THE BRAZILIAN SCENE

""The Brazilian Scene", released in 1965 on the Philips imprint, sits right on the knife edge between something as wonderfully organic as his solo recordings and the more stylized Anglo projects that were flooding the bins at the time. This date was produced by Hal Mooney, who also served as co-arranger along with Bonfá. "The Brazilian Scene" set features 12 tunes, seven of which are Bonfá originals, and one an arrangement of a traditional song ("Malaguena Salerosa"). The rest are pop standards and some that would be (the Beatles' "Yesterday"). The studio group includes Bonfá's New York studio band, featuring the great drummer Hélcio Milito, bassist Donald Payne, and flutist Jerome Richardson, with strings and a chamber orchestra that were dubbed in later. Bonfá's group was recorded absolutely live from the floor; his guitar playing, full of gorgeous dual pizzicatos, popping bass notes, and extended chord voicings, was captured as it is with no overdubs [...]." [www.allmusic.com]