egroj world: Bola Sete • Autentico!

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

Bola Sete • Autentico!

Biography
by Alvaro Neder
Bola Sete was a Brazilian guitarist and composer. His unique, highly improvisational style offered an approach that wed Brazilian styles to flamenco, classical, jazz, American folk, bossa nova, and pop. Sete cut half-a-dozen albums for Odeon before leaving Brazil in 1959, including Aqui Está O Bola Sete (1957) and Ritmolândia (1959). He met Dizzy Gillespie while playing at a Sheraton lounge one evening and promptly joined the trumpeter's band. In 1962, he issued his American debut, Bossa Nova, for Fantasy. After he released Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete, and Friends in 1963, he joined the pianist's group as a full collaborator; they recorded several more albums together through 1967. That year, Verve released Bola Sete at the Monterey Jazz Festival that featured his all-Brazilian trio; it made the jazz charts. After 1971's Latin jazz classic Shebaba for Fantasy, he cut albums for Paramount (Workin' on a Groovy Thing, 1971) and Columbia (Goin' to Rio, 1973). He signed with John Fahey's Takoma label and released the enduring solo guitar set Ocean in 1975. Sete played live and toured almost constantly, but released only one more album during his lifetime, 1985's solo Jungle Suite, produced by George Winston for Dancing Cat. After his death, his widow Anne Sete set up the Samba Moon label for reissues and archival material including 2004's Live at Grace Cathedral. In 2021, Tompkins Square released Samba in Seattle [Live at the Penthouse 1966-1968], comprised of unreleased live trio recordings.

The words "Bola Sete" are Portuguese for the seventh ball in the billiard game -- the only black one. Born Djalma de Andrade in Rio De Janeiro in 1923, the guitarist got his nickname after being the only Black man in a small group. From an early age, he was a constant at Praça Tiradentes, Rio, where musicians met. At 17, he joined composer Henricão's group, which was going to Marília for an eight-month season. Returning to Rio, he played at every available venue in Campinas SP and Niterói RJ. In 1945, Rio's Rádio Transmissora instituted a violão (acoustic guitar) contest, in which he was the winner. He continued to play throughout Minas Gerais and Rio. At last, he was hired contractually by Rádio Transmissora and worked in the famous Trem da Alegria show for three years at the João Caetano Theater with Lamartine Babo, Iara Sales, and Héber de Bôscoli.

At the end of the '40s, he formed his own group, Bola Sete e Seu Conjunto. In that time, Dolores Durán, who went on to be a famous singer and composer, was a crooner at the Béguin nightclub and once invited, became the group's singer at the Drink and Vogue nightclubs. In 1952, he went to Italy and played in several clubs and hotels until 1954. That year, he returned to Brazil and formed an orchestra, with which he toured Argentina, Uruguay, and Spain. In 1955, he toured again, this time through Lima, Peru and Santiago do Chile. In 1959, Sete moved to the U.S. and in 1962 was hired directly by the general manager of Sheraton Hotels to play in the several units of that chain.

In 1960, the label Sinter, which had already recorded several cuts with him, released the LP Bola Sete. He had also recorded for Odeon, which released Bola Sete e 4 Trombones with his own compositions and Gershwin standards. In 1962, he appeared at the historic Bossa Nova Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York. He also played at the Village Gate and Vanguard. The same year, Odeon Brasil issued O Extraordinário Bola Sete and Fantasy released Bossa Nova. He was then playing at New York's Park Sheraton and later in the year, he moved to San Francisco to play at the Sheraton Palace. Dizzy Gillespie was staying there and listened to him every night. When Gillespie's pianist, Lalo Schifrin, came to the hotel, he met Sete, with whom he had become acquainted and played with when the Brazilian toured Argentina. Invited by Gillespie, Sete played with him at the Ninth Annual Monterey Jazz Festival with great success.

Following tours and a recorded album with Gillespie, Sete moved again to San Francisco and joined Vince Guaraldi's trio. This two-year association, profitable for both artists, consolidated the already expressive popularity of Sete in the U.S. They recorded together 1963's Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete & Friends (Fantasy). Then he formed his own trio with Brazilian musicians Tião Neto (bass) and Chico Batera (drums), whom he performed with at the 1966 Monterey Jazz Festival, again with great success. (Verve's charting album At the Monterey Jazz Festival was drawn from this performance). From November 11 to 13, 1966, Sete was featured at the Fillmore Auditorium. His releases in the U.S. included 1964's Tour de Force and From All Sides (with Vince Guaraldi), 1965's The Solo Guitar of Bola Sete and The Incomparable Bola Sete, 1966's Live at El Matador (with Vince Guaraldi) and Autentico, 1969's Shebaba (all issued by Fantasy). He signed to paramount for 1971's Workin' on a Groovy Thing and released Goin' to Rio for Columbia in 1973.

Guitarist John Fahey often saw Sete play on the West Coast and became first an admirer, then a friend. His Takoma label initially licensed Sete's iconic Ocean in 1975 (Recorded in the Brazilian's Marin County home, it was offered to Fantasy first; but it was considered so "out" that they declined to release it). Reportedly Fahey's favorite album in the label's catalog, it was licensed later to Sonet in 1976 and then the Windham Hill-affiliated Lost Lake Arts in 1981. Sete's final outing, 1985's Jungle Suite, appeared from pianist George Winston's Dancing Cat label.

Bola Sete died of complications from lung cancer and pneumonia in 1987. He was 64. Widow Anne Sete set up Samba Moon Records in 1998 for the purpose of issuing private archival recordings and catalog reissues. The label's first release was 1999's Ocean Memories, which comprised Ocean and eight unreleased tracks from the sessions that were recorded for a sequel that never materialized. It was followed by Shambala Moon in 2001, offering a reissue of Jungle Suite and the previously unissued title track. 2004's Live at Grace Cathedral was drawn from a solo guitar concert May 21, 1976. In 2008, the label released Windspell, drawn from solo home recordings cut during the last year of Sete's life with a pair of live tracks from a concert at The Boarding House in San Francisco in 1971. In 2011, Samba Moon released The Crystal Garden, a repackaging of 1973's Goin' to Rio; it also contained five unissued tracks from the original sessions. 2014's The Kitchen Tapes was produced for release by Winston. The lion's share of its 14 cuts were recorded in a San Francisco kitchen in 1959 on 1/4" tape by Al Cunningham, shortly after Sete's arrival on the West Coast. Two other cuts from 1971 showcased him playing a hollow-body electric guitar; others were drawn from home studio tapes.

In December 2021, Resonance Records' boss Zev Feldman and Tompkins Square's Josh Rosenthal teamed up to release the three-disc box set Samba in Seattle [Live at the Penthouse 1966-1968], comprised of unreleased live trio recordings from radio broadcast tapes by Jim Wilke. Compiled with complete cooperation from Anne, the set included concerts, a slew of rare photos, and liner essays from music historian Greg Casseus, Winston, Lalo Schifrin, John Fahey, and Feldman, who also conducted interviews with Anne and Carlos Santana.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bola-sete-mn0000066800/biography

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Biografía
por Alvaro Neder
Bola Sete fue un guitarrista y compositor brasileño. Su estilo único y altamente improvisado ofrecía un enfoque que unía los estilos brasileños con el flamenco, la música clásica, el jazz, el folk americano, la bossa nova y el pop. Sete grabó media docena de álbumes para Odeon antes de abandonar Brasil en 1959, entre ellos Aqui Está O Bola Sete (1957) y Ritmolândia (1959). Conoció a Dizzy Gillespie mientras tocaba una noche en un salón del Sheraton y enseguida se unió a la banda del trompetista. En 1962, publicó su debut americano, Bossa Nova, para Fantasy. Después de publicar Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete, and Friends en 1963, se unió al grupo del pianista como colaborador de pleno derecho; grabaron varios discos más juntos hasta 1967. Ese año, Verve publicó Bola Sete at the Monterey Jazz Festival, en el que aparecía su trío brasileño. Después del clásico de jazz latino de 1971, Shebaba, para Fantasy, grabó álbumes para Paramount (Workin' on a Groovy Thing, 1971) y Columbia (Goin' to Rio, 1973). Firmó con el sello Takoma de John Fahey y publicó el perdurable conjunto de guitarra solista Ocean en 1975. Sete tocó en directo y salió de gira casi constantemente, pero sólo publicó un álbum más en vida, Jungle Suite, de 1985, producido por George Winston para Dancing Cat. Tras su muerte, su viuda Anne Sete creó el sello Samba Moon para reediciones y material de archivo, incluyendo Live at Grace Cathedral de 2004. En 2021, Tompkins Square publicó Samba in Seattle [Live at the Penthouse 1966-1968], compuesto por grabaciones inéditas en directo del trío.

La palabra "Bola Sete" significa en portugués la séptima bola del juego de billar, la única negra. Nacido Djalma de Andrade en Río de Janeiro en 1923, el guitarrista obtuvo su apodo tras ser el único negro de un pequeño grupo. Desde muy joven, fue una constante en la plaza Tiradentes de Río, donde se reunían los músicos. A los 17 años, se unió al grupo del compositor Henricão, que iba a Marília para una temporada de ocho meses. De vuelta a Río, tocó en todos los locales disponibles en Campinas SP y Niterói RJ. En 1945, la Rádio Transmissora de Río instituyó un concurso de violão (guitarra acústica), en el que resultó ganador. Siguió tocando por todo Minas Gerais y Río. Finalmente, fue contratado por Rádio Transmissora y trabajó en el famoso espectáculo Trem da Alegria durante tres años en el Teatro João Caetano con Lamartine Babo, Iara Sales y Héber de Bôscoli.

A finales de los años 40, formó su propio grupo, Bola Sete e Seu Conjunto. En esa época, Dolores Durán, que llegó a ser una famosa cantante y compositora, era crooner en la discoteca Béguin y, una vez invitada, se convirtió en la cantante del grupo en las discotecas Drink y Vogue. En 1952, viajó a Italia y actuó en varios clubes y hoteles hasta 1954. Ese año regresó a Brasil y formó una orquesta, con la que realizó una gira por Argentina, Uruguay y España. En 1955, volvió a realizar una gira, esta vez por Lima, Perú y Santiago de Chile. En 1959, Sete se trasladó a Estados Unidos y en 1962 fue contratado directamente por el director general de los hoteles Sheraton para tocar en las diversas unidades de esa cadena.

En 1960, el sello Sinter, que ya había grabado varios cortes con él, lanzó el LP Bola Sete. También había grabado para Odeon, que publicó Bola Sete e 4 Trombones con sus propias composiciones y estándares de Gershwin. En 1962, apareció en el histórico Festival de Bossa Nova en el Carnegie Hall de Nueva York. También tocó en el Village Gate y en el Vanguard. Ese mismo año, Odeon Brasil publicó O Extraordinário Bola Sete y Fantasy editó Bossa Nova. Entonces tocaba en el Park Sheraton de Nueva York y, más adelante, se trasladó a San Francisco para tocar en el Sheraton Palace. Dizzy Gillespie se alojaba allí y le escuchaba todas las noches. Cuando el pianista de Gillespie, Lalo Schifrin, llegó al hotel, se encontró con Sete, con quien se había familiarizado y tocado cuando el brasileño hizo una gira por Argentina. Invitado por Gillespie, Sete tocó con él en el Noveno Festival Anual de Jazz de Monterey con gran éxito.

Tracks:
1. Brejeiro
2. Consolacao
3. Quindim De Yaya
4. Soul Samba
5. Baion Blues
6. Pau De Arara
7. Coisa
8. Odeon
9. Muhler Rendeira

Credits:
    Bass – Sebastian Neto*
    Drums – Paulinho*
    Guitar – Bola Sete
    Liner Notes – Judy Briscoe, Sue Cox

LP-Rip

Label:    Fantasy – 8375
Released:    1966
Genre:    Jazz, Latin
Style:    Latin Jazz
https://www.discogs.com/release/3092556-Bola-Sete-And-His-New-Brazilian-Trio-Autentico