Your favorite Brazilian song

[Harry]

I know what it's like to have your stuff packed away in boxes for a move. I've still got about four boxes of LPs that have no home and are still boxed up, plus a bunch of cassettes. Not stuff I need quick access too, so it's OK for now.

But we did our move over a six-month period and it was no fun!

Oh, and count me in on liking Percy Faith. His Christmas album is a perennial favorite with me.

Harry

 

[Michael Hagerty]

Aguas de Marco...no contest.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[lj]

An extraordinary instrumental version of "Laia Ladaia" is by composer and arranger extraordinaire Patrick Williams from his 1968 album on the Verve label "Shades of Today". Williams went on to win two Grammys for jazz arranging, composed for film and TV (the theme from The Streets of San Francisco), and arranged for artists such Dionne Warwick (theme from "Valley of the Dolls"), Sinatra (Duets albums) and Eydie Gorme.

A word about Eydie Gorme. She simply has the prettiest pop female voice I have ever heard. While noted for her torch songs and Spanish albums, it was her magnificant 1963 "Blame It on the Bossa Nova" album that introduced to the world of Brazilian music. She sang four Bossa's on it including "One Note Samba" with unbelievable vocal acrobatics. In 1967 with husband Steve Lawrence and guitarist Luis Bonfa they recorded "Steve and Eydie, Bonfa and Brazil" with twelve incredible Bonfa compositions. Both albums are still in print-- now as CD's--available from the Steve & Eydie website. Buy them--you won't be sorry!

 

[JMK]

My friend Bruce Kimmel *just* released Patrick Williams' score to Cuba a couple of weeks ago on CD.

Funny story about Steve & Eydie's site. As you may know, Steve held on to the rights to some of his catalog, including his second Broadway show, Golden Rainbow. When he re-released that on CD, many of us who ordered it directly from their site suddenly found ourselves getting private emails from their manager to Don Ho's manager in Hawaii, discussing terms for a joint concert. It was absolutely hilarious to read the backstage shenanigans going on.

 

[lj]

I hope JMK that you ultimately got "Golden Rainbow". Every song from this 1968 Broadway show was a melodic gem. The brilliant largely forgetten score by Walter Marks reminded me of another great largely forgotten Broadway composer of the 1960's--Cy Coleman.

Oh yes, it was Pat Williams who wrote the incredible charts for "Golden Rainbow". Note how his arrangement of "It's You Again" sung by Eydie Gorme has the drummer so effectively use the Bossa Nova rim click technique. Williams in the 1970's went on to be nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his orchestral work "An American Concerto"--an ambitious work combining American jazz with symphonic music. What a talent.

 

[betossantana]

A word about Eydie Gorme. She simply has the prettiest pop female voice I have ever heard. While noted for her torch songs and Spanish albums, it was her magnificant 1963 "Blame It on the Bossa Nova" album that introduced to the world of Brazilian music. She sang four Bossa's on it including "One Note Samba" with unbelievable vocal acrobatics. In 1967 with husband Steve Lawrence and guitarist Luis Bonfa they recorded "Steve and Eydie, Bonfa and Brazil" with twelve incredible Bonfa compositions.

OK, now I'm curious to listen to Eydie Gorme, the one and only time I came to see a personification of her was in this Saturday Night Live sketch, it was HILARIOUS but it doesn't mention hers or her husband's talent, very much on the contrary!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFu_H4Bh_gM

 

[JMK]

I also highly recommend Patrick Williams' incredible Threshold (available--or at least it was years ago--on CD).

I have to say this, forgive me--I love Eydie, but she is rather strident on her high notes on "Blame it on the Bossa Nova." I just had to do a choral arrangement of that tune a few months ago and so was listening to her version, as well as a Annette's (yes, that Annette), and Eydie had some intonation problems up high on that tune.

 

[lj]

You were curious Betossantana about the singer Eydie Gorme. Well the link below has her singing the Jobim bossa nova standard "Desafinado" from her Blame it on the Bossa Nova album. What a beautiful voice she has. For me, it is the best English language version of this classic song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGDefV8vsdc

 

[betossantana]

Thanks.

 

[Dave]

OK, what's NOW my favorite Brasilian song:

--A sooooooo awesome remixed version of Astrud Gilberto; "Who Needs Forever", right here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGd6RFKp_Q0


And a "tamer version" of "Who Needs Forever?", also by Astrud; backed by Walter Wanderley, here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyQAJUr1Ze4&feature=related


Dave

 

[Dave]

Another by Astrud...! --Gilberto!

"Chup, Chup, I Got Away":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVVtE14-p0g&feature=related

--Think I'm in love w/ this singer & her songs...!



Dave

 

[lj]

I also am a huge fan of Astrud Gilberto. Her voice captures the spirit of Bossa Nova perfectly. What a talent. My two favorite songs of her's are "The Face I Love" written by the Valle brothers and arranged by another brilliant Brazilian--Eumir Deodato and the Carlos Lyra composition "Lugar Bonita." The equally brilliant Norman Gimbel wrote the English lyrics to "Lugar Bonita" as he did for dozens of other great Brazilian songs such as "The Girl from Ipanema." It is noteworthly how Astrud was a key participant in this latter classic song. It seemed like she had the magic touch on any song she sang.