Bossa Nova Music

THIS ALBUM IS SIMPLY GREAT - they joy and the sadness of Bossa Nova is perfectly communicated. A great treasure - especially Rapaz De Bem, Nada Como Ter Amor....every song is great. What a talent. 5 STARS ALL THE WAY!!!

Emilio Santiago's been voted Brazil's best male vocalist several years in a row, and this is another perfect example of his talents.
These tracks represent perhaps the best Bossa Nova standards of all time (except for "Samba de Verao" that was not included in this CD), singing songs by the best songwriters of the genre like: Jobim / De Moraes / Lyra / Valle / Motta / Menescal / Boscoli / Bonfa / Maria / Donato / Barroso / Powell / Veloso (Post Bossa Nova) / Pinto Ferreira.
The absolute highlights here are:
- Voce E Eu
- Doce Viver (superb...)
- Rio
- Bateu Pra Tras
- Faixa de Cetim
- Garota de Ipanema.

So, if you're a Bossa Nova fan and don't have this wonderful effort in your collection, you're missing out everything...

I want to buy all the cds that you have , about Fogueira Tres - the best of Bossa Nova - the pure- and more genuine - I love this group .I would like to know more about this group.

I want to buy all the cds that you have , about Fogueira Tres - the best of Bossa Nova - the pure- and more genuine - I love this group .I would like to know more about this group.

John Pizzarelli, popular young jazz/pop guitarist vocalist said of his"Bossa Nova," (TelArc 2004): "A wonderful record from the start of the recording process to the release of the CD. Thanks to... the studio conditions optimal and the luck of literally running into Brasilians at the time of recording and ended up making significant contributions - Paolo Braga on drums, Cesar Camargo Mariano - piano and Daniel Jobim - vocal. Don Sebesky added the flutes and strings wonderfully. It was a joy to celebrate the Bossa Nova for all of my friends in Brasil whose support and love spawned this cd."

Nevertheless, many listeners are just not crazy about the technical quality of the CD, and feel it's not up to Telarc's usual standard. Nor are others who complain, with some justice, that many of the tracks are too well known already: "One Note Samba," "Fascinating Rhythm," "The Girl from Ipanema," for heaven's sake; "Desafinado;"James Taylor's "Smiling Face." These have all been hits in the originals, for other artists; and it's not so easy to reimagine such a well-known repertory, let alone compete with the natives in the category of somebody else's music.

Pizzarelli, son of iconic jazz guitarist Bucky, is here backed by two of his usual sidemen at the time, Ray Kennedy on piano, and Martin Pizzarelli on drums, in addition to being joined by the many Brazilian performers. I won't kid you: he doesn't sound really Brazilian. Still, his light, rhythmic, vivacious guitar suits the material well, as does his voice. And he obviously loves the material, knows it very well: he and his trio have been touring Brazil since 1996. He remarks in his liner notes that "he'll never forget an evening in Sao Paolo in 1998 at a club called Bourbon Street. The crowd was asking for an encore....A photographer shouted "Girl From Ipanema."After I sang the first chorus in English, the audience, two hundred strong, sang a chorus in Portuguese. I felt as if I was hearing them sing their national anthem."

I caught one of his performances in support of this record's release here in Wilmington, N.C., and it was certainly enjoyable. If you can buy but one bossa nova record, or one John Pizzarelli record, it probably shouldn't be this one. But it's a nice addition to the library of anyone who likes Brazilian/jazz/pop music.

I liked John Pizzarelli and bossa nova before I found out about this album, so buying it was a natural choice for me. Brazilian music is some of the most beautiful made in the world, and Pizzarelli respects that tradition while blending it with his unique style. If you're a fan of bossa nova looking for something new, or a jazz listener in need of a mostly lighthearted summery album, pick this up.

Favorite track - Waters of March, a classic Brazilian bossa nova done with a good translation.

Plenty of us North Americans love Brazilian music. That doesn't mean we can play it or sing it. I looked forward to hearing Ella Fitzgerald's "Abraca Jobim" album for years and when I finally bought it, I couldn't even listen to it all the way through. If I encountered this music at a coctail reception or something, I'd make a point of going over and telling the musicians what a fine job they were doing. But I expect more when the music is coming out of my speakers at home. Some of the songs are quite successful, like the Sondheim number which has such a sense of saudade that I had to check to see if it was a Brazilian tune or not. And Tom Jobim's grandson Daniel makes a tantalizingly brief appearance. Always nice to hear Paulo Braga behind the kit. But I can't remember the last time I've heard a worse version of "Aguas De Marco". Really makes me appreciate Mark Murphy and Sarah Vaughan's attempts at Brazilian Music.

"I hope you will take the journey with us
and hear a part of what so moved me
that early July morning on the AM airwaves.
I also hope that a little piece of this recording
will remain in your heart too, much like
João's music and Brazil has remained in mine." ~ John Pizzarelli

What a very nice thought from a talented guitarist/vocalist/composer of our time, John Pizzarelli! What he heard from the airwaves that summer of '81 was João Gilberto singing a Claus Ogerman arrangement of "Besame Mucho" from the album "Amoroso." And according to Mr. Pizzarelli "that record is a gift to the world. It remains an inspiration to all who hear it; and he always thought it to be the centerpiece of everything that Bossa Nova is and has become."

This CD is a testament of Pizzarelli's love for Bossa Nova, which has become a musical phenomenon. The marriage of American and Brazilian music was warmly embraced and welcomed by music lovers throughout the world. Its popularity is so overwhelming! Numerous great jazz legends, musicians and artists have recorded this kind of music.

Listen to one of the greatest compositions of the Gershwins -"Fascinating Rhythm" and you'll love the way Pizzarelli interpreted this standard - so splendidly arranged by Don Sebesky. This is one of my favorites and the best is yet to come! It blew me away when I heard the third track.... aaah that Jobim's gem of gems "The Girl From Ipanema." He did more than justice to this classic! I'd say it's merely SUPERB, that's the only word I can think of! Tom Jobim's grandson, Daniel Jobim, sang the equally marvelous Portuguese version.

Another standout is his interpretation of Sweet Baby James' "Your Smiling Face," with its Bossa Nova twist, this has become one of the best versions I've ever heard. I'm sure Mr. Taylor would have liked it! His renditions of Bossa Nova staples "Desafinado," "One Note Samba" and "So Danco Samba" and Stephen Sondheim's "I Remember" are fabulous. His own composition "Francesca" is so nice and has an exotic rhythm to it.

My ultimate favorite in this CD is Paul Williams/Ivan Lins/Victor Martins' "Love Dance." It's a very mellow song with words so eloquent and tune so captivating! Thank you Amazon.com for recommending this CD and many thanks to Mr. Pizzarelli for including this lovely song in your repertoire! Not to mention the equally talented jazz musicians who have helped Mr. Pizzarelli make this recording absolutely beautiful; Ray Kennedy (piano), Martin Pizzarelli (bass), Paulinho Braga (drums), Jim Saporito (percussion), Cesar Mariano (piano - "So Danco Samba"), Harry Allen (tenor sax) and Chiara Civello (background vocals).

This is certainly a CD-for-all-seasons!

I like John Pizzarelli a lot, and have seen him 3 times in concert (once with his father Bucky.) He's terrific. But even more, I love bossa nova and its greats: Gilberto, Jobim et al. John makes an earnest stab at this material, but while he doesn't fall flat, he also doesn't quite snare it. After playing the disc a few times, and wanting to get something out of my purchase, I concluded that for me, 8 of the tracks held up to repeated listening. Since I copy all my discs to computer, it was easy enough to separate out and highlight those tracks. Some of the songs have been over-recorded and overplayed to death, and great as the songs are I couldn't tolerate another halfway, competent but non-brilliant stab at them: One-Note Samba, Girl from Ipanema, Aguas de Marco and Desafinado are better left to their originators. And for me, James Taylor's Your Smiling Face doesn't fit here, although Pizzarelli does a decent job of it. The rest of the album is quite nice, and the 8 songs come to a very pleasant 35 minutes, a good length for an album. I'm glad I bought it, there's really good music here, but you may want to pick your own favorites and skip over the rest.