Jon Hendricks
idolizes
Joao Gilberto
-- he has spoken fondly of their first meeting where they scatted to each other before ever speaking a word -- and he wasted little time putting together a
tribute album
at the height of the first
bossa nova
wave. It ought to come as no surprise that he would display total sympathy with the
manner here, singing softly and smoothly -- and
Hendricks
' English wordplay is quite faithful to the original tunes and meanings of the Portuguese lyrics, in contrast to his usual whimsical work with
jazz
improvisations
.
is particularly winning, and irresistibly swinging on the rare occasions (
"Voce E Eu,"
"Samba Da Minha Terra"
) when he
scats
to the Brazilian rhythm; he should have done more of that here. But then, his versions of
Gilberto
's repertoire are carefully based on
's early
EMI/Odeon
recordings (now available on
The Legendary Joao Gilberto
); even
Antonio Carlos Jobim
's string and wind charts for the originals are preserved by adapter
Johnny Mandel
. Alas, the only
lyric that has become a universal
standard
is
Jobim
's
"Chega de Saudade"
("No More Blues"). As
Hendricks'
only album-length encounter with
,
Salud! Joao Gilberto Originator of the Bossa Nova
is essential. ~ Richard S. Ginell