1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I've waited more than 40 year for this reissue - and it's definitely worth the wait!, February 15, 2009
I bought the record when it first came out, back in the mid-sixties, and quickly wore it out from too many repeat playings. To my perennial disappointment as the years went by, it was never reissued as a vinyl disc, but thankfully it has now made it back in CD form. Leave it to Japanese to preserve the hidden gems of jazz and Brazilian music!
But to get back to the point, the music is absolutely gorgeous. Luiz Eça is at the top of his form as a pianist, and the string orchestra arrangements are astonishingly inventive, especially considering that they are now pushing the half-century mark. I was totally blown away when I heard this recording as a 15 year old kid, and still am now. The only flaw that I could find is not really a flaw, but rather a limitation of the recording technology of the day, in that the sound (especially in the orchestral passages) is not as warm and full-bodied as one might hope for. Nothing that would hinder the pleasure of listening to this music, though.
BTW, as soon as I found out that Amazon Japan had this CD in stock, I ordered it for delivery to my home address in Brazil. I received it in 3 days, but there was a catch: apparenly, Amazon Japan will only ship via FedEx, and the shipping charges plus the import duty (which is levied on the price of the merchandise PLUS the shipping charges) added up to more than a hundred bucks. So take my advice and order your copy here and now, because the price is an outright bargain. (And, if you happen to live in Brazil, make sure you don't have it delivered by courier.)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
