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Antonio Adolfo: Samba Jazz Alley
By"The alley's four nightclubs gradually welcomed them as this new type of music took hold. In 1962, as a 15-year-old, I discovered the alley through some jazz enthusiast friends and started to drop by on Saturday nights after parties. I was already a big fan of jazz and bossa and was starting to play piano. I figured that Bottles Alley was exactly what I needed to grow as a musician by learning from other musicians. What a great place to go!"
Because of his youth, Adolfo needed special permission from the local juvenile court to play in the alley's clubs. But with visiting US jazzmen making their way to the alley to jam with the locals, he was in the right place at the right time and soon abandoned his study of law to become a full-time musician. He says: "No regrets! I was playing what was baptized samba jazz with some of the finest musicians of the time. Looking back, I see that Bottles Alley was the most important music academy of my life."
On this album Adolfo plays with a three-horn frontlinetrumpeter Jesse Sadoc, saxophonist Marcelo Martins and trombonist Rafael Rocha. The set opens with Johnny Alf's "Ceu e Mar (Sky and Sea)," a precursor to "The Girl From Ipanema," following which Adolfo doffs his hat to Herbie Hancock with the soul-tinged "Hello, Herbie."
"So por Amor" (Just for Love) by fellow Rio musician, guitarist Baden Powell, is more relaxed with Rocha to the fore. The mystical, lilting "Case Forte" (Strong House) by Edu Lobo, was originally recorded by Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66.
The closing number is perhaps the best known: Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Corcovado." It means "Hunchback" in Portuguese and describes the 2,300 foot mountain that towers above Rio, topped by the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer.
Track Listing
Ceu e Mar (Sky and Sea); Hello, Herbie; So Por Amor (Just For Love); Casa Forte (Strong House); Tristeza de Nos Dios (Sadness of the Two of Us); The Frog; Obrigado (Thank You); Passarim (Little Bird); Corcovado.
Personnel
Antonio Adolfo
pianoAntonio Adolfo: piano and arrangements; Lula Galvao, Claudio Spiewak: guitar; Jorge Helder: bass; Rafael Barata: drums; Dada Costa: percussion; Jesse Sadoc: trumpet; Marcelo Martins: saxophones, alto flute; Rafael Rocha: trombone; Mauricio Einhorn, Gabriel Grossi: harmonica; Claudio Spiewak: shaker.
Album information
Title: Samba Jazz Alley | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: AAM Music