JazzWax

Backgrounder: Brazilian Jazz Quartet

Who were the musicians in the Brazilian Jazz Quartet? According to Wikipedia, the group featured José Ferreira Godinho Filho "Casé" on alto saxophone, Moacyr Peixoto on piano, Luiz Chaves Oliveira da Paz "Luiz Chaves" on bass and Rubens Alberto Barsotti "Rubinho" on drums.

The reason I pose the question is the remarkable similarity in tone between saxophonist José Ferreira Godinho Filho "Casé" and Art Pepper (and at times, Lee Konitz). So much so that only a careful ear can tell them apart. Pepper, of course, had more dexterity and fluidity on solos. But the dry tone, the lyrical exploration of the upper register and the approach on the instrument is uncannily Pepperian. And maybe it's me, but Moacyr Peixoto sounds an awful lot like Russ Freeman.

Clearly, these Brazilian artists were heavily influenced by Pepper's and Freeman's albums. Further proof of a direct connection between West Coast jazz's relaxed, melodic approach and what would soon become bossa nova.

The album I'm showcasing as my ad-free Backgrounder this week is the Brazilian Jazz Quartet's Coffee and Jazz, released by Brazilian Columbia in 1958. See if you hear what I hear. Here's the album...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
• Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
• Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
• Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
• Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
• Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
• Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
• Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
• Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
• Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
• Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
• Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
• Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
• Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
• Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
• Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
• Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.
• Buddy Collette: Man of Many Parts, go here.
• The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet, go here.
• Shorty Rogers: Cool and Crazy, go here.
• The Return of Art Pepper, go here.
• Benny Golson and the Philadelphians, go here.
• Moacir Santos: Coisas, go here.
• Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: Lock, the Fox, go here.
• Tony Bennett: The Movie Song Album, go here.
• Thad Jones/Mel Lewis: Consummation, go here.
• James Moody: Return From Overbrook, go here.
• Barry Galbraith: Guitar and the Wind, go here.
• Count Basie: With Quincy Jones and Neal Hefti, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Walk Softly, Run Wild!, go here.
• Dave Pike: Bossa Nova Carnival, go here.
• Clare Fischer: Só Danço Samba, go here.
• Reggie Johnson: First Edition, go here.
• John Graas: French Horn Jazz, go here.
• Eddie Lockjaw Davis & Johnny Griffin: Tough Tenor Favorites, go here.
• Bill Perkins: Bossa Nova With Strings Attached, go here.
• Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, go here.
• Pepper Adams Quintet, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plus 4, go here.
• Coleman Hawkins: Desafinado, go here.
• Sammy Davis Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays, go here.
• Paul Quinichette: Moods, go here.
• Jimmy Forrest: Forrest Fire!, go here.

Documentary: The Rise and Fall of the Concorde

During the 1960s, as the U.S. spent billions to beat the Soviet Union to the moon and fight a war in Vietnam, another expensive race was taking place in Europe. Air France and British Airways had joined forces to develop a supersonic passenger plane ahead of the Soviets and the Americans.

When the Concorde took off for the first time in March 1969—just four months before the American moon landing—it opened a new era in aviation and offered enormous promise. A flight that had taken eight hours from Paris to New York was cut to 3 1/2 hours, and the flights themselves offered the heights of luxury—or at least the service, wine and food were spectacular. The seats and cramped cabin had room for improvement.

The Concorde is the most beautiful passenger plane ever designed or produced. Its lines were long, sleek and smooth, its wings were swan-like as they fanned out from the body, the nose cone dipped on the ground and at takeoff for pilot visibility and raised up in flight, and even the back end looked impressive. As with Boston's John Hancock Tower and Paris's Arc de Triomphe, I could stare at the Concorde from every angle for hours. Such impossible poetry and grace in design.

But as glorious and glamorous as supersonic travel seemed in the 1970s, the technology faced a number of challenges that couldn't be fully overcome. By the early 1970s, the environmental lobby in the U.S. bristled at the enormous amount of black exhaust spewing from the plane's tail at take off. There also was the glass-shattering double sonic boom that unnerved residents near airports. And then there was the prohibitive cost of maintenance and skyrocketing price of fuel during the decade's two OPEC oil shortages.

Nevertheless, both France and Britain went on to operate regular return-trip flights from Paris to New York and London to New York and then to Washington, D.C. starting in the early 1970s. Rock and film stars in a hurry to travel between homes were typical commuters early on followed by financial titans. By the late 1980s, British Airways and Air France began to show a profit by charging twice what it cost to fly first class on a 747. As demand eased, the airlines made money by leasing out the planes for charter purposes to tour companies.

The end wasn't pretty. In July 2000, an Air France Concorde crashed in Gonesse, France, after departing from Paris due to a series of fatal, cascading problems caused by human error. The following year, after 9/11, air travel quickly became less lofty and more utilitarian and arduous with heightened security and fear. The last commercial Concorde flight was in October 2003. And so ended the vision of faster, more lavish commercial air travel between global cities. [Photo above courtesy of YouTube]

The future quickly reverted to the past. Airlines no longer were headed by dreamers and those captivated by the world of tomorrow. Instead, bean-counters were installed to squeeze the space, cut the amenities and make the experience on par with catching a ride in a cattle truck. Sadly, commercial jet travel today takes as long as it did in the 1960s and has never been more stressful, uncomfortable or displeasing. And airfares have never been higher, costly, especially for those flying business. As for those bean-counters? They couldn't care less, since their goal has been achieved: Zero competition by the airlines over pricing.

Here's a wonderful BBC documentary on the rise and termination of the supersonic passenger jet, when flying still was a romantic journey into the future...

And here's a view from the cockpit of a British Airways Concorde taking off from Heathrow Airport in London and landing in Washington, D.C....

For my 2022 post on aircraft carriers and the miraculous choreography that takes place on the flight deck, go here. 

Soho Scene '57: Jazz Goes Mod

The Soho Scene series from Britain's Rhythm and Blues label has been pure joy for me. On these double-CD packages, the smartly curated discs zoom in on a specific year and feature terrific modern jazz from London on one disc and the recordings of American artists British artists were likely listening to on the other.

In past posts, I've covered Soho Scene '58, Soho Scene '61, Soho Scene '62, Soho Scene '63, Soho Scene '64 and '65 and Soho Scene '66 and '67. All have been exquisite and a pleasure to listen to from top to bottom. The London sessions are especially hip and exciting, and the contrast with the American recordings from the same period are an engaging juxtaposition.

The label's latest addition is Soho Scene '57: Jazz Goes Mod. Artists on the London disc of the 32-track set include the Ronnie Scott Sextet, the Dave Lee Trio, the Johnny Keating All Stars, the Tubby Hayes/Victor Feldman Sextet, Kenny Baker's Half Dozen, Derek Smith, the Don Rendell Jazz Six, Vic Ash Plus Four, the Dizzy Reece Quintet, the Tony Kinsey Quintet, the Jimmy Deuschar Sextet, the Jazz Couriers, the Dick Heckstall-Smith Quintet, Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra, Kenny Graham's Afro-Cubans and Melody Maker's All Stars. [Photo above of Kenny Baker]

On the American disc, featured artists are the Wes Montgomery Quartet, the Milt Jackson Sextet, the Carl Perkins Trio, Miles Davis, Horace Silver, the Art Blakey Percussion Ensemble, the Mose Allison Trio, Ray Charles & Milt Jackson, the Jimmy Smith Trio, Lorez Alexandria, the Charles Mingus Sextet, Art Pepper, Barney Kessel, Thad Jones, the Jimmy Giuffre 3 and the John Coltrane Sextet.

This set, like the ones listed above, get to the heart of what made British modern jazz special. The music taking place in London's Soho district clubs was lyrical and hard driving and the improvisation was spectacular. I can honestly say there isn't a bad track on the entire set. [Photo above of the Flamingo jazz club in London's Soho district, courtesty (c)Val Wilmer/CTSIMAGES]

Even if you know the jazz tracks well, they are an interesting and welcome contrast. They also show how close American and British modern jazz was in the late 1950s and why one wasn't better than the other, just equally enjoyable and artistic. 

Which means these albums open a world of new options for jazz fans who may like British jazz a lot but aren't sure which artists they like best and who they want to explore further. In some respects, it's a tasting menu that gives you a small sampling of the music and the feel. From here, you can look into the discographies and YouTube clips of favored artists.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Soho Scene '57: Jazz Goes Mod (Rhythm and Blues) here and here.

JazzWax clips: What was going on in London's bohemian Soho district in 1957? This Greenwich Village meets New Orleans's French Quarter. Here's a Pathé clip...

Here's the Tubby Hayes/Victor Feldman Sextet playing Four...

Four

Here are Kenny Baker's Half Dozen playing Act One, Scene One...

Act One, Scene One

Here's the Don Rendell Jazz Six playing Star Eyes...

Star Eyes