Mario Castro Neves & Samba S.A.

Bossa nova has always been a multicultural movement. The American participants (Stan Getz, Bud Shank, and Charlie Byrd) were influenced by Brazilian samba; the Brazilian participants (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfá, João and Astrud Gilberto) were influenced by American jazz (specifically, cool jazz). And it is no accident that many bossa nova standards have both English and Portuguese translations; bossa nova has long had one eye on the Brazilian market and the other on the English-speaking world (which isn't to say that bossa nova hasn't been popular among people who speak Spanish, French, Swedish, or Italian as their primary language). Recorded in Rio de Janeiro in 1967, Mario Castro-Neves & Samba S.A. is a good example of bossa nova's multicultural outlook. This CD finds pianist Mario Castro-Neves leading a small Brazilian group, which includes the female vocal duo of Thaís and Biba — and instead of having them perform Brazilian songs exclusively — Neves gives the singers a variety of Brazilian and American songs to work with. Clearly, this session was meant to appeal to both Brazilian and English-speaking audiences, which is why familiar Brazilian songs (including Jobim's "Corcovado" and Walter Santos' "Vem Balancar") are heard alongside English-language material (such as the standard "Bye Bye Blackbird" and the Chris Montez hit "Keep Talking"). But whether the language is English or Portuguese (mostly the latter), Neves maintains a sensuous and gently swinging approach to the samba rhythm. Samba, of course, can be played aggressively and exuberantly, but the bossa nova recordings of the '60s approached samba in a subtle, relaxed, understated, cool jazz-minded fashion — and that is the sort of ambience that Neves favors on this pleasing album, which RCA Brazil reissued on CD in that country in 2001.