Samba de Orfeu – 1984
Charlie Byrd
A Luiz Bonfa classic played by a masterful guitarist
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Charlie Byrd (1925-99) was a unique jazz guitarist in that in the 1950s he was as influenced by classical music and Segovia as he was by jazz and Charlie Christian.
Byrd mastered the acoustic guitar during a period when the instrument was barely used in jazz, his brilliance at playing Brazilian music helped lead to the popularity of bossa-nova (he introduced Stan Getz to the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim), and he always went his own way musically.
For this performance from New Orleans’ Duke’s Place in May 1984, Byrd and his regular trio (with his brother bassist Joe Byrd and drummer Chuck Redd) perform a tasteful version of Luis Bonfa’s “Samba de Orfeu.”
-Scott Yanow
