12 Influential Brazillian Jazz albums
My list of 12 influential Brazilian Jazz albums begins here. The same year that Glenn Miller was riding high with ‘In The Mood’, Ary Barroso’s big band was swinging samba with Aquarela do Brasil (Brazil). All it took was an animated push from the Disney studios to make it a worldwide hit. ‘Brazil’ went on to become the first Brazilian song to be played over a million times on American radio and Rolling Stone Brasil lists it as the 12th greatest Brazilian song of all time.
‘Chega De Saudade’ From Chega De Saudade – João Gilberto (1959)
After wearing out his welcome in Rio de Janeiro, João Gilberto turned his self-imposed musical exile into a musical point in time: a new ‘voice and guitar’ style that forever changed how the world would think about Brazilian music. Yes, Jobim had the songs, and Vinicius had the lyrics, but make no mistake: it was João Gilberto’s creativity that created Bossa Nova, and he did it with Chega De Saudade.
My list of 12 influential Brazilian Jazz albums would be complete without Jazz Samba. Guitarist Charlie Byrd was among the first of America’s jazz musicians to pick up on Gilberto’s genius during a U.S. State Department tour of Brazil and South America. However, Stan Getz was not convinced until Byrd played a few Brazilian records for the sax star.
The decision to record the album at All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C. gives it an aural ambiance that’s unmatched. This Grammy-winning, million-selling recording topped Billboard’s Pop Album charts to set the path for…Read More..