Nova Bossa Nova is a misnomer, for while it purports to graft a strictly hard bop front line of horns onto a Brazilian rhythm section and come up with something new, the result is a stubbornly traditional sound -- two dyed-in-the-wool strains running in parallel. On four tracks, Brazilian trumpeter
Claudio Roditi and
the Yellowjackets' tenor
Bob Mintzer form a most conservative front line, while alto/soprano player
Joe Ford is the sole horn on four others. The only memorable tune, "Ceu e Mar," is an oldie that
Eddie Harris covered on his Brazilian album back in the early '60s. What gives this album an especially archaic, even corny ambience is the sentimental accordion and imitation-
Sivuca scat vocals of Eddie Monteiro. And these horns sound as if they were bored, especially in the unisons, badly in need of zesty tunes which these composers do not provide, and a push which this rhythm section, alas, cannot provide. ~ Richard S. Ginell