Jazz Samba

Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd

1963: Verve 810 061-2

1. Desafinado
2. Samba Dees Days
3. O Pato
4. Samba Triste
5. Samba de Uma Noto So
6. E Luxo So
7. Baia

“Desafinado”—magical, and solace through hot city nights. I was introduced to this album and the Laurindo Almeida one in the summer of 1988 and I cherish those times, even the bad ones, for the musical education I got from my friend Keith as I shared his Capitol Hill digs and found my footing in Seattle. For me Stan Getz is the sound of cocktail smoothness, of the coolest gritty urban ’60s sophistication, of hot city nights. These recordings of “Desafinado” and “Baia” are especially iconic that way, and I can’t listen to them without being taken back to a special place in my own history and an immobilizing sense of awe.

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Comments © 2005 Mark Ellis Walker, except as noted, and no claim is made to the images and quoted lyrics.