Of course, pianist Vince Guaraldi is best known, if his name ever comes up in conversation, for his iconic piano playing on the various Charlie Brown TV show classics. What most people forget is that Guaraldi had an impressive career before and after those iconic albums. His bona fide breakthrough was this 1962 album that set the world on fire, interpreting the songs from the famous film Black Orpheus with his team of Monte Budwig/b and Colin Bailey/dr.
So popular was this album, that it actually had a hit single, Guaraldi’s own composition, the hypnotic “Cast Your Fate To The Wind”. Most of the rest of the album features material by Antonio Carlos Jobim, such as the lithe “Samba De Orfeu” that opens the album as well as the impressionistic read of “O Nosso Amor”. There are a a few other standards that fit well in the mix, such as “Since I Fell For You” and “Moon River”, while the trio’s take of Bonfa’s “Manha De Carnaval” is simply definitive.
The two disc collection includes plenty of extra takes, mostly previously unreleased, as well as an impressive debut of the here-to-fore unknown read of “Jitterbug Waltz”. This album was probably the most successful mix of jazz and samba next to the Getz/Jobim albums of about the same time. The result is a timeless treat of sizzling sounds, reflecting the warmth of Brazil as well as the hip feel of San Francisco jazz back in the day.