Bossa America

The Bossa Nova had already been maturing in Brazil for several years when, in 1959, the movie Black Orpheus first broke the elegant sounds of Luiz Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim to a larger American and European audience. The wheels were set in motion, though it took Stan Getz and João and Astrud Gilberto with 1963's “Girl From Ipanema” to truly charge the American popular consciousness.

Its commercial potential immediately obvious, jazz musicians from coast to coast were soon adding “Mas Que Nada” and "One Note Samba" to their repertoires - or were, for better or for worse, being goaded by managers and record executives into making Bossa Nova-themed albums. This was mostly for the better. It just meant that, in the typical American fashion, Bossa Nova came to signify a fairly loose concept. Any jazz record might call itself a Bossa Nova if it had a breezy rhythm section and the promise of South American latitudes. As you'll hear.

1. Dan Yessian Quintet, Basadelic (Sound Patterns)
Imagine my disappointment when it turns out that this wasn’t really “basadelic.”

Still, this nifty jazz instrumental from Michigan has a lovely and confident sway. It’s nominally the most Brazilian of this week’s selections, too. Dan Yessian, a Detroit-area saxophonist, was later the founder and head honcho of the Yessian music production house.

I’d guess that this was a late '60s release.

2. The Cals, Amazon Bossa Nova (Loadstone)
It's got an unfamiliar time signature and the rattle of the maracas. Making it, I suppose, vaguely tropical. Even in the most liberal interpretation of the form, "Amazon Bossa Nova" is not Bossa Nova, though. Nor does that really matter. This isn't music that seeks to startle or to move us the brink of tears. No, cool and catchy as a cucumber, this Hammond jazz cocktail has no overriding motive beyond a certain loose-limbed sophistication. The Bossa Nova, that is.

It’s from San Francisco, ca. 1965.

3. Mk. III, Mocha Nova (Tigertown)
Just drums, flute, and an unidentifiable reedy-sounding electric organ. "Mocha Nova" is another low-key charmer, brought to us by an obscure Tampa, Florida trio.

I’ve been to Tampa; this record has the relaxed sort of cool that would have only been heard long after nightfall, when it was finally safe for jazz flutes to come creeping out. Black or white, I bet these guys were the palest crew on the bay.

It’s great stuff either way. "Mocha Nova" is from 1966 (see label).