Search - Deodato :: Bossa Nova Sessions V.1

What A Find!

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 08/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I recently found this CD in a Hollywood music store along with its sequel before their listing here. Not ever having any Deodato recordings prior to Prelude nor any after Love Island, I had no idea what to expect. I love bossa nova, but wondered whether or not it would be sanitized and commercialized. After all, Deodato DID get pretty commercial sounding after the issue of Love Island. Then I noticed that this was recorded in 1964, right in the midst of the bossa nova craze. That clinched it, I had to have both of them.
Volume 1 is by far my favorite of the two and not just because the material is stronger. The musicians on both volumes are virtuoso, but on Volume 1 of the Bossa Nova Sessions they sound positively inspired! Throughout, Deodato shows the massive talent for arrangement and phrasing that to Americans just seemed to have come from out of nowhere when Prelude was unleashed in the US.
Samba de Verao is likely the best-known tune on the CD. Millions who couldn't tell a samba from a square dance have heard it at some time in their lives. But its hardly the best tune. I like almost everything. Favorites include Samba No Congo, Adriana, Capoeira (great sax work), the aforementioned Samba de Verao, Ainda Mais Lindo, So Por Amor, Ela e Carioca, and Pouca Duracao.
A pool party would be the perfect place to crank this up and get everyone in a festive mood. Even those who generally eschew dancing might find the infectious joy and drive of this music too hard to resist.
There are over 50 minutes of great music here and I think this is a CD not to be missed. Get this great find today while it is still available."