Search - Bola Sete :: Voodoo Village

Classic pop-samba-jazz instrumentals from the '60s

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 06/18/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Brazilian acoustic guitarist Djalma De Andrade, better known as Bola Sete, had a flamenco-tinged style that he'd developed well before the bossa nova craze of the late 1950s and early '60s -- by the time bossa nova made it up to the USA via jazz musicians like Charrlie Byrd and Stan Getz, Bola Sete had already moved to the States himself, and is best remembered for several albums he recorded with West Coast pianist Vince Guaraldi. After that partnership ended, Sete made several other albums for the Fantasy label. This reissue CD combines two old Fantasy albums,1965's "The Incomparable Bola Sete," and "Autentico," from 1966. The first one is packed with bouncy, perky, irresistibly fun instrumentals, from a small combo led by Sete's sprightly guitar, buoyed by percussionist Johnny Rae and Paul Horn on flute. It's fun stuff, on the livelier end of the '60s easy listening/pop-jazz spectrum. The second half os the disc is a markedly soft set, with Bola Sete leading a reserved Brazilian trio through some of his quietest recordings ever, all original tunes which apparently sought to match the subtle elegance of Joao Gilberto's velvety style... Some tracks are so sparing that when I listened to this disc, I kept thinking the album had ended...(!) All in all, another nce offering from the Fantasy vaults...definitely worth checking out."