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Excellent work by two figures who really helped re-define the use of the guitar in the 50s -- both undeniable forces on the sound of the bossa nova, even though most of the work here is from pre-bossa years! The set's especially noteworthy for its wealth of early work by Luiz Bonfa -- as the package features sessions recorded for EMI in Brazil in 1955 and 1956 -- mostly with small combo work alongside players that include Jorge Henrique on organ, Ed Lincoln on piano, Carlos Lyra on guitar, Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano, and Joao Donato on accordion! These small group sides are totally great -- a definite precursor to the bossa, and filled with original tunes by Bonfa, as some by Jobim and Donato -- titles tha tinclude "De Cigarro Em Cigarro", "Meu Sonho", "Adios", "Agora E Cinza", "Trinidad", "Cancao De Outono", "Duvida", "Violao No Samba", "Uma Prece", and "O Barbinha Branca". Laurindo Almeida is represented here mostly in a solo mode -- on 8 tracks that mix classical virtuosity with some of the freer, lighter styles that would go onto influence bossa nova. Titles include "Preludio Y Tremelo", "Saudade", "Invention In Two Parts", and 4 "Etudes" by Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Classic bossa from Stan Getz! This one is very much in the mode of Stan's famous Getz/Gilberto album -- as it features guitar work by Brazilian player Luiz Bonfa, plus vocals by his wife Maria Toledo, singing in a style that's similar to more famous Getz recordings with Astrud Gilberto. But don't blame the record for being a "copycat" album, because it was actually recorded a month before the one with Gilberto -- in a great mix of bossa and jazz. Stan's tone, as always, is a perfect fit for the style of the bossa -- breezy and brilliant, but drenched in a sad soulfulness that really makes the tracks sparkle -- and which puts the album right up there with the best of the Verve sides of the 60s. Titles include "Menina Flor", "Ebony Samba", "Saudade Vem Correndo", "Sambalero", "Samba De Duas Notas", and "Mania De Maria".

A great little session from Luiz Bonfa -- one that features a hip core combo mixed with slightly larger backings -- all in a groove that really stands out from other mainstream bossa albums of the 60s! Bonfa's acoustic guitar is set up here with Jerome Richardson on flute, Don Payne on bass, and Helcio Milito on drums -- all working in a sound that's lightly touched with occasional bits of strings or woodwinds from Hal Mooney -- never too much to over-sweeten the music, and often in ways that underscore the bluer, sadder tones in the music. Bonfa contributed to me great original tunes to the record that really stand out -- numbers that include "Avocado", "Moonlight In Rio", "Embolada", "Her Face", "Dream Girl", "Sambalero", and "Zomba" -- all of which make the record stand out from other familiar bossa tunes of the time.

Very groovy bossa tracks -- very much in the mode of some of the Verve hit recordings of the mid 60s! After the success of the Astrud Gilberto/Joao Gilberto work with Stan Getz, it's clear that Philips and Luiz Bonfa wanted to get in on the act -- and they've paired Bonfa's guitar with vocals from his wife Maria Toledo -- a really wonderful singer with very Astrud-like appeal! The album's got some larger backings from Bobby Scott, who brings in a nice undercurrent of jazz -- and while some of Bonfa's other work of the time is somewhat spare and dreamy, the style is nicely full here. Toledo sings in both English and Portuguese, and even scats wordlessly a bit -- which we really like -- on titles that include "Sambura", "Whistle Samba", "Tanto Amor", "Boticario", "Promessa", and "Sugar Loaf".

A rare French session by bossa guitarist Luiz Bonfa -- recorded in Paris at the height of his best early years! The album's got a feel that's really great -- dreamy guitar over lightly dancing arrangements, in a mode that's slightly different than the usual Rio style of recording at the time. There's almost a watery feel to the music here, with a nice bit of echo in the background behind Bonfa's guitar -- but a compressed approach upfront that has his magical work on the strings at center stage, supported by some occasional vocals from time to time, and a nice bit of flute as well. The CD also features 4 tracks from the EP En Direct Du Brasil -- also recorded in Paris -- and titles include "Lila", "Bonfa Nova", "Cantiga Da Vida", "Amor Por Amor", "Santeleco", "Balaio", "Sorrindo", "Bossa Em Re", "Voce Chegou", "Sincopado Triste", and "Mania De Maria".

One of the earliest of the classic Verve bossa sessions -- and a great one! The record was recorded in 1962, and features the brilliant Brazilian guitarist Luiz Bonfa amidst orchestrations by Oscar Castro Neves and Lalo Schifrin. The sound is bright and breezy, as you'd expect from Verve at this time, and Bonfa's a lot livelier than usual, and even sings on a number of cuts. The record is one of Verve's classics, but it hasn't been in print for years. This reissue's very nicely done -- with 13 tracks in a sparkling gatefold cover. Titles include "Bossa Nova Cha Cha", "Sambalamento", "Vem So", "Samba De Duas Notas", "Domingo A Noite", "Quebra Mar", and "Adeus". Nice stuff!

Lovely work from Henri Crolla -- possibly France's greatest jazz guitarist in the post-Django Reinhardt years! The package features a wealth of rare 50s material by Crolla -- all of which perfectly showcase his sensitive, thoughtful approach to the guitar -- a sound that's almost a precursor of the styles that Baden Powell would record on the French scene a decade later, and a mode that uses the instrument in a much less rhythmically-driven way than some of Henri's predecessors. The first CD features two full albums recorded for the Vega label -- Le Long Des Rues and Bonsoire Cherie -- both of which features Crolla's guitar in front of larger orchestrations, but backings that are still used with enough sensitivity to let the guitar come through strongly. Disc 2 starts with the haunting C'Est Pour Toi Que Je Joue album -- a solo guitar set recorded in 1967, relatively early for the genre, and putting Crolla firmly in the company of Laurindo Almeida, Luiz Bonfa, and other Brazilian-bred soloists. The remainder of that disc features rare soundtrack work by Crolla -- a key sub-category of his recording career -- tracks from the films Histoire D'Un Poisson Rouge, Voulez Vous Danser Avec Moi, Montand E Mouloudji, and Saint-Tropez Blues. The package features a whopping 44 tracks in all, and is a great look at this overlooked genius!

Two very different slices of work from Egberto Gismonti -- packaged here together as a 2CD set! First up is Sergoes Veredas -- billed as a "tribute to miscegenation", and performed by a full orchestra conducted by Zenaida Romeu -- a great reminder of Gismonti's sense of larger sounds and complicated changes -- performed by instrumentation that's mostly heavy on cascading strings. The second album in the set, Duetos De Violoes, features guitar duos between Egberto and Alexandre Gismonti -- performed in a very spare, spacious sort of style that's much more in keeping with some of Egberto's older work for ECM. The two acoustic instruments ring out with a really wonderful sort of sound -- all the complexity you might expect from classical guitar, but touched with the humanity of post-bossa Brazilian guitarists like Baden Powell, Luiz Bonfa, or Egberto, of course. Titles include "Zig Zag", "Carmen", "Mestico & Caboclo", "Dois Violoes", "Palhaco", and "Danco Dos Escravos".

A relatively mellow vocal outing from Ithamara Koorax -- a voice that was introduced to us from her appearances on some groovy Brazilian dancefloor tunes, including some of those from Dom Um Romao's albums! The style here is quite different -- very laidback, and in the ballad mode you'd expect from the "love" in the title. Instrumentation is a blend of mellow Brazilian and American jazz styles -- with work by Jose Roberto Bertrami, Dom Um Romao, Luiz Bonfa, and Nelson Angelo -- on titles that include "I Loved You", "Love Dance", "La Puerta", "Man Alone", "Amparo", and "Someday".

A cool collection of Brazilian-styled tunes -- but one with a really unusual twist! The tunes here are mostly French in origin -- penned as soundtrack numbers for films set in Brazil -- and served up with a great mix of boss and samba elements, plus a touch of jazz as well! We hadn't heard much of this music before -- despite our love both of Brazilian sounds and French film scores -- so the package is a real discovery for our ears, filled with groovy tunes that we might have missed otherwise. There's a few familiar Brazilian names here -- such as Antonio Carlos E Jocafi and Luiz Bonfa -- but even their contributions have a "Rio Via Paris" sort of sound that's mighty nice. Titles include "Arrivee A Rio" by Michel Legrand, "Batucada Generique" and "Chorando Sim" by Georges Delerue, "Luana" and "Dalambo" by Ubirajara Quarenta Cabral, "Cancao De Amanhecer" and "Na Bahia Tambem Tem" by Jose Toledo & Jean Manzon, "Furia A Bahia" by Michel Magne, "Pour Un Amour Lointain" and "Depart De La Troupe" by Luiz Bonfa & Vladimir Cosma, and "O Bahia" and "Dodo Tristesa" by Antonio Carlos E Jocafi with Maria Creuza.

Easy to love bossa nova when it's this cool and groovy -- thanks to a wonderful selection of classic grooves from the 60s! The 2CD set's overflowing with gems from labels like A&M, Verve, Philips, and CTI -- and most of the material here was recorded in the US, but with a strong influence from 60s Brazil -- sometimes through guest musicians on the dates, sometimes just via a strong bossa vibe. There's a few bits from Brazil as well, and the package features a whopping 30 tunes that include "Samba Blim" and "Watch What Happens" by Tamba 4, "Just Friends" by Cal Tjader, "Windy" by Wes Montgomery, "Berimbau" by Astrud Gilberto, "Crickets Sing For Anamaria" by Marcos Valle, "Happy Birthday" by Luiz Henrique, "Soulful Strut" and "A Man & A Woman" by Wander Wanderley, "Solo" by Meirelles E Os Copa 5, "Blues A Volante" by Baden Powell, "Upa Neguinho" by Edu Lobo, "The Dolphin (after)" by Bill Evans, "Samba De Duas Notas" by Luiz Bonfa, "Desafinado" by Stan Getz, "Wave" by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and "Autumn Leaves" by Paul Desmond.

Seminal sides from the earliest years of bossa nova -- key late 50s recordings from the time when the genre was just beginning to take shape! There's a nice sense of transition here -- Brazilian music shaking off some of the fuller, more emotive styles of the previous generation -- moving into the lighter rhythms and more careful themes of the bossa generation -- served up here in a host of key compositions that would evolve into classics in the years to come. The package features a good deal of material from the album Cancao Do Amor Demais by Elizete Cardoso -- including "Caminho De Pedra", "Janelas Abertas", "A Praias Desertas", "Serenata Do Adeus", and "Medo De Amar" -- plus other tracks that include "Chega De Saudade" and "Bim Bom" by Joao Gilberto, "Batucada" and "Garoto" by Luiz Bonfa, "Ultimo Beijo" and "Valsa De Uma Cidade" by Os Cariocas, "Caminhos Cruzados" and "Nesse Mesmo Lugar" by Sylvia Telles, "Debussyana" by Garoto, "Sucedeu Assim" by Agostinho Dos Santos, and "Choro Gracioso" by Laurindo Almeida.

A groovy box set of loungey tunes pulled from French films of the 60s and 70s -- great tracks that often lie buried under so-so soundtracks, or others that just plain haven't seen the light of day for years -- all 3 volumes in the Supreme Lounge series to date in a single box set! The French-heavy set's a nice complement to some of the Italian soundtracks we've been stocking over the years -- and it's interesting to hear the differences in styles, as much of the French work is a bit sweeter and more romantic, although still quite groovy. Sounds range from moddish to funky, romantic to pulp pop, with loads of stylistic shifts -- with material from masters of the genre! Titles include "La Valise" by Philippe Sarde, "Les Tontons Flinguers" by Michel Magne, "Les Freres Soeur" by Nicolas Errera, "Le Dernier Homme" by Paul Misraki, "L'Anne Sainte" by Claude Bolling, "La Cage Aux Folle" by Ennio Morricone, a crazy version of "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Michel Legrand, "Pour Un Amour Lointain" by Luiz Bonfa, "Chasseurs Sachez Danser" by Andre Popp, "Drugstore" by Nicolas Errera, "Gone With The Wave" by Lalo Schifrin, "Les Amis", by Francoi De Roubaix, "La Malle" by Rougerouge and much more.

A really cool little set from guitarist Joe Beck -- a date that has him playing mostly in a trio mode, but opening up with some warm Brazilian-styled grooves! The setting's not exactly a bossa one, given the production style -- although there's plenty of bossa tunes in the mix -- classics by Jobim, Joao Donato, and Luiz Bonfa. The recording mode is somewhat bright -- more space on the guitar than usual for a date like this -- and possibly a bit too on the rhythms, the bass of Ira Coleman and drums of Thierry Arpino. Gregoire Maret plays a bit of harmonica on the record -- and titles include "Aquarius", "Vivo Sonhando", "Manha De Carnaval", "And Here's To You", "Felicidade", "Falando De Amor", "Ela E Carioca", and "Giant Steps".