It was an exciting time for Brazilian music in the early '60s, when bossa nova and samba rhythms came to occupy a special place in the heart of American jazz musicians. These contagious rhythms, lyrical melodies, and sophisticated chord progressions from Rio, São Paulo, and Bahia practically seduced artists like
Dizzy Gillespie,
Stan Getz, and, later,
Chick Corea. Pianist
Lalo Schifrin, who became one of the world's greatest jazz musicians and composers, gathered members of
Gillespie's band -- bassist
Chris White, drummer
Rudy Collins, and flutist-saxophonist
Leo Wright -- for this exciting date, originally recorded in 1962. The quartet creates a powerful polyrhythmic sound, with lead voice switching off between
Schifrin's lively ivories and
Wright's graceful flute on the most effective tracks like "Chora True Tristeza." The quartet is enhanced by Latin percussionists
Jose Paulo of Brazil and
Jack Del Rio of Argentina;
Paulo performs on the pandeiro, a Brazilian tambourine, while
Del Rio adds subtle emotional whispers of rhythm with the cabaca, a gourd instrument covered with a loose network of beads. It's always exciting to hear how
Schifrin and his colleagues egg each other on to play quicker and quicker flurries of notes, but the slower passages -- like the opening minutes of "Poema Do Adeus" -- create an interesting counterpoint. The way this tune explodes percussively tends to indicate that no matter how they try to tame themselves, these musicians can't quite keep it still for too long. Accept no substitutes; this is classic Brazilian music in its purest original form.