If you’re familiar in any way with Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete, thank the Sheraton. Yes, the hotel chain. An executive caught Sete one night and was so entranced by the beauty and intricacy of his playing that he insisted the guitarist tour the United States, playing their hotel bars. Rio-born Sete left Brazil in 1959, never to return, soon connecting with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Vince Guraldi, Lalo Schifrin, and earning fans like Carlos Santana, John Fahey, and George Winston along the way.
Making fans out of six-string gods in folk, rock, and New Age seems curious, but such was Sete’s skillset, taking from his native Brazil and his African ancestry, drawing on American jazz and European classical. This ear-opening 3-CD set—capturing three crackling nights of Sete and his trio in performance at Seattle’s popular club the Penthouse (venue for another acclaimed live jazz album released earlier this year) across 10-month intervals spanning December 1966 through the summer of ‘68—shows how Sete amalgamated these sounds into something singular, with nods to flamenco, blues, and more along the way. The heyday of bossa nova, samba, and all things Brazilian epitomizing exotic sophistication and cool in the U.S. may have been on the wane by the time of the trio’s 1966 set, but you’d never know judging by the daredevil speeds with which the trio approaches Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Meditação” or “Garota de Ipanema.”
Sete’s music could emulate the ocean: Luminous and hypnotic on the surface, with unfathomable depth the further down you dive. He finds ample space amid an expansive eight-minute version of Ellington’s “Satin Doll” from 1967 and conveys elegance, contemplativeness, and glee alike on Bach’s “Partita in E Major.” That tumult of feelings occurs often on this set, astonished by the flurry of notes one moment, looking out on an untouched vista the next. As Fahey once wrote about the man: “Bola’s music comes from a time long gone, when people were closer to themselves, God, and each other.” But 55-plus years on, Sete sounds even more like a distant future.
1. Consolação 04:59
2. Meditação 04:34
3. Prelude No. 1 03:33
4. Soul Samba 03:53
5. Deve Ser Amor 07:47
6. Valsa de Uma Cidade 06:24
7. Garota de Ipanema 05:05
8. Malagueña 05:48
9. The Shadow of Your Smile 04:26
10. Satin Doll 08:32
11. Spanish Dance Number 5 03:54
12. Prelude Number 3 in A minor 05:08
13. Manhã de Carnaval 03:12
14. A Felicidade 01:28
15. Samba de Orfeu 02:04
16. Samba de Avião 04:50
17. Samba de Verão 04:59
18. Valsa de Uma Cidade 08:30
19. Astrurias 05:15
20. Partita in E Major 04:18
21. Flamenco Fantasy 07:53
22. Trizteza 05:15
23. Corcovado 06:10
24. Deve Ser Amor 07:47
25. Consolação 06:27
26. O Barquinho 05:33
27. One Note Samba 04:36
28. Satin Doll 06:07
29. Recuerdos de la Alhambra 02:57
Bola Sete - Samba in Seattle : Live at the Penthouse, 1966-1968
A 3CD set of previously unreleased live recordings.
Bola Sete - Samba in Seattle : Live at the Penthouse, 1966-1968 is the first official release of the legendary and influential Brazilian acoustic guitarist BOLA SETE's live recordings at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, WA featuring bassist SEBASTIÃO NETO and drummer PAULINHO MAGALHÃES.
Produced by Grammy-nominated jazz detective ZEV FELDMAN, and remastered from the original tape reels in cooperation with THE BOLA SETE ESTATE, this deluxe 3-CD set includes an extensive 40 page booklet with rare photos from THE PENTHOUSE; essay by music critic GREG CASSEUS (aka GREG CAZ); new interviews and statements by guitar icon CARLOS SANTANA, legendary composer/pianist LALO SCHIFRIN, Sete's friend, pianist and producer, GEORGE WINSTON, and Bola Sete's widow ANNE SETE; plus an effusive tribute by the late guitar great JOHN FAHEY.
Samba in Seattle is a significant addition to the recorded legacy of an oft–sampled musician (A Tribe Called Quest, J Dilla and Dan The Automator) whose career straddled bossa nova, jazz–pop and early New Age.
