João Gilberto's debut LP, 1959's Chega de Saudade, was one of the most
important bossa nova recordings, and credited by many as the album that,
more than any other, launched bossa nova as a major popular music
genre. The dozen songs add up to a surprisingly short playing time of
about 23 minutes, but introduce several of bossa nova's most beloved
trademarks: breezy, soothing melodies and vocals; tight arrangements
with seamless blends of clipped guitar strokes and light orchestration,
and, of course, the bossa nova rhythm. The most popular of these songs
("Chega de Saudade" and "Desafinado") had already been released as
singles in 1958, but though they might be the most memorable tracks, the
album maintains a consistently high standard (if a fairly similar mood
throughout). [The 2010 U.K. CD reissue on El adds a lot of bonus
material, starting with three 1959 Gilberto recordings used in the film
Orfeo do Carnaval, among them another classic, "Manha de Carnaval." Also
included are no less than eleven 1957-1959 Brazilian recordings by
artists other than Gilberto that are tightly or loosely aligned with the
early bossa nova movement Bola Sete and Walter Wanderley being the most
well known of those. Gilberto was involved in most, but not all, of
these as a songwriter or guitarist, and the rationale for their
inclusion is not spelled out in the CD's annotation (which, for that
matter, has only basic details about these non-Gilberto tracks). It's
churlish to complain about abundant extra material on a reissue CD that
does include everything from the album it's based upon, but the 12-page
booklet had room for such information. Packaging criticism aside, those
11 tracks by performers other than Gilberto are enjoyable and show
different slants on the early bossa nova sound, sometimes instrumental,
sometimes with shades of exotica (on Wanderley's organ-dominated cuts),
sometimes with women singers, and sometimes poppier in approach than
Gilberto's own work. Three consecutive versions of Gilberto's
"Ho-Ba-La-La" (one of the songs from Chega de Saudade) seem like a
programming lapse, but Norma Bengell's vocal version of that song is a
highlight, as is Alaide Costa's jazzy rendering of Gilberto's "Minha
Saudade."'
by Richie Unterberger João Gilberto é um baino, 'bossa-nova' de vinte e sete anos.
Em pouquíssimo tempo influenciou tôda uma geração de arranjadores, guitarristas, músicos e cantores. Nossa maior preocupacão, neste 'long-playing' foi que Joãozinho no fosse atrapalhado por arranjos que tirassem sua liberdade, sua natutal agilidade, sua maneira pessoal e instransferível de ser, em suma, sua espontaneidade. Nos arranjos contidos neste 'long-playing' Joãozinho participou ativamente; seus palpites, suas idéias, estão todas aí. Quando João Gilberto se acompanha, o violão é êle . João Gilberto não subestima a sensibilidade do povo. Êle acredita que há sempre lugar para uma coisa nova, diferente e pura que - embora à primeira vista não pareça - pode se tornar, como dizem na linguagem especializa : altamente comercial. Porque o povo comprende o Amor, as notas, a simplicidade e a sinceridade. Eu acredito em João Gilberto, porque êle é simples, sincero e extraordináriamente musical.
P.S. - Caymmi também acha. (Antonio Carlos Jobim)
Tracklist
1 – Chega De Saudade 2:03
Lyrics By – Vinicius De Moraes
Music By – Antonio Carlos Jobim
2 – Lobo Bobo 1:21
Lyrics By – Ronaldo Boscoli
Music By – Carlos Lyra
3 – Brigas, Nunca Mais 2:07
Lyrics By – Vinicius De Moraes
Music By – Antonio Carlos Jobim
4 – Hô-bá-lá-lá 2:17
Music By, Lyrics By – João Gilberto
5 – Saudade Fêz Um Samba 1:47
Lyrics By – Ronaldo Boscoli
Music By – Carlos Lyra
6 – Maria Ninguém 2:23
Music By, Lyrics By – Carlos Lyra
7 – Desafinado 1:58
Lyrics By – Newton Mendonça
Music By – Antonio Carlos Jobim
8 – Rosa Morena 2:06
Music By, Lyrics By – Dori Caymmi
9 – Morena Boca De Ouro 2:01
Music By, Lyrics By – Ary Barroso
10 – Bim Bom 1:17
Music By, Lyrics By – João Gilberto
11 – Aos Pés Da Cruz 1:35
Lyrics By – Zé Da Zilda
Music By – Marino Pinto
12 – E Luxo Só 1:59
Music By, Lyrics By – Ary Barroso
Credits
Choir – Garotos da Lua (tracks: 4)
Drums – Milton Banana (tracks: 1 to 12)
Flute – Copinha (tracks: 1 to 12)
Guitar, Vocals – João Gilberto (tracks: 1 to 12)
Percussion – Rubens Bassini (tracks: 1 to 12)
Producer, Arranged By, Piano – Antonio Carlos Jobim (tracks: 1 to 12)
Trombone – Edmundo Maciel (tracks: 1 to 12)
Here's some more bossa nova from Stan Getz when the bloom was still on the first Brazilian boom. This time, however, on his third such album, Getz relies mostly upon native Brazilians for his backing. Thus, the soft-focused grooves are considerably more attuned to what was actually coming out of Brazil at the time. Two bona fide giants, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá (who gets co-billing), provide the guitars and all of the material, and Maria Toledo contributes an occasional throaty vocal. Getz injects more high-wailing passages into his intuitive affinity for the groove, even going for some fast bop on "Un Abraco No Getz," and Bonfá takes adept care of the guitar solos against Jobim's rock-steady rhythm. Clearly Jobim's songwriting contributions -- "So Danco Samba," "How Insensitive," and "O Morro Nao Tem Vez" -- would have the longest shelf life, and though the album didn't sell as well as its two predecessors, it certainly helped break these tunes into the permanent jazz repertoire. Avid bossa nova fans will certainly treasure this album for the lesser-known Bonfá tunes. by Richard S. Ginell
