Product Description One of the most creative guitar virtuosos of the 20th century, Luiz Bonfá is celebrated as one of the principal architects of the cool Brazilian sound of bossa nova - and as co-author, with Antônio Carlos Jobim, of the film score to "Black Orpheus." But Bonfá was far more than the composer of "Manhã de Carnaval." His technical mastery, intimacy, and dynamism suffuse every track of this first CD edition of his masterpiece, a long-unobtainable solo 1959 LP, along with a half-hour of previously unreleased material from the original studio session. 70 minutes, 31 tracks, 32 page booklet with extensive notes by Anthony Weller. .com Luiz Bonfá, along with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Baden Powell and Joao Gilberto, helped invent Brazilian Bossa Nova. "The whisper heard around the world" was budding during the 1950s but achieved full flower a decade later. It was a coolly intellectual yet irresistibly melodic marriage of African-derived samba rhythms with American jazz and French Existentialism. Bonfá eventually became world-famous due to his contributions to the score of Orfeo Negro, a much-honored film in which the tragic Greek legend was transmuted to Rio during Carnival time. The present tracks were produced by Emory Cook and this invaluable reissue not only revives a beautiful album but contains 15 previously unreleased tunes. The sonic environment is clear and spacious throughout, uncluttered by unnecessary studio adulterations. Bonfá was not a great singer but his wistful, straight-from-the-heart delivery makes mere technique seem showy and overdone. However, as a guitarist, he had no superiors and few peers. --Christina Roden
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