JAZZ RECORDS Samba Meets Jazz

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30190, 23 July 1963, Page 8

JAZZ RECORDS Samba Meets Jazz

The newest thing in jazz, following hard behind an avant garde flurry called the “new thing,” is the bossa nova, a samba of Brazilian origin which has filled more vinylite in less time than anything in jazz since “soul” music. A combination of modern jazz harmony and melody with Brazilian rhythms, the bossa nova revolves around a basic, eight-even-beats-to - the - measure samba rhythm, on which a cross rhythm is superimposed to give a feeling of three-against-four., The result is a light, airy, highly melodic music which seems to float towards the listener. A deluge of bossa nova discs has reached the local market. Quite the most delightful of them are the two LPs featuring the tenor saxophonist Stan Getz—“Jazz Samba” (Verve V. 8432. with Charlie Byrd) and “Big Band Bossa Nova” (Verve V. 8494, with Gary McFarland). “Jazz Samba” contains the “hits” "Desafinado” and “Samba De Uma Nota So,” both of which have been heard frequently in foreshortened form cn the radio. Made soon after Byrd’s return from a State Depart-ment-sponsored tour of South America, it is a suoce. ul merger of jazz and samba Ifi

which neither is self-con-sciously felt (perhaps significantly, the notes make no mention of the bossa nova). Byrd, who has been getting widespread acceptance lately, has another LP in release on Riverside and a further LP. “Latin Impressions,” is expected soon. In this set his playing is very intelligent, quiet and relaxed. His virtuosity, which is much in evidence all the way, is used musically and not as something to lean on when inspiration flags. Getz plays beautifully, with a warmer, fuller tone and more rhythmic assurance than in- the past. Indeed, this new rhythmic assurance. which contrasts with the flabbiness of much of his early work, furnishes much of the charm of his playing here, and on the big band set, where a less intelligent soloist might have negated the wistful grace of McFarland’s arrangements.

This latter set features four compositions by McFarla J, a talented newcomer, and four by Brazilian composers, including two themes from the score written by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bon fa for the film, “Black Orpheus,” in which the bossa nova made its debut outside Brazil. McFarland, who first attracted attention with several arrangements for Gerry Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band, has created settings which burnish Getz’s gemlike melodic imagination Jobim’s “Samba De Uma Nota So” makes another appearance here and features a beautiful solo by Getz. ‘‘Summit Meeting” (Vee Jay 39/730) is a rather mixed bag, containing one or two quite good tracks and a couple which sound like scrapings from the cuttingroom floor. Lee Morgan's “I’m a Fool to Want You,” is a fluent and sparkling performance, as is Wynton Kelly’s “Wrinkles,” even in its shortened form (originally, it appeared on a Kelly LP in much longer form and contained an articulate solo by Wayne Shorter, whose contribution has been excised from the tape for this issue). “Jim Dog” is said to feature the trombonist, Bennie Green (whose name is generally spelt that way, rather than Benny as in the notes), but there is no trombone solo. The tenor saxophone solo sounds like the work of Gene Ammons and the trumpet (or cornet?) solo is by Nat Adderley, who appears also on “Hazing”, under the leadership of Louis Hayes. Adderley’s brother, Cannonball Adderley. appears on Paul Chambers's “Awful Mean” and delivers a lengthy peroration which has all the fire, spontaneity and eloquence of a Conservative finance minister’s speech on Budget night.