May 12, 2010

"Samba de Orfeu"

This is band leader Ray Anthony doing a really nice version of a Luiz Bonfá (of Black Orpheus fame) tune entitled "Samba de Orfeu." Anthony's version was recorded in 1966 and was originally released on an album called Hit Songs to Remember. What I can't get over is how nice (crystal clear) it sounds, particularly the violins, which seem to lift the song any time they enter. Do you remember those "Calgon, take me away" commercials? Well, this is the musical equivalent for me:



Anthony and a couple of Vegas dolls, circa mid-60s (pic source)

2 comments:

Amy said...

This is sweet stuff & a nice recording! I totally agree about the Calgon analogy (how often did I hear that ad growing up??). I'd have retro bossa nova and its ilk going in the background 24-7 if I could...to keep me chilled all through the day.

Pandora has a great Exotica/Lounge station - lots of retro loungy goodness; I bet Ray Anthony is on the playlist.

Chris said...

That's one of the "channels" I have saved at Pandora, Amy. I was listening to it when an Anthony tune came on. That's what made me think to do this post. This tune is a really great, more mainstream example of bossa nova - for the masses I guess. It is really soothing, isn't it?