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On April 20, 1962, Verve records released Jazz Samba, the first major bossa-nova album on the American jazz scene. Featuring tenor sax great Stan Getz , guitarist Charlie Byrd, and Charlie’s brother, Joe on bass, it was the real beginning of the bossa-nova excitement in America, which peaked in the mid-1960s, but continues to be a major musical style. A single from the album, Desifinado, stayed on the charts for 10 weeks peaking at #15 on Billboard’s top 40…an amazing accomplishment for a jazz instrumental…and earned Getz the Grammy for Best Jazz Artist of 1963.
In March, 1964, Getz struck bossa-nova gold once more with the release of Getz/Gilberto. Along with Getz, the album featured brazilian guitarist Joao Gilberto, Gilberto’s wife Astrud, and composer/pianist Antonio Carlos Jobim, whose songs became the most well known of the bossa-nova style. It won 1965 Grammy Awards for Best Album of the Year, Best Jazz Instrumental Album-Individual or Group, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
In July of the same year a single from the album, The Girl From Ipanema, was released and later received 1965’s Grammy Award for Record of the Year. In 2004, The Girl From Ipanema was chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
On June 21, the California Jazz Arts Society (CalJAS) will salute these two albums and more, as part of the CalJAS House Concert Series. Director of Jazz Studies at New York’s Colgate University, Dr. Glenn Cashman will be featured on tenor sax. CalJAS favorites Ron Eschete on guitar, and bassist Luther Hughes will round out the group. Becky Hughes and Dale Boatman will present selected vocals.
For more info and reservations go to Coming Events/CalJAS Presents