Jazz interpretations of Os Afro-Sambas

[Rabshakeh]

I’m a definite obsessive when it comes to Os Afro-sambas by Baden Powell, Vinícius de Moraes, and Quarteto em Cy (Forma, 1966). Surely one of the greatest records ever willed into creation. 

Other than Raul de Souza’s 1975 version of  Canto de Ossanha on Colors (Milestone, 1975), I can’t think of any other jazz versions of tunes on the record.  That’s a sharp contrast to the very frequent treatment of tunes by contemporaries like Jobim, Gilberto or Bonfa.

Does anyone know of any other examples?

[Teasing the Korean]

This is one of my all-time favorite albums.

How liberally or conservatively are you defining "jazz" and does any Brasilian music count as "jazz?"

Would the Tamba 4's cover of "Iemanja" count?

The opening track "Canto de Ossanha" had a brief life as a sub-standard in the US under the name "Let Go."  While pop singers recorded this tune, I wonder if any jazz musicians outside of Brasil played it.

And then there is "Berimbau," which while not on the original album, apparently dates from the same three-week bender that produced the rest of the songs.  

[Rabshakeh]

Tamba 4, for sure. Thanks. I'll check it out.

I had not idea about "Let's Go". Something to look into.

Edit: It is on We and the Sea!! I listen to that record semi regularly, but the penny hadn't dropped.

[Teasing the Korean]

28 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

Tamba 4, for sure. Thanks. I'll check it out.

I had not idea about "Let's Go". Something to look into.

Edit: It is on We and the Sea!! I listen to that record semi regularly, but the penny hadn't dropped.

Did you ever listen to Baden Powell's re-recorded version of this album from the late 80s or early 90s?  I have been mildly intrigued, but then again, I don't want to ruin the original.  Kind of like how I avoided seeing the remake of Suspiria.  How can you improve on Dario Argento's masterpiece?

Powell apparently went crazy late in life and disowned his entire catalog, saying that it was "devil music." 

[Rabshakeh]

I have. It is actually the first version I heard. It put me off.  It's actually okay, but doesn't have the magic at all.

[Teasing the Korean]

1 minute ago, Rabshakeh said:

I have. It is actually the first version I heard. It put me off.  It's actually okay, but doesn't have the magic at all.

When I first heard the original album, this was my impression:

A bunch of revelers were wandering through the Brasilian jungle and found an abandoned 17th-century Portuguese monastery that the jungle had reclaimed.  The revelers make their way inside and proceed to have a drunken orgy.  The album perfectly captures both worldly and spiritual dimensions.  

[Rabshakeh]

11 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

A bunch of revelers were wandering through the Brasilian jungle and found an abandoned 17th-century Portuguese monastery that the jungle had reclaimed.  The revelers make their way inside and proceed to have a drunken orgy.  The album perfectly captures both worldly and spiritual dimensions.  

Without wanting to suggest that it is very Donna Tartt, I think that's accurate. 

Adding to it is the fact that the backing vocals are by four sisters actually named Cybele, Cylene, Cynara and Cyva, who I can only assume were dressed in white robes and laurel robes throughout.

Everything about it has that light, oversexed pagan quality.

[Teasing the Korean]

17 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

Without wanting to suggest that it is very Donna Tartt, I think that's accurate. 

Adding to it is the fact that the backing vocals are by four sisters actually named Cybele, Cylene, Cynara and Cyva, who I can only assume were dressed in white robes and laurel robes throughout.

Everything about it has that light, oversexed pagan quality.

Never heard of Donna Tartt.  Any good?

[Rabshakeh]

4 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Never heard of Donna Tartt.  Any good?

She's a writer from the early 1990s. Her most famous book is The Secret History. It is about a clique of blue blooded students at a liberal arts university in 80s New England studying classics, who get too caught up in the Mysteries and end up murdering someone.

It's a good read. Quite a lot of people see it as a modern classic, although that depends on taste, I think. It has quite a clear aesthetic though - basically the one you outlined above, minus jungle.

[Teasing the Korean]

13 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

She's a writer from the early 1990s. Her most famous book is The Secret History. It is about a clique of blue blooded students at a liberal arts university in 80s New England studying classics, who get too caught up in the Mysteries and end up murdering someone.

It's a good read. Quite a lot of people see it as a modern classic, although that depends on taste, I think. It has quite a clear aesthetic though - basically the one you outlined above, minus jungle.

Thanks, I will add it to my list.  I am currently reading three books at once: Ennio Morricone In His Own Words, All Aboard with E.M. Frimbo by Rogers E.M. Whitaker, and John Cheever short stories.