Recorded within about three weeks of each other in early 1963, they owe much to Jobim, who played on all them, contributed ten tunes, and helped Taylor recruit the line-ups and organize the sessions. The final trilogy of albums Jazz Samba Encore!, Getz/Gilberto and Getz/Almeidaare uniformly superb. There are some fine moments though, including Getz's dialogue with trombonist Bob Brookmeyer on "Chega de Saudade," which recalls the duo's heavenly twin-improvisations on At The Shrine (Verve, 1955). But though McFarland's arrangements, and the four originals he brought to the sessionwhich also included Bonfa's "Manha de Carnival," Gilberto's "Bim Bom" and Jobim's "Chega de Saudade" and "Samba de Uma Nota So"are fresh and intriguing, a big band, however sensitively scored, seems at odds with bossa nova's gossamer-light and delicate nature. A big band, arranged and conducted by 28-year old wunderkind Gary McFarland, seemed like a good idea. "Desafinado" had yet to go clear and Getz and Creed Taylorwho produced all five albums in this box setmust have been wondering where to go next with the music. With hindsight, Big Band Bossa Nova, the follow-up to Jazz Samba, seems like a mistake, or at best a diversion. But there's much more to Jazz Samba than "Desafinado." Amongst the album's other tunesall but one, Byrd's "Samba Dees Days," written by Brazilian composerswas Jobim and Newton Mendonca's "Samba de Uma Nota So (One Note Samba)," another bossa nova evergreen (revisited on Big Band Bossa Nova and spawning Luiz Bonfa's "Samba De Duas Notas" on Jazz Samba Encore!). Byrdwhose solo was cut from the 2:01 single version, and who was refused a share of royalties by Getz and Verve sued and in an out of court settlement in 1967 received $50,000 and a share in future royalties. "Stan plays the melody of a tune," observed Burton, "and it sounds like he wrote it just then.When he solos, the melodies he makes up sound richer than the written melody." Sadly, Getz and Byrd fell out once "Desafinado" became a hit. Vibraphonist Gary Burton, who joined Getz's band in 1964, nailed the connection during an interview for Down Beat the following year. (In a little known tribute, saxophonist John Coltrane once said, "Of course, we'd all love to sound like Stan.") Getz and bossa nova were made for each other. Getz took little persuading, recognizing the music on the Brazilian discs as perfect settings for his intensely lyrical improvising style and gorgeously burnished saxophone sound. Returning to the US, Byrd sought out Getz, played him the discs he'd brought back from Brazil, and suggested they get together and record their own album in the style. Jazz Samba was co-credited to Getz and guitarist Charlie Byrd, and without Byrd's serendipitous tour of Brazil in 1961, when he fell in love with the music, the bossa nova craze might never have happened. There had been samba/jazz fusions in the US before Jazz Samba guitarist Laurindo Almeida and saxophonist Bud Shank had explored the interface as early as 1953but the album, and the edited version of "Desafinado" used as a single, were the start of bossa nova as it was generally understood by US listeners. Jazz Samba and Getz/Gilberto produced bossa nova's two biggest chart singles"Desafinado" and "The Girl From Ipanema"but the 45-rpm hit versions, included in Verve's 1997 Master Editions of the albums, are not included. The collection presents the albums as they were originally released, with no alternate takes or additional tracks, and with the original sleeve notes (there's no special booklet). These are Jazz Samba (Verve, 1962), Big Band Bossa Nova (Verve, 1962), Jazz Samba Encore! (Verve, 1963), Getz/Gilberto (Verve, 1964) and Getz/Almeida (Verve, 1966). Verve's box set, Stan Getz: The Bossa Nova Albums, isn't a complete archive of Getz's work in the genrethe omissions include a couple of wonderful and only fitfully available live recordingsbut it brings together five of his most important studio albums. Tenor saxophonist Stan Getz was its most commercially successful and musically substantial American practitioner. A blend of chilled-out Brazilian samba and cool jazz created by an emergent generation of Brazilian songwriters led by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto, bossa nova (meaning "new flair" or "new trend" in Portugese) burned brightly in Europe and the US between 1962/64. Bossa nova was jazz's final moment in the hit parade sunshine before The Beatles swept across the world in the mid-1960s and changed everything.
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