Bossa 65, by Danilo Navas – Latinjazznet.com – Canada

Bossa Nova was the most important musical movement to come out of Brazil in the 20th Century. It attracted dozens of composers, singers and musicians who got together in small apartments in Copacabana and Ipanema to play their music. A number of those composers gained international fame, spreading the music around the world. Today, Bossa Nova is still the most influential Brazilian music style and has been assimilated by musicians from many cultures.

Of course, when you think of Bossa Nova, the first name that comes to mind is Antônio Carlos Jobim, but he’s not alone in the pantheon of great Bossa artists. Others, like Joao Gilberto, Johnny Alf, Joao Donato, Marcos Valle, Durval Ferreira, Mauricio Einhorn, Carlos Lyra, Vinicius de Moraes, Roberto Menescal and Ronaldo Boscoli, are also very important in creating the art form.
Antonio Adolfo: Bossa 65 - Celebrating Carlos Lyra and Roberto Menescal
Antonio Adolfo: Bossa 65

For this project, I decided to focus my eyes, ears, and soul on the music of two great composers who are on the frontline of Bossa: Carlos Lyra and Roberto Menescal.

Carlos Lyra is one of the best melodists ever in Brazilian music. His music should be studied by musicians around the entire world. He was one of the most important partners of the great poet and lyricist Vinicius de Moraes. Lyra was – and still is – my musical mentor and godfather. When I started my career at age 17, I had the privilege to work in the musical play Pobre Menina Rica – Poor Rich Girl, written by Lyra and De Moraes in 1963-1964. What a great baptism! After not seeing him for some time, because he was working in Mexico and in the US, Carlos and I got together in Rio for the recording of his album Bossa Lyra.

Roberto Menescal, who partnered with lyricist Ronaldo Boscoli, created some of the most important gems of Bossa Nova, including the famous Little Boat. He has been enjoying a very successful career as a composer, musician, and producer, especially in Brazil and Japan. During the early 1960s, Menescal was performing all over with his group Conjunto Roberto Menescal, which I had the opportunity to join sometime in 1965. In 1968, we started a group to accompany the legendary singer Elis Regina in Europe, where Elis and Toots Thielemans recorded the album Aquarela do Brasil, in the winter of 1969. Over the next decade, when Menescal was the Artistic Director of Polygram Records, we had the chance to work together on several recording projects.

The main challenge with producing BOSSA 65: A Tribute to Carlos Lyra and Roberto Menescal was choosing only five songs by each of these two legends.

Viva the Bossa Nova on its 65 years!!! Viva Carlos Lyra and Roberto Menescal!
– Antonio Adolfo
Tracks

01 – COISA MAIS LINDA (Most Beautiful Thing) Koy zah – mah-eez – leendah (by Carlos Lyra and Vinícius de Moraes)
02 – SAMBA DO CARIOCA (Carioca’s Samba) Sambah – du – kah ree oh kah (by Carlos Lyra and Vinícius de Moraes)
03 – BYE BYE BRASIL (by Roberto Menescal and Chico Buarque)
04 – O BARQUINHO (Little Boat) Ooh – bahr key nee-oh (by Roberto Menescal and Ronaldo Boscoli)
05 – MARIA MOITA (Maria Shut-Mouth) Maria – mow eehtah (by Carlos Lyra and Vinícius de Moraes)
06 – TETE Teh teh (by Roberto Menescal and Ronaldo Boscoli)
07 – MARCHA DA QUARTA-FEIRA DE CINZAS (Ash Wednesday March) Mahr chah – dah – koo ahr tah – fehy rah deh – seen zas (by Carlos Lyra and Vinícius de Moraes)
08 – RIO reeh –oh (by Roberto Menescal and Ronaldo Boscoli)
09 – NOS E O MAR (We And The Sea) Noise – ee – ooh mahr (by Roberto Menescal and Ronaldo Boscoli)
10 – SABE VOCÊ (Do You Know) Sah beh – voh seh (by Carlos Lyra and Vinícius de Moraes)
Musicians

PIANO AND ARRANGEMENTS: ANTONIO ADOLFO
VOCAL (track 1): ANTONIO ADOLFO
GUITARS: LULA GALVAO
DOUBLE BASS: JORGE HELDER
DRUMS: RAFAEL BARATA
PERCUSSION (tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 9): DADA COSTA and RAFAEL BARATA
TRUMPET AND FLUGELHORN (tracks and 7, 8, 9): JESSE SADOC
ALTO SAX: DANILO SINNA
TENOR SAX AND AND ALTO FLUTE (track 8): MARCELO MARTINS
TROMBONE: RAFAEL ROCHA

ARRANGED AND PRODUCED BY ANTONIO ADOLFO

Recording Engineer: Marcelo Saboia
Assistant Engineer: Leo Alcantara (Visom Digital – Rio – BR)
Mixing Engineer: Marcelo Saboia (Escritorio do Saboia – Friburgo RJ – BR)
Mastering Engineer: Andre Dias (Post Modern Mastering – Miguel Pereira RJ – BR)
Cover Illustration and Design: Arisio Rabin.

Special Thanks: Gabe O’Meara, Pedro Garcia, Judy and Alan Wexler.