Solo in Rio 1959

1	Pernambuco 1:41
2	Night and Day 2:10
3	Shearing 1:26
4	Sambolero 2:53
5	Calypso Minor 1:47
6	Uma Prece 2:36
7	Bonfabuloso 2:10
8	Quebra Mar 2:38
9	Luzes Do Rio Lights of Rio 2:34
10	Perdido de Amor Lost in Love 3:26
11	Manhã de Carnaval 2:27
12	Amor Sem Adeus Love Without Goodbye 2:04
13	Variações Em Violão Variations on Guitar 1:28
14	Seringueiro 2:53
15	Chopin 1:48
16	Na Baiza Do Sapateiro in the Shoemaker's Hollow 2:51
17	Murder 2:30
18	A Brazilian in New York 5:05
19	Prelude to Adventure in Space 1:59
20	Tenderly 1:44
21	Blue Madrid 2:19
22	Marcha Escocesa Scottish March 1:13
23	Fanfarra (Fanfare) 0:57
24	Samba de Orfeu 1:15
25	Manhã de Carnaval 2 1:25
26	Perdido de Amor 2 1:56
27	Sambolero 2 3:10
28	Quebra Mar 2 2:12
29	Seringueiro Excerpt 0:32
30	Seringueiro 2 2:03
31	Luzes Do Rio 2 2:36

Barnes & Noble

Luiz Bonfá, along with João Gilberto and Baden Powell, was the archetypal bossa nova guitarist, composer of the enduring "Orfeo Negro" and "Manhã de Carnaval" for the Marcel Camus film Black Orpheus. But there was much more to his prodigious talent, as this amazing document attests. Part of the personal collection of engineer Emory Cook, these 31 performances were recorded in one night, "with twelve ordinary flashlight batteries" and a Nagra tape machine. It's a torrent of music. Bonfá, the son of Italian immigrants who settled in a small southern Brazilian town, was by 1959 steeped in classical guitar (learned from the Uruguayan master Isaias Savio), the new languid Brazilian pop, and American pop and jazz (he'd toured the same year with Broadway star Mary Martin). He'd also recorded his own American debut, Amor!, and appeared on dozens of other artists' works. The music here spans it all, adding 14 previously unreleased tracks to the 17 that Cook issued. From casual asides to fully formed work, it's nearly all Bonfá compositions, and demonstrates his harmonically unsurpassed way with the guitar. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

Solo in Rio 1959 stands as a classic in the massive Luiz Bonfa catalog. Originally issued on the Cook label -- named for its owner, famed audio engineer Emory Cook -- it remained a favorite of the guitarist's throughout his lifetime. The Emory Cook Collection is housed and managed by the Smithsonian and as such, Folkways is able to re-release this masterpiece on CD with many added treasures -- there is an additional half-hour of music on the CD. The original featured 17 cuts. The new version contains 32, including an early version of "Samba de Orfeu." While it is true that it is the guitarist and composer's most famous composition and he recorded it many times, this is the only one on solo guitar. This is the first time it appears anywhere. Also included are two versions of the celebrated "Manhã de Carnaval." The second read is a more up-tempo and shorter version that is breathless in its beauty. Other well-known Bonfa compositions that have alternates here are "Perdido de Amor," "Sambolero," "Quebra Maer," and "Luzes do Rio." Another gem is the startling "Prelude to an Adventure in Space," with its hard swinging samba that transmutes into a dirge-like bolero on a dime. Solo in Rio 1959 offers an early hearing of Bonfa as fully developed, in possession of a stunning range of styles and techniques, all of them employable in the service of the song. The deep lyricism and harmonic richness of Bonfa's playing is unlike anything else before or since. Solo in Rio 1959 is a historic release, and one that will hopefully alert an entirely new generation to the work of this master of the guitar. In addition to the beautifully remastered music in this package, there is a fine biographical and musicological essay by Anthony Weller. Thom Jurek