Brazil: Bossa Nova special.
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João Gilberto invented the clean, modernist style that characterizes Bossa Nova, using the guitar as a percussion and a harmonic instrument. He and his contemporaries variously combined Samba, Choro and Afro-Bahian ritual music with Debussy, Ravel, Bebop and Swing to forge the style that seduced the world and changed the course of music history.
CD. Guitar masters of Brazil. LABEL: Él Records (2011), code: ACMEM210CD.
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The beautiful sound of Stan Getz. Hardly any other saxophonist could extract such a lyrical sound from his tenor. With that sound and its smooth lines, Getz could be heard on bossa nova CDs and even some smooth fusion albums. That would make you almost forget that he was a great improviser in a style that was somewhere between cool jazz and hard bop. His greatest commercial success was achieved with his contribution to The Girl From Ipanema. CD. Body and soul – Stan Getz. LABEL: Verve (006), code: 9835264 – Universal 00602498352649 | VIDEO
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Born on October 25, 1937 (he is 81 at the moment), Brazilian composer, producer, guitarist and singer Roberto Menescal was a pioneer of bossa nova. This album presents two of his best albums in their entirety, both with pianist Eumir Deodato. Roberto Menescal’s own three songs have been recorded with different artists, as well as six bonus tracks from the same era.
CD. A nova bossa [remastered] – Roberto Menescal. LABEL: Aquarela do Brasil (2019), code: 531013 | VIDEO
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Tim Maia’s 1970 debut album introduced his daring talent, as well as North American soul and funk musical influences, changing Brazilian popular music forever. At the height of his success in the mid-1970s, he joined the Cult of Racional Energy; watch out for spaceships wearing only white clothes and playing only white instruments! Still, the two albums he recorded for the Cult are among his best. His songs search for love, and they dig into the existential. CD: Nobody can live forever – Tim Maia. LABEL: Luaka Bop (2012), code: 0067-2-9 | VIDEO
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Jorge Duílio Lima Meneses (Rio de Janeiro, March 22, 1945) is a Brazilian singer and composer known as Jorge Ben Jor. His first stage name was Jorge Ben after the name of his mother, who was of Ethiopian origin. At the moment he mainly calls himself Jorge Ben Jor. This is said to be in response to an incident where some of his royalties accidentally went to American jazz guitarist George Benson. CD: My little brother – Jorge Ben. LABEL: Adès (1989), code : 172152 | VIDEO
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The Brazilian artist who has been distributing his country’s music all over the world for over 55 years. Pianist Sergio Mendes, a fixture in the US album “charts” with his group Brasil ’66, was back on the bestsellers with Fool On The Hill. The record features their version of the song from the Magical Mystery, and climbed to the top of all charts with this album. CD: Fool on the Hill – Sergio Mendes. LABEL: Universal (2004), code: 00602498625828. A&M Records 9862582 | VIDEO
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