Personnel:
Herbie Mann (fl, a-fl), Antonio Carlos Jobim (p, vcl), Pedro Paulo (tp), Paulo Moura (as), Durval Ferreira, Baden Powell (g), Sergio Mendes, Luis Carlos Vinhas (p), Sebastiao Neto, Otavio Bailly Jr. (b), Dom Um Romão, Edison Machado (d), Bossa Tres
Reference: FSRCD 752
Bar code: 8427328607520
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In 1962, at the height of the bossa nova craze, flautist Herbie Mann went back to the source and connected the real thing with jazz by recording in Rio de Janeiro with some of the best local practitioners and adapting with ease to a broad spectrum of Brazilian groups. Sergio Mendes hard-swinging band is heard on tunes like Menina Feia, Batida Diferente or Blues Walk, with Mendes, Pedro Paulo and Paulo Moura impressively jazz-aware on piano, trumpet and alto respectively.
Elsewhere, Antonio Carlos Jobim is coolly intriguing, singing and scatting on his own One Note Samba. He also plays piano and provides the string settings on this and the charming, rich melodies of Amor Em Paz and Insensatez. Baden Powells distinctive guitar features in three black-influenced compositions, Nana, Deve Ser Amor, and Consolaçao, nice songs almost with a blues feeling, Mann pointed out. On Voce E Eu, Manns flute is backed by the Bossa Tres, another trio with a jazz approach led by the talented pianist Luis Carlos Vinhas. And Bossa Velhaa number Mann conceived for the occasion is a 17-piece percussion group recruited from the Escola de Samba. The results remain a delightful vindication of Manns decision.
—Do the Bossa Nova
"Rather than play a watered-down version of bossa nova in New York studios (which was becoming quite common as the bossa nova fad hit its peak in 1962), flutist Herbie Mann went down to Brazil and recorded with some of the top players of the style. Guitarist Baden Powell and the group of then-unknown pianist Sergio Mendes, which included drummer Dom Um Romao, formed the nucleus for this generally delightful album. Antonio Carlos Jobim himself dropped by to sing two of his compositions, including "One Note Samba," and even on the token jazz standard "Blues Walk," the music is as much Brazilian as it is jazz. This "fusion" works quite well."
Scott Yanow -All Music guide
