Big Band Bossa Nova - Plak

ENGLISH

The Stan Getz LPs 'Jazz Samba' for small ensemble and the classic Focus for big band were surprisingly big sellers - so it is no wonder that Verve producer Creed Taylor, himself an arranger and fan of light, airy strings, put the two components together.

The young Gary McFarland took melancholy Brazilian themes by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto and Luiz Bonfa, wrote four songs himself and combined the lightfootedness of the bossa nova with the cool, toned-down emotions so typical for Stan Getz's sound in the Sixties.

Verve gathered together the best musicians for the studio recording: Clark Terry, Bob Brookmeyer and Jim Hall were there to produce a carpet of sound over which Stan Getz could float. At the beginning of the Sixties Stan was, of course, at the very top of his form as far as sound perfection goes. After 'apprenticeship' with swing bands in the mid-Forties and 'further training' with classical small ensembles in the Fifties, he found his ideal source of the art of improvisation: Brazilian music with its songlike, simple themes, Latin-American rhythms, and melodic intervals. And these brought him acclaim, fame and money.

The original gatefold sleeve with a drawing by Olga Albizu was the object of many a collector's desire. Now, 40 years later, both LP and cover are available once again in excellent sound and print quality.

Recording: August 1962 in New York City by George Kneurr and Frank Laico

Production: Creed Taylor