Race Recording by Stan Bergstein

 

Race Recordings / Northville Downs

Race Recordings by Stan Bergstein

From Northville Downs

June 29, 1953

Winning Horse: The Explorer

Owner: Col. E. D. McQuown

Driver: Walt Dispannette

12-inch 78 rpm Acetate Disc

Jazz At The Bilmar - Arnie Mossler

 

Jazz At The Bilmar

Jazz At The Bilmar

With Arnie Mossler

And The Suncoast Dixielanders

Engineer: M. L. Emerman

Mastering: Jack Davis

Bilmar Records 6244

1968

Arnie Mossler - Cornet

Bern Yonker - Trombone

Wiffy Walter - Clarinet

Lee Lockwood - Piano

Red Seal - Bass

Sammy Fletcher - Drums

From the back cover: According to one of the latest international dictionaries, Dixieland music is "a style of Jazz, originating in New Orleans, played by a small group of instruments, marked by strongly accented 4-4 rhythm and vigorous, quasi-improvisational solos and ensembles."

According to avid Dixie fans from coast to coast who've visited the Beach Room of the Bilmar Beach Hotel in Treasure Island, Florida, Dixieland means only one thing: Arnie Mossler and his Suncoast Dixielanders.

The diminutive musician-artist-cartoonist leads one of the strongest aggregates of the nation's Dixie adherents through their paces as they alternately bounce, stomp, lilt and wail their way through a variety of tunes that many never knew existed but now will, never forget.

The cold style of a dictionary definition, however, leaves much to be desired. For Mossler and his merry men, Dixieland isn't an exclusive product of New Orleans. It's a rich blend of the best styles and tunes of that fabled Delta city and the more blatant, commanding style made famous in Chicago decades ago.

The blend of personnel, setting and style is unique. At the live session beside the sparkling Gulf of Mexico, the group plays to residents and vacationers from all parts of the nation. The Chicago based strains of Mossler's cornet are abetted by the strong New Orleans honed trombone of Vern Drapey Yonkers, the cosmopolitan clarinet of Wifty Walters, the solidly swinging piano of Lee Lockwood and the pulsating bass of Red Seal. Rounding out the artists and providing impetus is the exhilirating drum sound of Sammy Fletcher.

Mossler leads off Side I with musical introductions and, in the newest tradition, swings gently into the soft "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" featuring Yonkers who, as a disciple of the late Jack Teagarden, vocally recreates the magic atmosphere that Dixieland always brings.

From the soft touch, the group takes a deep breath and struts its way through the "Tailgate Ramble," followed closely by a novel ballad approach to the familiar "Jada," which is played in medley with another beautiful tune, "It's Wonderful."

The set roars out for a break with a rousing rendition of the "Washington & Lee Swing."

Side II swings into high gear with the "Wolverine Blues". The group takes a tour of Wolverine country at a rapid pace, then settles down into a smooth rendition of the old Armstrong favorite, "Sugar," featuring Mossler on the vocal.

The "Sugar," after setting a sweet mood, is suddenly spiced up as the group finds itself in "Jungle Town." A swift romp follows with the entire ensemble guiding the audience through everything from clarinet-studded palm trees to a solo bass safari through the palmetto bush.

"What's The Use" provides an ideal medium for self-expression in moderate Dixie tempo, leading the group to its bell-ringing finale "When The Saints Go Marching In."

The session, as alive as today, with personal introductions for each number by the rotund Mossler, represents telling evidence of the revival of a truly original American art form.

On Florida's Suncoast, a melting pot for people and musical tastes, the Suncoast Dixielanders represent, perhaps, the first stage of a revival of a stirring, happy, intelligible music that appeals to all age groups and knows no real geographical boundaries.

It proves once again that music, as a means of communication, is the only one that doesn't need an interpreter. – ERIC MCFAIL, ST. PETERSBURG (FLA.) TIMES

Baby Won't You Please Come Home

Tailgate Ramble

Jada & It's Wonderful (medley)

Washington & Lee Swing

Wolverine Blues

Sugar

Jungle Town

What's The Use

When The Saints Go Marching In

Jay & Kai - J. J. Johnson / Kia Winding

 

Jay & Kai

Jay & Kai

J. J. Johnson / Kai Winding

Savoy MG-12010

1955

J. J. Johnson - Trombone

Kai Winding - Trombone

Billy Bauer - Guitar *

Charlie Mingus - Bass

Wally Cirillo - Piano **

Kenny Clarke - Drums

Ozzie Cadena

From the back cover: In Savoy's distinguished recording history, which precedes these notes by fifteen years, there have been many select moments when the all-elusive greatness of jazz has been captured, and, needless to say, the supervisors and directors here were quite proud of their achievements. These notable moments include, among others, the brilliant CHARLIE PARKER catalogue, the FATS NAVARRO sessions, the American debut of GEORGE SHEARING, the initial STAN GETZ recordings, ERROLL GARNER'S romps, and, of late, a marvelous PHIL URSO-BOB BROOKMEYER collaboration and a recent JOHNNY MEHEGAN pressing with CHUCK WAYNE. The list has been impressive; the finest artists have flourished under the Savoy aegis, and now we proudly offer to jazzdom another "great", in the fullest sense of the word's meaning.

Perhaps, as all things must have a prime cause, this album should be dedicated to its director, OZZIE CADENA, for certainly he, above all others, was the dominant force behind its formation. OZ is the newest and among the most "hip" A. & R. men in jazz today. As a former musician (piano and bass) he understands their dilemmas, the enigma of contribution and commercialism, and offers sympathetic assistance to the creative artist. It was he who first saw the potential of the groups assembled. OZ believed that in the search for "new" sounds, the trombone and guitar had been most overlooked, and resolved to do something about it. Not one, but two trombones were mentioned, and some guidnunc looked askance, but OZ repeated, "I can hear it, it'll be great." So, two trombones are heard. Then, the guitar was selected, omitting the standard piano, and eyebrows raised again. And again the same argument, "I can hear it." Finally, to compliment the group, the accepted bass and drums were added. After the group assembled and began to blow, we could all "hear it", and as Cadena predicted, "It's great."

Still further evidence of the Directors foresight can be found by scanning the personnel list:

Trombones: What, JOHNSON and WINDING in the same group? Yes, a record rarity indeed, listing the two foremost trombonists jazz has offered in the last decade. JAY and KAI are great friends, and welcomed the chance to play side-by-side, surely benefiting one another by the double advantage of combined talents. In describing these two peers, words seem to lack the power to convey their triumphs here but, as a sincere "fan" of both, I can truthfully say I've seldom heard them better.

Guitar: BILLY BAUER. For years the most trained ear and even the casual observer has been startled by the impeccable taste and beauty of BILLY's guitar, and both seem to agree his is the most mature guitar-voice to appear in jazz, comparable to the classicist Segovia. Suffice to say that BILLY maintains his apex-level here.

Bass: CHARLIE MINGUS. Anent MINGUS one thinks of a plexus of energy, his bristling activity, his wit, his sincerity, his ability and his genius. CHARLIE's work on this record demonstrates all these qualities, and his composition "REFLECTIONS," the most advanced structurally, marks his arrival as composer.

Drums: KENNY CLARKE. KENNY swings as though it were his own peculium, and on virtually all the numbers he acted as the fillip with the rest moving accordingly. Recognition has been long coming to "KLOOK" but his day arrived long after the "drum-clods" and "bombers" descended into the drummer's limbo.

Piano: WALLY CIRILLO. WALLY was one of the stars of a recent Jazz Workshop Concert, and very impressive with his melodic enterprise. As Commitments kept BAUER from the second session, this young pianist was selected, and he ably filled his role. WALLY's talent is evidenced in MINGUS' abstract work with its difficult piano part which WALLY sight-read, quite an achievement!

Of the themes employed, four are either originals or arrangements by J. J., "BERNIE'S TUNE," "LAMENT," "WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE" and "BLUES FOR TROMBONES;" two are WINDING expressions, "CO-OP" and "BLUES IN TWOS;" "THE MAJOR" is CIRILLO's and finally there is MINGUS' pensive abstraction, "REFLECTIONS." They are all played either with a happy zest, with excitement king for the moment, or with tender pathos. Overall the performances are outstanding contributions to our jazz culture, offered to those aware, the cogniscenti, who comprise the listening audience to music's most inspirational and eristic branch. – JACK MCKINNEY

Bernies Tune **

Lament *

Blues For Trombones *

The Major *

Co-op **

Reflections **

Blues In Twos **

What Is This Thing Called Love *

Queen Of Country Music - Kitty Wells

 

Slowly

Queen Of Country Music

Kitty Wells 

With The Jordanaires (courtesy of Capitol Records)

Decca Records DL 4197

1963

Moody River

What Am I Living For

Pick Me Up On Your Way Down

Slowly

Wooden Heart

Heart Over Mind

Ev'rybody's Somebody's Fool

Am I That Easy To Forget

One More Time

Hello Walls

Your Old Love Letters

A Fallen Star

Frankly Speaking - Frank Rosolino

 

Slan

Kenton Presents

Frankly Speaking!

The Frank Rosolino Quintet

Originally recorded in Hollywood - May 4 and 5, 1955 (Capitol T6509)

Affinity AFF 69 (reissue)

1981

Frank Rosolino - Trombone

Charlie Mariano - Alto Saxophone

Walter Norris - Piano

Max Bennett - Bass

Stan Levey - Drums

From the back cover: "Frank Rosolino" wrote Will MacFarland in his original notes for the release of this LP in Capitol's 'Kenton Presents' series "the bouncing boy with the seemingly unmeltable trombone, bounces back with more of his happy music for people in love with good jazz". MacFarland went on to refer to the first of Frank's albums in the series, the one already released as Affinity AFF61 (although the Affinity LP contains two additional titles which were not present on the original Capitol disc). Although Frank was associated in many people's memories with Stan Kenton he was, in fact, an accomplished and experienced soloist years before he moved into the Kenton brass section in 1952.

Born in Detroit on August 20, 1926 Frank came from a musical family and sleeve-note writer Brian Davis gave a concise summary of Rosolino's early years on the back of Affinity AFF61. During the time he spent with the Gene Krupa Orchestra he made what was probably his first appearance on film. Universal-International made a 15-minute short feature on the band, directed by Will Cowan, and Frank was featured on Lemondrop, the camera's zoom lens closing in on the Rosolino mouth as it enunciated the scat vocal on George Wallington's tune.

But Frank's attachment to bebop was more than just a passing novelty attraction. His amazingly proficient technique on an instrument seldom associated with fast articulation sparked the marvelous Georgie Auld Quintet, a little band comprising Rosolino, Auld, pianist Lou Levy, bass player Max Bennett and the late Tiny Kahn as drummer and arranger. A nod in the direction of this splendid little unit occurs here with Taps Miller, one of the more popular numbers from the Auld Quintet book. It would be difficult to imagine Rosolino being a part of any musical organisation which did not allow his natural effervescence and ebullience to bubble through. Stan Kenton gave him plenty of chances to swing for Frank was a member of a particularly fine band which included men such as Richie Kamuca, Stan Levey, Bill Holman and Lee Konitz. In 1954 he made his first records for Stan's "Kenton Presents" series (Affinity AFF61), utilizing the talents of kindred spirits from the band, for the most part, including Sam Noto on trumpet, Charlie Mariano on alto, Curtis Counce on bass and drummer Stan Levey. Bill Holman provided the arrangements for that first LP and for this present "Frankly Speaking" album much the same format was used. Charlie Mariano, a man who at the time spoke the language of Charlie Parker with more clarity than almost any other saxophonist, was again present. Born in Boston in 1923 Charlie came up with the local bands before moving on to national fame and fortune. Stan Levey was one of the very first of the great bebop drummers; he worked with Dizzy Gillespie in 1944 ("Dizzy kept telling me to play like Shadow Wilson" Stan once told me; "I'd never even heard of Shadow Wilson in those days but I sure learned a lot from Dizzy".) Max Bennett was one of Rosolino's team-mates in the excellent Georgie Auld Quintet; he was born in Dex Moines, Iowa, in 1928 and worked with Herbie Fields, Auld, Terry Gibbs and Charlie Ventura before joining Stan Kenton in 1954. Walter Norris, from Little Rock (born there in December, 1931) is the man who played piano on Ornette Coleman's first LP but he has blossomed into a very personal soloist in his own right since working with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis band in the middle-seventies. All of the arrangements for "Frankly Speaking" were done by Bill Holman, with the exceptions of Slan and The missus, both the work of Charlie Mariano.

Bill Holman has perfected the art of making a small band sound considerably larger than it actually is; in addition he is adept at devising useful bridge passages between solos which act as spring-boards. The opening Frenesi is taken up-tempo over a latin beat in the theme choruses. The first soloist is Mariano, who is Bird-like and exciting over Levey's sizzling cymbal before the leader takes off on two happy and extrovert choruses of his own. Rhythm rascals is the first of two Holman originals and is dedicated to the high spirits of the quintet members; note Norris's strong continuity with his right hand during his solo. Moonlight in Vermont has an unusual format and a 26-bar chorus (6-6-8-6); taken as a slow ballad, Holman's arrangement makes use of Max Bennett's arco bass as a third line in the theme statements. Rosolino's filigree phrasing is in contrast with Mariano's passionate and Parkerish half-chorus. The up- tempo The missus was Charlie Mariano's tribute to the wife who had produced three daughters for him. Charlie and Frank split a chorus before Norris takes a complete chorus of his own. There's no you is one of those neglected ballads, complete here in just two choruses. But in those two choruses Frank exhibits his complete command of his horn, using beautifully controlled smears of sound in the second chorus. Tadd Dameron's Our delight closes side one in vintage bebop style with fine solos from the front-line. The unison paraphrase of the original theme which forms the fourth chorus here is based on Dameron's own closing King fish is by Holman and should not be confused with a Quincy Jones tune of the same name. This was written originally for a Capitol album titled "Kenton Plays Holman" and for the quintet arrangement Bill was forced to drop one of the three lines which formed the theme statement for the big band. A unison figure boosts the soloists into flight and there are excellent choruses from piano, trombone, alto and bass.

In the light of the happiness which pervades every minute of the music to be heard here it is almost unbelievable that Frank Rosolino elected to put an end to his own life in a most bizarre and horrific fashion in November, 1978. We will never know what motivated his actions and those who knew him well were profoundly shocked. Let us not try to analyse those final hours. Let us instead revel in the joyful music of Frank Rosolino as represented on the enclosed record.

Alun Morgan

Frenesi (Dominguez, Charles, Russell)

The Rhythm Rascals (Holman)

Moonlight In Vermont (Suessdorf, Blackburn)

The Missus (Mariano)

There's No You (Hopper, Adair)

Our Delight (Dameron)

Now I Lay Me Down (to dream of you) (Howard, Ferrari)

Taps Miller (Basie, Russell)

Slan (Mariano)

Stairway To The Stars (Malneck, Signorelli, Parish)

The King Fish (Holman)

Frank Rosolino appears by courtesy of Capitol Records

Je Vous Aime - Francoise Hardy

Je Vous Aime

Je Vous Aime

Francoise Hardy

4 Corners Of The World

A Division of Kapp Records, Inc

Recorded in France

A Vogue P.I.P. Production

FCS-4238

1967

From the back cover: She must be doing something right.

For whatever Francoise Hardy turns her hand or her voice to seems to come up with "success" written all over it.

This album is a case in point.

You may marvel at the Hardy voice, so fresh and saucy... so soft and warm... so just right for the songs...

But as you marvel about the singing Miss Hardy, pause for a second to marvel at the writing Miss Hardy. For each of the even dozen songs in this sparkling album was written by her! And they span a wide range, indeed. From the triplets-and-backbeat of "ET MEME" to the snappish "JE VEUX QU'IL REVIENNE." Clear out to the old-fashioned, heart- throbby "L'AMOUR S'EN VA."

She sings...she writes...

And she acts! (Francoise Hardy is the wild one who swings out of a Riviera discotheque to follow the auto racer in the film "Grand Prix.") A glance at the cover photo indicates clearly that she can draw admiring glances wherever she goes. But Francoise who came to fame while studying at The Sorbonne is more than a good-looking, musically-talented girl who makes movies.

In the last analysis, you've got to listen to the lass. That's where it really happens. She makes magic because you can't see how beautiful she looks or how professionally she per- forms. You just hear her... and her songs.

And that's when she does something so right.

Take a perky young French miss who captures the brass of the young in her songs, adds a dash of the bittersweet and the romantic, then sings it all with the style of a true original ...and you have Francoise Hardy.

She must be doing something right.

Listen...

La Nuit Est Sur La Ville
Et Meme
Qui Aime-T-II Vraiment
Tu N'as Qu'un Mot a Dire
Saurais-Je
Je Veux Qu'II Revienne
Dans Le Monde Entier
Tu Ne Dis Rien
Comme Tant D'Autres
Je Pense A Lui
L'Amour S'en Va
Bien Longtemps

Stan Kenton Presents Gabe Baltazar

 

Stan Kenton Presents Gabe Baltazar

Stan Kenton Presents

Gabe Baltazar

Producer: Wayne Dunstan

Assistant Producer: Bill Cole

Mastering: Dave Ellsworth

Engineer: Hugh Davies

Cover Photograph: Courtney Harrington

Special thanks to Hy Lesnick, contractor

Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California, January 9, 10, 11, 1979

Creative World Records CW 3005

1979

TRUMPETS - John Audino, Ray Triscari, Conte Condoli, John Madrid
TROMBONES - Lloyd Ulyate, Tommy Shepard, Gil Falco, George Roberts 

REEDS - Bud Shank, Bill Green, Jack Nimitz, Bob Cooper, Bill Perkins, Phil Ayling
FRENCH HORNS - Vince DeRosa, Richard Perissi, Art Maebe, George Price
PIANO - Pete Jolly
BASS - Chuck Domonico
GUITAR - Tommy Tedesco
PERCUSSION - Dale Anderson
DRUMS -  Steve Schaeffer, John Guerin, Earl Palmer
VIOLINS - Jimmy Getzoff, Concertmaster; Sid Sharp, Murray Adler, Alfred Lustgarten, Josef Schoenbrun, Bonnie Douglas, Jack Goodkin, Henry Roth
CELLOS - Ray Kelley, Igor Horoshevsky
VIOLAS - Virginia Majewski, Barbara Simons
HARP - Dorothy Remsen

From the back cover: To say a musician is "legendary" is to compound a cliche. But ask any jazz musician about Gabe Baltazar. He is a legend, partly because he is not heard very widely these days, partly because he is one of the finest alto saxophone players in the world. He is elusive, spending almost all his time in Hawaii, seldom touring, seldom recording. If you want to hear Gabe, provided you know of his estimable reputation through the jazz underground, you've got to go to the Islands.

Gabe was a joy to me all the years he was a member of my band. He is a master of his instrument, a great guy and a great artist. I am so proud to present him on the Creative World label.

Listen, and you'll see why it's all right to use the word "legendary" once in a while. – Stan Kenton

Gabe Baltazar – From his early years in picturesque Hilo, his birthplace, to his triumphal return following four years as lead alto with the Stan Kenton orchestra, Gabe Baltazar has personified jazz in the Hawaiian Islands. No Island musician nor few anywhere – has reached the International stature nor garnered the critical praise of this genius of the reeds.

But entertainment tastes change, and pure jazz artistry was somehow never accorded its due in Hawaii. Gabe was never really away from music he was Deputy Director of the world-famed Royal Hawaiian band, and his nights were devoted to jazz and working the big shows that came through Hawaii (Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Liza Minelli, Glen Campbell, Marlene Dietrich) but only recently has his enormous talent re-emerged publicly.

When the Cavalier Restaurant in Waikiki decided to experiment with "new jazz", the Gabe Baltazar Quartet was booked for a two-week engagement. The group is now in its second year of a sizzling, standing-room-only-run. Jazz is finally "in" in Hawaii. And Gabe Baltazar, who had recorded a dozen albums with the Kenton band, who had appeared at the Monterey and Newport Jazz Festivals, who had performed both live and at recording sessions with Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Don Ellis, Cannonball Adderly and the greats of the past quarter century, is back.

This is Gabe's first solo album.

When Johnny Comes Marching Home (Traditional) - Arranged by Don Menza

What's New (Composed by Haggart- Burke) - Arranged by Bill Holman

Gabe - Composed and Arranged by Angel Pena

A Time For Love (Composed by Mandel- Webster) Arranged by Angel Pena - String Arrangement by Chuck Hoover

Take The "A" Train (Composed by Billy Strayhorn) Arranged by Don Menza - Soloists: Conte Condoli & Bob Cooper

Love Song (Composed and Arranged by Don Menza

Spanish Boots - Composed and Arranged by Don Menza

Passionate Paris In Ping Pong Percussion - Santiago

 

Allez-Vous En

Passionate Paris In Ping Pong Percussion

Santiago and His Silver Strings

Chief Engineer: Preston Ford

Coronet Records CX-142

A Division of Premier Albums Inc.

1961

So... there is not a single instance of "ping pong percussion" effects to be heard on this Ping Pong Percussion set...

I Love Paris

Reverie

C'est Magnifique

Musetta's Waltz (La Boheme)

Can Can

Paris In The Spring

The Last Time I Saw Paris

I Don't Understand The Parisiennes 

Allez-Vous En

Clair de Lune

In The Brazilian Bag - Sergio Mendes

 

One Note Samba

In The Brazilian Bag

The Sergio Mendes Trio

Plus the voice of Wanda de Sah

The Guitar of Rosinha de Valenca

The Alto Sax and Flute of special North American Guest Artist Bud Shank (appears through the courtesy of World Pacific Records

Tower ST 5052

1968

From the back cover: Mendes Trio plus friends by name – not only make the kind of music that tops the U.S. popularity polls but also is the natural rage of such jet-set spas as Rome, Tokyo, and their hometown Rio.

Want to analyze this great appeal? First of all, it's a fresh, contemporary sound that employs the new melodies and samba-like rhythms of Brazil's finest young composers. In a very subtle way you might call it a jazz sound; and in a very definite way you know for sure it's a bright, happy, youthful sound. It is reminiscent of the best bossa nova music heard in the U.S. in the past years and of the popular Carnival Theme (Manhã de Carnaval) from the film "Black Orpheus." Yet it's a sound that's lighter, fresher, happier than these. Its haunting quality seems to build a sort of momentum that moves listeners until they are caught in its spirit. And what a wonderful spirit it is! What's more, the people are just as wonderful:

Sergio Mendes is the pianist and leader of the Trio. He is well-known in Brazil, not only as one of the foremost jazz pianists, but as a talented composer and arranger. He comes from Rio, where he, his wife and baby son have a beautiful home overlooking the bay. His sidemen are bassist Sebastião Neto, formerly a player with João Gilberto's famed group, and a drummer who goes by the name of Chico Batera, or, translated into English, Chico "The Drummer."

Wanda de Sah is the young singer whose name is on everyone's lips today in Brazil. She is literally the girl from Ipanema, a few miles from the famous Copacabana beach in Rio. Originally a guitar teacher, Wanda began singing to her own accompaniments just to entertain her friends. Today her admiring friends are numbered in the thousands.

Rosinha de Valença is possibly the finest woman guitarist in all the world, and certainly one of the most popular musicians in Brazil.

Side One

SO NICE (Samba de Verão). As timely as today, this is a brand new song by the young Brazilian composer Marcus Valle, with English lyrics by Norman Gimbel, sung beautifully in English by Wanda.

FAVELA, by Antonio Carlos Jobim, begins with a bouncy bass motif followed by a superimposed drum figure setting the stage for the piano which states the melody over constantly shifting harmonies.

BERIMBAU. This word refers to an ancient stringed instrument from the state of Bahia used for a ritual dance in which two men fought for the affections of a woman. What Wanda sings (in Portuguese) is a song that has evolved, representing the actual chant of the old ceremonial instrument.

TRISTEZA EM MIM. Literally "sadness is mine," but musically, Rosinha's lively guitar solo reveals a rather optimistic concept of sadness.

AQUARIUS. The derivation of this title is strictly extra-musical. The composer, João Donato, dedicated the work to his wife, whose zodiac sign happens to be Aquarius.

ONE NOTE SAMBA is probably the best known tune in the al- bum, written by one of the best known exponents of bossa nova – Antonio Carlos Jobim. The highly accented melody affords Wanda an ideal outlet for her vocalizing.

Side Two

SHE'S A CARIOCA. In Brazil the slang label for a native of Rio is "Carioca." With this soothing bit of instrumental introspection, composer Jobim has captured the innermost thoughts of a young man who is studying a young female Carioca. The graceful, undulating lines of the music reveal enough thoughts to fill her diary.

MUITO A VONTADE. Another thought-provoking instrumental - written by João Donato – this is a study in complacency, or, to translate the title loosely, to be at an advantage over life. There is a monosyllable in our current vernacular that explains this relaxed frame of mind: "cool."

LET ME (Deixa). Wanda's treatment turns a plaintive plea into a haunting ballad. The song is Baden Powell's; Norman Gimbel added the English lyrics.

CONSOLAÇÃO. Music for the purpose of consoling becomes a showcase for the unamplified magic of Rosinha's guitar, as she shows equal skill at single string or chordal improvising.

REZA. An African chanting prayer sung in Portuguese. Particularly impressive is the manner in which she softens the hypnotic repetitions of the melody to fit into a typical Latin framework.

In Person At El Matador! - Sergio Mendes

 

Arrastao

In Person At El Matador!

Sergio Mendes and Brasil '65

Recording Engineer: Wally Heider

This LP was recorded at El Matador in San Francisco, Calif. Atlantic Records gratefully acknowledges the kind cooperation of the management and staff of El Matador

Cover Design: Haig Adishian

Supervision: Nesuhi Ertegun

The cover painting is by Wesley Duke Lee, a well-known contemporary Brazilian painter, who dedicated this painting to Sergio Mendes

Produced by Rio Productions in conjunction with Nesuhi Ertegun

Wanda De Sah and Rosinha De Valenca appear through the courtesy of Capitol Records

Atlantic 8112

1965

The personnel of "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65

Sergio Mendes - Piano

Sebastiao Neto - Bass

Paulinho Magalhaes - Percussion

Chico Barera - Drums

The featured guitar soloist is Rosinha de Val and the featured vocalist is Wanda de Sah

Sergio Mendes can also be heard on Atlantic LP 1434: The Swinger From Rio

From the back cover: Chauvinism is as reprehensible and as expendable in music as it is in politics, painting or plumbing. Nevertheless, when an esthetic point has to be made, one that involves a particular group of artists and the very special form they have created, it is both agreeable and enlightening to observe them under the same musical roof, with no outsiders on hand.
This is not an oblique way of saying "Give bossa nova back to the Brazilians" or "Yankee go home." It is merely a reminder that no matter how much wonderful music may have derived, in altered style, from the Brazilian popular music. that invaded the United States three or four years ago, there remains nevertheless a substantial body of musicians who are entitled to call themselves the original, the genuine article. Such a group is Sergio Mendes and his Brasil '65 ensemble.

The concept behind the formation of this combo was a logical one. It entailed a desire to present to American audiences an all-Brazilian, self-contained unit, packaged in Rio for export to a country that has heard most of its Brazilian music played by men who have never been farther South than South Bend.

Sergio Mendes was born February 11, 1941 in Niteroi, which is more or less the Oakland of Rio, just across the bay. (Contrary to intelligence in an earlier album, Ipanema is not a town; it is merely the name of a nearby beach.) Since bringing his show here in November of 1964, Sergio has lived in the U.S. He now makes his home with his wife and infant son in Studio City, Calif.

Sergio's bassist, 34-year-old Sebastiao Neto, is also from Niteroi. Chico Batera, 21, comes from Governor Island, near Rio, and Paulinho, whose full name is Paulino Magalhães, is a Rio-born Los Angeles percussionist added specially for this occasion.

When this live date was taped at "El Matador," the popular Latin-pop-and-jazz music club in San Francisco, the group was completed by the 21-year-old Wanda Maria Sa, a Rio girl professionally known as Wanda De Sah, and by Maria Rosa Cannellas, professionally known as Rosinha de Valenca or Little Rose of Valenca, after her home town. Rosinha, who is 23, was inspired by Baden Powell to take up the guitar; she has a phenomenal ear but cannot read music and does not know the name of a single chord.

There is a little confusion concerning the discoverers of the group. Actually it was a music lover named Dick Adler, now their manager, who helped Sergio to assemble the Brasil '65 unit in Rio and bring it to this country. Sergio also says, "I will never forget the help I had from my godfather, Mario Dias Costa, in the Cultural Division of the Brazilian Foreign Office, who aided us financially in getting started; and from Raul Smandeck, the Brazilian Consul in Los Angeles, who helped us when we arrived here."

Tem do de Mim features Wanda and Sergio. Written by Carlos Lyra, it is a typically relaxed and charming Brazilian melody. O Morro, sung by Wanda, means "the hill" and tells a wistful story about the poor people who live in the slums but are, within prescribed limitations, happy in their sadness (like the blues people who are pictured as laughing just to keep from crying).

Arrastão is a song about fishermen casting their nets on the waters. Written by de Moraes and Eduardo Lobo, a new melodist, it won a $5,000 award in Brazil recently as best new song of the year. My Portuguese being roughly on a level with my Swahili, I cannot vouch for the lyrics, but the melodic contours and the harmony have a unique charm, and there is a suspenseful quality to the main statement. The performance has a form and variety of moods and tempos that lend additional strength to Wanda's interpretation.

The Black Orpheus medley opens with a delicate and simple treatment of Mahna de Carnaval by Rosinha, in a melancholy mood in which Sergio and the rhythm section are soon involved. A bold percussion interlude spans the bridge into Samba de Orfeu, Sergio's delineation of which invited immediate recognition and applause from the generally quiet and attentive audience. Wanda, with unison vocal assistance from her colleagues, completes the medley with A Felicidade, a paradoxically minor-mode song about happiness.

Samba do Astronauta, which is not dedicated to the Wright Brothers, is a Baden Powell melody that serves as a delightful vehicle for the dexterity of Miss de Valenca. The mood it was designed to evoke does not involve the space ship but rather the view of the earth as seen from beyond. There are lyrics, I am told, by de Moraes, but in this version Rosinha manages to tell the story most effectively with her own genius-tipped fingers.

Vai de Vez, which means get lost, or don't come back, was composed by Menescal and has a particularly easy, legato rhythmic feeling that seems to me to symbolize the whole mood of bossa nova, or at least the most essentially Brazilian elements of this often-distorted idiom. Rosinha plays the melody just as it was written; the only ad libbing is offered by Sergio, whose single-note lines have some of the delicacy of a John Lewis.

Samba de Jose, featuring Rosinha, was composed by a fellow-guitarist, Jose Menezes. As in so much of the album, the rhythm is understated yet never wants for virility (if one dare ascribe such a quality to a group that includes Miss Valenca).

Sergio's light touch and improvisational flair can be scrutinized in Noa Noa, his own composition. ("I named it for the island where Gauguin went.") There is more of Mendes, incidentally, in his own album, The Swinger from Rio, on Atlantic 1434.

Caminho de Casa, meaning the road home, was composed by Joao Donato, a pianist from Brazil who now lives in Los Angeles. The very basic chords here will sound familiar to those who have heard some of Vince Guaraldi's work.

"I don't like to play a lot of notes or use the familiar jazz clichés," says Sergio, an observation the truth of which is reflected in his relaxed treatment of Joao Donato's Jodel. This track offers a moment in the spotlight to bassist Sebas- tiao Neto, whose ideas seem equally unpretentious. This is, all in all, the most charming instrumental track in the album.

Reza, the theme number of the Brasil '65 unit, is described by Sergio as "based on an African prayer, and with lyrics by Rui Guerra to a melody by Eduardo Lobo." The main melodic figure, consisting of only two notes, has a haunting quality that leaves people singing it as they walk out of El Matador- or out of the living room as they finish playing this fascinating album.

Brasil '65 has undergone one or two changes in personnel since this session took place, but the spirit remains the same. Now that we have Sergio Mendes permanently among us, we can only hope that he will continue to remind us North American adaptors and imitators that his music doesn't have to concern itself about whether it sounds authentic. It was born that way. May it continue to manifest its intriguing characteristics in Brasil '66, Brasil '67 and so forth far into the Pan-American future. – LEONARD FEATHER

Reza - Sergio Mendes

O Morro - Wanda De Sah

Samba Do Astronauta - Rosinha De Valenca

Tem Do De Mim - Wanda De Sah

Jodel - Sergio Mendes

Samba De Jose - Rosinha De Valenca

Noa Noa - Sergio Mendes

Black Orpheus - Ensemble

  (a) Manha De Caraval

  (b) Batuque De Orfeu

  (c) Samba De Orfeu

  (d) A Felicidade

Arrastao - Wanda De Sah

Vai De Vez - Rosinha De Valenca

Caminho De Casa - Sergio Mendes