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Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Bossa Nova + Soul - Marian McPartland

With You In Mind
Bossa Nova + Soul
Marian McPartland
Time Records S/4001

Marian McPartland - Piano
Ben Tucker - Bass
Dave Bailey - Drums
Ralph Dorsey - Conga Drum
Bob Crowder - Tambourine
1963

Artist and Repertorie - Bob Shad
Original Recording Engineer - Tom Nota
Re-recording Engineer - Frank Abbey
Mastering - Hal Diepold
Liner Notes - Marian McPartland
Production Coordinator - Harry Ringler
Album Coordinator - Sandra Danesi
Typography - The Composing Rom, Inc.
Printing and Fabrications - Globe Album, Inc.
Album Design - Murray Stein
Cover Photo - Joe Weitz

Creative Latin flavored jazz set featuring excellent engineering.

From the back cover: This album is quite different from anything that I have ever recorded. One of the interesting and unusual features is the addition of the conga drums and tambourine to my regular group. We have been playing the Bossa Nova since Dave Bailey joined the trio several months ago and demonstrated this new rhythm that he and Ben Tucker had heard while on tour in Brazil earlier this year.

Bossa Nova literally means "something new" and though it is based on the samba and has the same basic "two" feeling. It is actually a variation of the standard clave rhythm which is changed to coincide with the guitar accompaniment used in most South American groups. A relaxed sensuous rhythm, it is intensified by the use of the bander or tambourine, cabassa, bass, guitar and one or more horns. We used the conga drum (although it is not part of the "authentic" Bossa Nova combination) and Ralph Dorsey played on it a rhythm similar to the one used by the South American drummers, (that is played across the tom-tom with the left hand) while Dave kept the basic samba beat going.

I decided that I must have a tambourine on the date too, after hearing Dizzy Gillespie play it one night in Birdland. At the session, we all started to smile when we heard how great it sounded. Since Bob Crowder, the tamborine player had not rehearsed with the rest of us, there was a sort of excitement as we heard the tunes with the tambourine added for the first time. We, in fact, used it to good effect on every number, some of which were not Bossa Nova but straight jazz with a Latin flavor. I also decided to experiment with the Wurlitzer electronic piano on Love For Sale, Stranger In A Dream and Coming Home Baby. After hearing the playback we were pleased with the funky sound of the little electronic piano. At times, it seemed reminiscent of a guitar, especially in the low register. Just for fun, I played some "eights" on a chorus of Love For Sale - eight bars on piano, eight on the electronic piano, on Coming Home Baby (written by Ben Tucker, who also wrote Baby You Should Know It), I used it on the introduction and ending.

My own tunes With You In Mind and Stranger In A Dream lend themselves effectively to the feeling of the Bossa Nova. Ben and I worked out a little blues with a six-eight feeling, called Tell Me. We also used the same six-eight pattern on Sweet And Lovely, Straight No Chaser features Dave and Ralph alternating twelve bar solos and Green Dolphin Street just happens to be one of my favorite tunes.

Love For Sale
With You In Mind
Stranger In A Dream
Sweet And Lovely
Coming Home Baby
Tell Me
Green Dolphin Street
Straight No Chaser
Baby You Should Know It

2 comments:

  1. I like that cover, though I haven't figured out what it has to do with Bossa Nova and/or Soul.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed. It took me a moment or two to realize that the colorful "bricks" in the image were chalk in a box... I have no idea what the connection to the music is...

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