One Note Samba
Laurindo Almeida with the MJQ
“The guitarist joins the MJQ for a tasteful version of a Jobim tune”
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Guitarist and composer Laurindo Almeida was born September 2, 2017 in the village of Prainha, Brazil near Santos in the state of São Paulo.
His family was musical and he taught himself the guitar. By the time he was teenager he was already supporting himself as a radio artist, staff arranger and nightclub performer.
At 19, he got a job playing on a cruise ship and while in Paris, he stumbled on a show by Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt and a jazzman was born.
Stan Kenton introduced him to American audiences.
Collaborations with Bud Shank, Baden Powell, Stan Getz, Herbie Mann, Larry Coryell and Sharon Isbin followed.
A major Brazilian guitarist who stretched from classical music to jazz, Laurindo Almeida had a beautiful tone, brilliant technique, and a fertile musical imagination.
He recorded a classic album with the Modern Jazz Quartet in the early 1960s.
One of the highpoints of that record was Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “One Note Samba” a version of which is seen here from a British television show in 1964.
Almeida plays a colorful introduction and shares the solo space with vibraphonist Milt Jackson.
Personnel:
Laurindo Almeida, guitar
Milt Jackson, vibes
John Lewis, piano
Percy Heath, bass
Connie Kay, drums
Stan Getz