Verve's Bossa Nova U.S.A.

Paul Desmond: Samba with Some Barbecue

Originally titled "Struttin' with Some Barbecue" in 1941, this Satchmo tune lost its Dixie beat and got a bossa groove in the hands of the infallible Don Sebesky. Brazilian drummer Airto Moreira, then a newcomer in the New York jazz scene, provides a fiery propulsion to Paul Desmond's lyrical approach and "dry martini" alto sound. Different from the sad results of pseudo-bossa albums by Gene Ammons, Sonny Rollins, and so many others, this is an outstanding track, proof that a good arranger can adapt even a Louis Armstrong song to the bossa idiom, whilst respecting its basic rules. Note the delicate Hancock solo, and how the use of two French horns smoothes the sonority of the brass section.

Wes Montgomery: O Morro [aka Once I Loved]

Wes Montgomery, the greatest guitarist in the history of jazz, reached the height of his fame when he recorded, under the aegis of producer Creed Taylor, a string of albums for Verve and A&M/CTI. After being acclaimed as the guitarist's guitarist in his early days at the Riverside label, he crossed over the jazz boundaries to become a household pop name thanks to Taylor's Midas touch, pairing him with such great arrangers as Don Sebesky, Claus Ogerman, Eumir Deodato, Johnny Pate and, on the Goin' Out of My Head LP, Oliver Nelson. Some bossa nova tunes and bossa-oriented versions of pop hits and jazz standards appeared in those sessions. This track, originally recorded in Brazil as "O Amor Em Paz" by João Gilberto in 1961, is a true bossa classic. After receiving English lyrics, it became known as "Once I Loved" in the USA, where it was recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1967. However, due to a mistake in the publishing contracts, it also often appears under the wrong title "O Morro." No matter the title, Wes makes it happen!

Gary McFarland: Dreamer

Gary McFarland had already had experiences with Brazilian music when he collaborated on this rare Prestige session with bossa nova legend Antonio Carlos Jobim. Back in 1962, McFarland had been the man behind Stan Getz's Big Band Bossa Nova album for the Verve label, writing impeccable charts for Jobim's and Bonfa's classics. "Dreamer," originally titled "Vivo Sonhando," was cut in July 1964, two month after the first McFarland-Jobim reunion on the Creed Taylor-produced "Soft Samba" album, released by the vibraphonist/singer/arranger on Verve. McFarland's passion for Brazilian sounds also led him to produce, for his own Skye label, Airto's Natural Feelings, the percussionist's 1970 debut solo album.

Bill Evans: The Dolphin

Probably the most influential jazz pianist of all time, Bill Evans recorded Luiz Eça's instigating "The Dolphin" after hearing the composers' version on Tamba 4's We And The Sea album, and then played it for many many years, right? Wrong. Evans had never heard the Tamba 4 album. And he never performed this song again! Arranger Michael Leonard tells the true story: "A friend of composer Earl Zindars showed up at Wally Heider's studio bringing a lead sheet with this tune, and insisted to show it to Bill, who was the most gentle person on earth. Bill played the tune, liked a lot, and decided to record it." Very simple, hum? In the liner notes for the 18-box set "The Complete Bill Evans on Verve, which includes eight alternate takes of this marvelous piece, drummer Eliot Zigmund, who replaced Marty Morell on Evans' trio, says: "People always asked him: you gonna play "The Dolphin?" And we never played it." Michael Leonard overdubbed strings and also had the idea to score Bill's solo for five flutes and one piccolo (played an octave higher than the first flute). This was Evans' first recording using both acoustic and the Fender Rhodes electric piano, something he would repeat on such albums as Intuition, Eloquence, Montreux III and New Conversations.

Stan Getz: O Grande Amor

In the liner notes for "Sweet Rain," jazz radio DJ Johnny Magnus talks about Getz's connection with the bossa nova: "Things could have not been timed better. Time, place and opportunity came together and with a stroke of perfect casting. Producer-Director Creed Taylor assembled his cast, The property... Brazil. Not just a tune...a guitarist or a group...the whole country! Brazil became a musical phenomenon. Stan Getz made it a happening." This Jobim song, "O Grande Amor," was recorded by Getz for the first time in 1963, for Getz/Gilberto, and four years later he decided to cut another version, this time an instrumental one, during the single-day session that resulted on Sweet Rain, doing an even better solo, more subtle, although in a faster tempo, followed by another pretty solo by Chick Corea. And Mr. Magnus stated: "In this album I hear the complete, mature, full-grown of his instrument and soul. Never has he played so poetically." Curiously, "O Grande Amor" (instead of the mega-hits "Desafinado" and "Girl From Ipanema") was the only Brazilian song that Getz continued to play in concerts till his last years. He really loved it!

Charlie Byrd: Desafinado

Although Stan Getz got the credit and fame (and most of the money) for being bossa nova's number one jazzman, it was Charlie Byrd who had the idea (and the nerve) to convince Creed Taylor, then Verve's A&R man, to cut the seminal Jazz Samba album on February 13, 1962. While launching the bossa craze in the USA, it reached the number one position on Billboard's pop (Hot 100) chart on the historic date September 15 of that year. [The opening track, "Desafinado," remained in the charts for 15 weeks, reaching No. 15 and winning a Grammy for "best jazz performance."] Thirteen days later, Byrd started to cut for another label (Riverside), without Getz and without Taylor, another collection of Brazilian songs. He even re-recorded "Desafinado," the main track from "Jazz Samba," and released by Verve as a single which was exploding on the airwaves. Bill Reichenbach had been one of the drummers on "Jazz Samba," and Keter Betts, famous for his long association with Ella Fitzgerald, would eventually play with João Gilberto during the Carnegie Hall 1964 concert that yielded "Getz/Gilberto #2."

Hank Jones & Oliver Nelson: Mas Que Nada

It's one of the lesser known recordings of one of the most famous Brazilian songs around the world. From Jorge Ben himself to Tamba Trio to Al Jarreau and, most recently, Ithamara Koorax (one of the highlights from A Trip To Brazil Vol.2) many artists cut inspired versions. Oliver Nelson's cyber-biographer Douglas Payne considers it "a wondrous arrangement using haunting melody statements with a light counterpoint of flute and brass. The harpsichord is an inspired touch, that comes at a time when Bob Thiele was working all kinds of deals with music manufacturers to place their instruments on his prductions. The man had cross-promotional marketing down long before Star Wars! The cool thing is that Thiele understood that the antiquated harpsichord had a sort of rock-and-roll appeal: square to be hip?" Like Lalo Schifrin & Creed Taylor had done six months before on the Marquis de Sade album, Jones & Nelson here married pop and jazz elements with something Baroque and beautiful. If you'd like to hear more harpsichord solos in a samba-jazz mood, don't lose the chance to listen to João Donato's playing on Dom Um Romão's "Family Talk" for Muse Records.

Coleman Hawkins: Um Abraço No Bonfá

This amazing tune was composed by João Gilberto in 1960 as a tribute to Luiz Bonfá, a bossa pioneer and one of Gilberto's idols, as well as his main inspirational source for the modern guitar beat that eventually became the rhythmic underpinnings of bossa nova. It's interesting to mention that "Um Abraço no Bonfá" is actually based on a tune co-written by Bonfá and Jobim in 1955, "O Barbinha Branca." Though he enjoyed the homage, Bonfá observed that Gilberto basically just changed the song from a "choro" to a "bossa" form and added a second part! Gilberto himself recorded the song twice, on "O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor" (Odeon) and Getz/Gilberto #2 (Verve). In the liner notes for Hawkins' session, on which Barry Galbraith plays the lead guitar part, jazz historian Dan Morgenstern wrote: "It has the longest line and most intricate structure (ABCDE) of all the sambas on this album. It hás a built-in perpetual motion effect, almost hypnotic in impact. Hawk's creative embellishments are a joy... Hawk approached his first bossa nova date with the blend of complete relaxation and intense concentration which characterizes his musical stance."

Vince Guaraldi Trio: Manhã de Carnaval

Black Orpheus—winner of the Grand Prize in Cannes as well as the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1959—fascinated audiences worldwide thanks to its intoxicating soundtrack, written (separately) by Bonfá and Jobim. The film's main themes, "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba de Orfeu," both by Luiz Bonfa, introduced the world to bossa nova. Vince Guaraldi (1928-1976) recorded the two Bonfá tunes and two by Jobim ("O Nosso Amor" and "A Felicidade," mistitled "Generique" on the LP credits) on "Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus," his 1962 date which also included Guaraldi's biggest hit ever, "Cast Your Fate to the Wind." Not surprisingly, the album crossed over to the pop charts, becoming a bestseller. Guaraldi does a great job on "Manhã de Carnaval," beautifully jazzyfying it in a performance that develops through unpredictable ways and grooves.

Bob Brookmeyer Samba de Orfeu

Maybe the greatest master of valve trombone, alongside Raul de Souza, Bob Brookmeyer was invited by producer Creed Taylor to do this bossa nova project just six months after the recording of Getz/Byrd's historic Jazz Samba. Curiously, Brazilian traditional samba singer Carmen Costa, then living in NY, is heard playing cabassa. "As a player and an improviser, Gary McFarland's temperament and talents are ideally suited to the complications and sensitivity of samba music. Here, he coalesces perfectly on vibes with leader Brookmeyer on trombone, Jim Hall and Jimmy Raney on guitar and three percussionists." So says jazz historian Douglas Payne and that's good enough for me.

Kenny Burrell: Nanã

Kenny Burrell's take on "Nanã," the most famous song by the extremely underrated Brazilian arranger and baritone saxophonist, is a track that appeals to head, heart, and hips. Curiously, though, Santos isn't the saxophonist neither the arranger on this version, included in the album that led Kenny Burrell's "best guitarist" award in DownBeat's 1973 Critics Poll. Instead, Santos is heard on percussion (!), and his friend Benny Golson wrote the brass chart. It is without a doubt the Burrell fusion track (along with "Love Is the Answer" from the CTI album God Bless The Child.) Credited as co-composers, Mario Telles and Yanna Cotti wrote, respectively, the Portuguese and English lyrics for "Nanã." Burrell turns in a burning jazz solo over a solid funky groove, spiced with soul sauce in an up-tempo feel.

Milt Jackson: Jazz Bossa Nova

Every time that Milt Jackson slip away (sneak out) of the Modern Jazz Quartet's stylistic rigor, he took chances. Not always the results were so memorable like on his CTI masterpiece, Sunflower, but often he gave his fans some very enjoyable moments. "You can't get along, in music or in life, without a certain amount of flexibility and variety. That's one of the reasons I made this album," Milt explained in the original liner notes for "Jazz'n'Samba." Written specially for that album, Jazz Bossa Nova was his only experience as a composer in the bossa genre. But one of his most memorable solos ever can be heard on a stunning version of Luiz Bonfa's "Samba de Orfeu" recorded on The Pablo All Stars Jam -Montreux 77. Milt also covered Brazilian tunes on "Feelings" and recorded bossa versions of American songs on "Big Mouth."

Joe Pass & Paulinho da Costa: Wave

After some laid-back relaxed grooves comes a momento of joyful excitement. And speed! Done at a much faster tempo than usual, Jobim's classic "Wave" belongs to a Joe Pass / Paulinho Da Costa album reunion album conceived by Pablo's founder Norman Granz, Tudo Bem!, allowing the guitarist to unleash yet another astonishing solo, followed by an equally impressive Don Grusin statement. "I presented Joe Pass last year (1977) on a Brazilian tour during Carnival. He was so inspired by the music and the rhythm he heard that he insisted on making a Brazilian album," Granz wrote on the original LP liner notes, adding: "Pass feels this is by far the warmest, and certainly most melodic album he's ever made." Paulinho da Costa, signed as a solo artist to the Pablo label in 1976, after stints with Sergio Mendes and Dizzy Gillespie, also performs a notable solo on the congas, propelled by Oscar Castro-Neves' frenetic acoustic guitar. Paulinho would soon become the most in-demand studio percussionist in the LA scene, recording even with such pop icons as Madonna and Michael Jackson.

Oscar Peterson Trio: Triste

Once in a while, piano jazz virtuoso Oscar Peterson used to perform two songs from Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Wave," one of his favorite albums: its title track, which Peterson recorded for Motions and Emotions in 1969, and "Triste," included on another MPS release, Tristeza on Piano.

Cal Tjader: Tamanco no Samba

In the mid-Sixties, after some albums with Mongo Santamaria, Brazilian piano legend João Donato joined Cal Tjader's group, taking part in such albums as The Prophet and Solar Heat. However, Tjader's first full Brazilian-oriented album only appeared sometime later, Amazonas, under the guidance of producer Airto Moreira. Keyboard wiz George Duke, a funkman par excellence, handled the arrangements, not surprising creating funky grooves throughout the sessions. But not on this track, on which he plays only Fender Rhodes, in a frenetic interaction with Tjader (who performs the melody on marimba, but used vibes for the solo), Amaro and Milanez. Curiously, Duke used the pseudonym Dawilli Gonga, which he often employed during the Seventies, when his record company at that time, Epic, would not permit him to do as many sideman dates as he wished. It's worthy to mention that Orlandivo's "Tamanco no Samba," was introduced to American audiences under the title Samba Blim, when recorded by the Tamba 4 group on an album for A&M/CTI back in 1968.

Quincy Jones: Bossa Nova U.S.A.

Since his early days, when he performed for the first time in Brazil and other South American countries in 1956, as a member of a Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra in a tour sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Quincy Jones always felt a special affinity for Brazilian Music. During the bossa craze in the USA, he dedicated an entire album to the style (Big Band Bossa Nova, which, despite the intoxicating track "Soul Bossa Nova," aroused purists' wrath for 48 years due to the pseudo-bossa beat) and also collaborated with Luiz Bonfá on Quincy Plays for Pussycats. But this track comes from another album, recorded in 1963 with a similar approach. Many decades later, Mr. Q resumed his affair with Brazilian sounds when he signed Ivan Lins to his publishing company, including Lins' songs in albums he produced for Patti Austin and George Benson, as well as on his own projects The Dude and Back on the Block.

Liner Notes copyright © 2025 Arnaldo DeSouteiro.

Bossa Nova USA can be purchased here.

Contact Arnaldo DeSouteiro at All About Jazz.
Grammy-voting member, record producer, jazz journalist, historian and educator, screenplay writer, arranger.

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