| Description |
Sergio Mendes - The Swinger from Rio (1964)
Year: 1964
CD Release Date: Jun 08, 1999
Label: Atlantic
Bitrate: 320 kbps
"During the recordings I was ecstatic, and kept pinching myself that here I am, playing with Jobim and Art and Phil. It was like a beautiful dream coming true..." - Sergio Mendes
We have become more familiar with the music of Latin America and especially that of Brazil in the past year. The new music from Brazil ( better known as bossa nova ) has been absorbed into the mainstream of our own music. This is completely natural. While we have been listening to their music, Latin American musicians have been listening to ours. Jazz music in particular has been fascinating to them for quite some time, and it would be accurate to describe bossa nova as a marriage of modern Brazilian music and American jazz. The music contained in this album is the happy result of a meeting of Brazilian bossa nova stars and American jazz musicians. Sergio Mendes, the young man who graces the cover of this LP is one of the brightest talents to emerge from Brazilian music circles. He possesses a crisp piano style that clearly dominates all of the performances in this album. The clarity of Sergio's musical thought is always apparent whether he is soloing, playing ensemble or accompanying someone else's solo. In addition he inspires some of the finest work on records by the well known jazz performers, Art Farmer, Phil Woods and Hubert Laws. Sergio is accustomed to playing with a country's leading musicians. He became a professional pianist at the age of sixteen. One year later he organized his own group to perform at parties and in night clubs in and around his hometown of Niteroi which is across the bay from the more celebrated Brazilian town of Ipanema. The composer and musician, Antonio Carlos Jobim, heard Sergio play and was very impressed. He gave him a great nea'fof encouragement, arid before long Sergio joined the circle of musicians in Rio who were creating a new musical style that came to be known as bossa nova. It is impossible to conceive of greater musical understanding than that which is shown by Sergio, fluegelhornist Art Farmer, saxophonist Phil Woods and flutist Hubert Laws in this album. Listening to the way their solos dovetail one could easily assume these musicians have worked together for many years. Sergio has the remarkable facility of matching the tonal quality of his instrument to that of the musician with whom he is playing. Notice for instance that when he and Art Farmer exchange phrases at the end of Useless Panorama, the sound of their instruments maintain an even flow. On So Danco Samba and Maria Moita there is a little more bite to Sergio's piano work to match the drive of Phil Woods' robust saxophone style. Though these musicians may have been born thousands of miles apart, they are truly kindred spirits. Sergio's good friend and the man he calls his mentor. Antonio Carlos Jobim, is on hand for many of the numbers. Better known as the composer of the classic bossa nova tunes ( Desafinado, One Note Samba, etc. ), Jobim is also an accomplished guitarist. Hear how he introduced his composition, Useless Panorama by softly phrasing the melody. The musicians who make up the rhythm section are members of Sergio's own trio, Tiao Netto on bass and drummer Chico DeSouza. They keep the front line swinging in all tempos. Geographically Sergio Mendes may be The Swinger From Rio— on the basis of his playing in this album he could also be The Swinger from the USA. ~ Bob Altshuler ( Original liner notes )
Personnel:
Sergio Mendes ( Piano )
Antonio Carlos Jobim ( Guitar ) - 1,2,4,6-11
Art Farmer ( Trumpet and Flugelhorn ) - 2,3,5-7,11
Phil Woods ( Alto Saxophone ) - 1,4,8
Tiao Nieto ( Double Bass )
Chico DeSouza ( Drums )
Hubert Laws ( Flute ) - 3,5,9,11
Sergio Mendes - The Swinger from Rio (1964) Tracks:
01 Maria Moita ( Carlos Lyra & Vinicius de Moraes ) 3:31
02 Sambinha Bossa Nova ( Antonio Carlos Jobim ) 3:12
03 Batida Diferente ( Durval Fereira/Mauricio Einhorn ) 3:48
04 So Danco Samba ( Antonio Carlos Jobim ) 3:12
05 Pau Brasil ( Sergio Mendes ) 3:16
06 The Girl From Ipanema ( Antonio Carlos Jobim/Norman Gimbel ) 2:53
07 Useless Panorama ( Antonio Carlos Jobim ) 3:28
08 The Dreamer ( Antonio Carlos Jobim/Gene Lees ) 4:13
09 Primavera ( Carlos Lyra ) 2:46
10 Consolacao ( Baden Powell ) 3:22
11 Favela ( Antonio Carlos Jobim ) 5:21
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PLS SEED: By schon55
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