At long last, Joao Gilberto’s groundbreaking landmark bossa nova album, Chega de Saudade, has been reissued by the folks over at Cherry Red Records in the UK.  Originally released in 1959, this album teamed Gilberto with songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim and lyricist/poet Vinicius de Moraes. Earlier recordings by other artists in Brazil hinted slightly at bossa nova, but Gilberto’s newly developed guitar stylings and hushed, understated vocals became the template for the bossa nova explosion that would soon follow.  This is where it all began.

We’re proud to announce the newest addition to our family of sites: The Audio Speakeasy.  This new forum features audio hardware, audiophile and music discussions.  Feel free to sign up and join the community!

Hey all, thanks for hanging in here! We’re working on a handful of new album reviews for Rudy’s Corner. To whet your appetite, we have releases by, The Parade, Joao Gilberto, and a trio of Elenco reissues by Edu Lobo that were released within the past few years. We’ll also feature Pat Metheny’s fascinating Orchestrion project in the next few days, and post part two of our Jazz Mancini overview.  Finally, we’ve launched the Audio Speakeasy, which has also kept us busy on the tech side of things for a couple of weeks.

It’s 1967.  You record a debut album for an upstart record label.  It doesn’t sell in fantastic numbers when first issued, but it gains a very strong following.  The logical thing to do is to record a follow-up.  This is exactly what Roger Nichols has done–he has recorded a follow-up to his excellent and highly-regarded Roger Nichols & The Small Circle of Friends album on A&M, called Full Circle…

…a full 40 years later!

Roger Nichols’ catalog as a recording artist is woefully small, especially given how there is such a loyal following of fans for his original A&M album, long considered a prime example of sunny, California pop.  As a composer, though, Nichols’ compositions have appeared on many other artists’ albums.  Teamed up with lyricist Paul Williams, Nichols was half of the creative duo that created classics such as “Let Me Be The One,” “I Kept On Loving You,” and a song that nearly everyone knows: “We’ve Only Just Begun.”  He has written other memorable tunes with other lyricists.  After a lengthy hiatus spanning decades, the “Circle” is back!

…and Will Kennedy is back in the drum chair!  The latest news from Yellowjackets Online finds Marcus Baylor departing the Jackets after an impressive 10 year run, to further pursue his musical career.  Marcus began recording with the band on the Mint Jam album, and most recently appeared on the Lifecycle album which featured Mike Stern guesting on guitar.  Rudy’s Corner wishes Marcus all the best–he is incredibly talented and has a stellar career in front of him!

Filling the drum seat is none other than Will Kennedy.  No stranger to the Jackets, he joined the band back in the 80s, and left to pursue his own career after the Club Nocturne album.  Will comes on board as the Jackets depart tomorrow for Mexico for another in a long string of gigs around the world.  Welcome back, Will!