Herbie Mann travelled to Rio in 1962 and came back with the album "Do
the Bossa Nova", today a classic example of that happy marriage of jazz
and Brazilian popular music. He teamed with Castro Neves, Baden Powell
and the great Tom Jobim, the composer of Quiet Nights and The Girl from
Ipanema to cover bossa nova standards and more percussive mainstream
samba numbers. The result is irregular but always inspired and worth
listening. The track Consolação, a dueto of flute and guitar, Mann and
Powell, is hypnotic! (by Oto A. Maia) Rather than play a watered-down version of bossa nova in New York
studios (which was becoming quite common as the bossa nova fad hit its
peak in 1962), flutist Herbie Mann went down to Brazil and recorded with some of the top players of the style. Guitarist Baden Powell and the group of then-unknown pianist Sergio Mendes, which included drummer Dom Um Romao, formed the nucleus for this generally delightful album. Antonio Carlos Jobim
himself dropped by to sing two of his compositions, including "One Note
Samba," and even on the token jazz standard "Blues Walk," the music is
as much Brazilian as it is jazz. This "fusion" works quite well; pity
that the performances last appeared on this out-of-print LP. (by Scott Yanow)
Personnel: Octavio Bailly Jr. (bass) Durval Ferreira (guitar) Gabriel (bass) Antonio Carlos Jobim (piano on 05.) Juquinha (drums on 02. + 06.) Herbie Mann (flute) Paulo Moura (saxophone) Sergio Mendes (piano) Papao (drums) Pedro Paulo (trumpet) Baden Powell (guitar) Dom Um Romao (drums on 03. - 05.) Luis Carlos Vinhas (piano on 08.)
Tracklist: 01. Deve Ser Amor (It Must Be Love) (DeMoraes/Powell) 4.19 02. Menina Feia (Ugly Guirl) (Castro-Neves) 5.32 03. Amor Em Paz (Love In Peace) (DeMoraes/Jobim) 2.37 04. The Blues Walk (Brown) 4.24 05. One Note Samba (Hendricks/Jobim/Mendonca) 3.22 06. Blues Walk (Brown) 4.08 07. Consolaçao (Powell/DeMoraes) 4.27 08. Bossa Velha (Old Bossa) (Mann)
