Stan Getz, Charlie Byrd - Jazz Samba

Guitarist Charlie Byrd was invited to travel and play in Brazil during a cultural goodwill tour sponsored by the Kennedy administration in 1961. He was completely enamoured by the music, and when he returned, he headed straight for the recording studio to make the now classic Jazz Samba. Collaborating with Stan Getz on tenor sax and backed by a band that included Gene Byrd (bass, guitar), Keter Betts (bass), and Buddy Deppenschmidt and Bill Reichenbach (drums), Byrd forged a new and brilliant sound. American record companies were to churn out hundreds of watered bossa-pop albums that have since given the style its lounge-addled image, but this album stands as a tribute to the vitality and adaptability of jazz. --Louis Gibson Amazon.com essential recording

A Higly subjective tribute to a Great Jazz Album

Want to know what the world was like in 1963, in San Francisco, on sunny afternoons, when all the windows were open on a garden from a small apartment high on the Ashbury Street Hill where Anne and Stan Rice lived and wrote? --- Before the Flower Children came. ---- Then listen to this classic album, the album that defined "jazz" for me more than bossa nova. It was an album that made me want to flee the foggy streets of San Francisco, put on khaki clothes and drift south. It took me well over twenty years to get to Brazil, and the tunes were no longer in my head. Don't know who Stan and Anne are? No surprise. --- They were young writers, dreamers and students. ---- Just wanted to make this review a little reflective of what those moments were like, what this soft sweet, gentle, and sophisticated music brings to mind as I play it on a sunny Sunday in the desert, just wanted to convey the beauty, the pleasure.....and who knows, maybe the innocence? It's making me want to dance.--- Here's to missing you, Stan. Here's looking at you, kid. --- A love is still a love....as time goes by. May 18, 2008

ok but not ideal

it's great, i just don't dig Byrd's vibe as much as i do Joao Gilberto or Luiz Bonfa or AC Jobim. i dig the way the brazillian guys did their thing so much more, Getz/Gilberto is a good starter, Jazz Samba Encore, and anything else with those guys playing guitar is worth a listen... September 29, 2007

Swirling, beautiful bossa nova-jazz

Jazz is all about being evocative- the greatest examples of the genre have always been the ones that take the listener to another place, that have expressed emotions and ideas with uncanny accuracy. In essence, the best jazz recordings feel like they're coming from somewhere inside you, born out of your dreams and private thoughts and inner longings. Which, I guess, is why I'm so fond of Jazz Samba. The album's warm, lyrical tone instantly paints a portrait of some sun-splashed and utterly peaeful Brazilian beach, a hidden little paradise by a crystal ocean. But there's more to it than that. Jazz Samba's lush textures and instantly hypnotic imagery are downright theraputic. When you're stressed out, angry, or depressed, this is the ideal record to put on; the hypnotic, shuffling bass line that opens "Desafinado" casts a spell that isn't lifted until Getz's gorgeous, velvety solo at the end of "Bahia." The music radiates so much warmth and joy in the meantime, wiping away just about every single one of your worries and fears. It really is a neat trick. Of course, like any great piece of music, Jazz Samba is much more than music. Getz and Byrd make for a formidable team, bridging the gap between jazz's emotive cool and bossa nova's swinging sensuality with irresisitable finesse. The music is simultaneously dreamy and upbeat, hypnotic and energetic, beautiful and propulsive. Basically, it's a great album, and one that belongs in every jazz collection. July 30, 2007

Bossa nova music that dips, swings, boasts fine harmonic structures--and an infectious rhythmic pulse !!!

Bossa nova music was created largely by Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto in the late 1950s and early 1960s. When Charlie Byrd and his trio heard it, they wanted to make a bossa nova album of their own. The result is this wonderful CD.

The CD track set opens with an extended version of "Desafinado." The guitar gets plenty of air time in bossa nova music; and Charlie Byrd's guitar solo stuns me with its beauty and sensitivity. "Desafinado" plays with a few key changes to enhance the quality of the number; and the percussion works very well, too.

"Samba Dees Days" picks up the tempo considerably; and this ought to brighten any party you play this at! Stan Getz plays tenor sax to perfection; and Buddy Deppenschmidt along with Bill Reichenbach play the drums very, very well. "Samba Triste" is the only truly mournful sounding samba on this album; the minor keys work very well as Stan's melancholy solo enhances the forlorn flavor to "Samba Triste."

"Samba De Uma Nota Só (One Note Samba)" exudes elegance and style; when you listen to this track the fusion of jazz and samba is very evident. "E Luxo Só" reverts to a faster tempo that really makes you want to get up and dance wherever you are; and "Bahia (Baía)" concludes the album with a silky elegance that is singularly beautiful.

There is one extra number. The bonus track is the 45 rpm issue of "Desafinado." Naturally, the shorter version of this number doesn't provide us with the luxurious meanderings of the full length track. Nevertheless, it interests the listener to hear what the band chose to include--and exclude--when, under time constraints, they had to deliver the number fast yet with all the brightness of the full rendition. You won't be disappointed.

The liner notes include the original liner notes by Dom Cerulli; and there are great black and white photos of the band members playing. John Litweiler contributes an informative essay about the creation of the album as well. The quality of the sound is excellent.

I highly recommend this CD for any fan of bossa nova music; and people who enjoy jazz with a samba twist will cherish this one for ages to come.
June 18, 2007

Old School

This CD was all I expected and more. It was soothing without being muzac, and there was plenty of latin for spice. I was raised with the old school style of jazz and this really fit the bill! January 17, 2007

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