Brazilliance, Volume 1

A full half-decade before Antonio Carlo Jobim and Luiz Bonfá's score for the 1959 film Black Orpheus hipped the northern hemisphere to the bossa nova, this quiet gem of an album pretty much invented the style. Former sidemen of trailblazing big band leader Stan Kenton, Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida and alto saxophonist Bud Shank stepped out for the first time as co-leaders on these 14 tracks, originally released on a pair of 10" LPs in 1954. (Bassist Harry Babasin and drummer Roy Harte, cofounder of the Pacific Jazz label, complete the quartet.) Based in Los Angeles, all four players were well-steeped in the scene centered at Hermosa Beach's famed Lighthouse nightclub. The restrained elegance of west coast cool jazz, then at its creative peak, suffuses the songs, which spool out gracefully even on the rare occasions when the tempos pick up. A pair of standards, "Stairway To The Stars" and Kurt Weill's "Speak Low," keep the album grounded in the west coast style, but it's the originals, infused with the Brazilian folk music of Almeida's youth and the sensuous intimacy of Shank's phrasing, that make the album special. A forward-looking jazz classic and one of the all-time great late-night makeout albums in one, Brazilliance, Volume One is essential listening for both west coast cool and bossa nova fans.