Search - Paul Winter :: Brazilian Days

This is one mellow album

Bob Zeidler | Charlton, MA United States | 03/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Bossa Nova craze took over the U.S. by storm back in the '60's, due not only to Jobim and Gilberto (both Joaò and Astrud), but also to a long list of Brazilians that included Oscar Castro-Neves, and to the efforts and influence of a few Americans at the time: Charlie Byrd, Stan Getz and Paul Winter. (Getz got too much of the credit, in my opinion, and almost all of the money, but that, as they say, is another story.)



"Brazilian Days" is a backward glance to a period nearly 40 years ago by two who were there at the start: Paul Winter and Oscar Castro-Neves. Calling upon all those decades of friendship and reminiscences, these two have gone back in time and selected their personal favorites, many of which will be unfamiliar to most. And it's just as well, for this collection is as fresh as a Bahian sea breeze.



All of these feature Castro-Neves' unique guitar and Winter's one-of-a-kind horn-playing at its mellowest. (Reed players the world over could take a lesson or two from Winter on sound and phrasing; totally unique, never forced, and never wears out its welcome.) The rhythmic pulse and harmonic language are spot-on, as one would expect of these two veterans: jazz and blues inflected in the inimitable Brazilian style that caused the initial sensation all those years ago, now brought up to date, and perfectly so.



Not a one of the tracks on this album is less than first-rate. But, if I had to pick a favorite, it would be "Imagem," with its constantly-shifting tonal centers and its drop-dead gorgeous ending, with just the right hint of "fur" in the tone of Winter's horn at the fade-out.



Like a fine wine, this music definitely benefited from the aging process. With Paul Winter's early Columbia albums, produced by the great John Hammond, also now freshly remastered for CD (and available elsewhere at Amazon.com), it's a straightforward, and enjoyable, task to compare Bossa Nova by Winter in the early 60's with Bossa Nova by Winter in the late 90's. The man's feel for the style is better than ever.



A great sound from an earlier era, gently and refreshingly brought forward to the present.



Bob Zeidler"