Date: February 13, 1962
Release: VERVE 341 521 413-2
Cover Art: view / download
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Driving music designed for sun-drenched drives in sleek convertables along winding coasts with the one you love by your side. Jazz Samba is the album responsible for importing the Brazilian Bossa Nova craze to America in 1962. What makes this musical genre so infectious is the delicate tension between its intricate rhythms and its deceptively light-handed melodic approach. It’s the music of tropical drinks and lazy afternoons, and of all the Bossa Nova albums to be recorded in the ’60s, this is the definitive one.

Each song is anchored by the expert guitar strumming of the classically-trained Charlie Byrd (who had studied under the great Andres Segovia). On such songs as “Samba Triste” or “Bahia,” he solos effervescently, in perfect union with the round, opulent saxophone sound of Stan Getz.

The cool West Coast sound of Mr. Getz was an inspired choice for this musical genre: his trademark grunts and pops and melodious high-note phrasings highlight his superb sense of dynamics, making this music-which sounded clumsy and peripatetic in other players’ hands-relaxed and graceful. Listen to him on “Desafinado,” and especially on “Samba de Uma Nota So” and you’ll want to pull over and grab that kiss from the passenger you’ve been thinking about for a few dozen miles.

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