos Jobim -- to New York to record with Stan Getz. The results were magic. Ever since [Getz's album] Jazz Samba, the jazz marketplace had been flooded with bossa nova albums, and the overexposure was beginning to make the music seem like a fad. Getz/Gilberto made bossa nova a permanent part of the jazz landscape not just with its unassailable beauty, but with one of the biggest smash hit singles in jazz history -- "The Girl From Ipanema," a Jobim classic sung by João's wife, Astrud Gilberto, who had never performed outside of her own home prior to the recording session. Beyond that, most of the Jobim songs recorded here also became standards of the genre -- "Corcovado" (which featured another vocal by Astrud), "So Danço Samba," "O Grande Amor," a new version of "Desafinado." With such uniformly brilliant material, it's no wonder the album was such a success but, even apart from that, the musicians all play with an effortless grace that's arguably the fullest expression of bossa nova's dreamy romanticism ever brought to American listeners. Getz himself has never been more lyrical, and Gilberto and Jobim pull off the harmonic and rhythmic sophistication of the songs with a warm, relaxed charm. This music has nearly universal appeal; it's one of those rare jazz records about which the purist elite and the buying public are in total agreement. Beyond essential.

Some of the most relaxing music you'll ever hear. Pour yourself a cocktail (not a beer as this music calls for a mixed drink), turn down the lights, put this album on, sit back and enjoy. As I write this, it is about 7 AM (so it's coffee, no cocktail) and I'm now too relaxed to go to work. You think my bosses will accept that excuse? "Sorry, I won't be in today. Getz/Gilberto. You understand."

Reviews/ratings:

• Stereo Review: Recording of Special Merit
• High Fidelity: "delectable music"
• DownBeat (★★★★½ ): "Getz is superb on this record."
• Billboard: Best of the Month
• Record World: "It'll be a classic"
• CashBox: "This is a purposeful fusion of talents resulting in a rejuvenation of the bossa nova"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★★

Update: In 2017, it was ranked at #103 on Pitchfork's list of the 200 Best Albums of the 1960s.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #2

Tracks: Yeah, they're all good. The bonus tracks are simply the 45 single edits of The Girl From Ipanema and Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I didn't discover this beauty until later in life (probably the late '90s), but that's probably for the best. If I had heard this when I was a teenager, I probably would have rolled my eyes and said something like, "That's the kind of music my parents listen to."