Zoot Sims and guitarist
Jim Hall are the featured soloists in this collection of bossa nova charts by either
Al Cohn or
Manny Albam. With two separate all-star large ensembles made up of reeds, strings (guitar and bass), and percussion, including
Gene Quill,
Phil Woods,
Kenny Burrell (playing rhythm guitar),
Barry Galbraith, and
Milt Hinton, among others,
Sims and
Hall benefit from the light but swinging backgrounds. But this European gray market reissue has one major problem: many of the tracks are listed in the wrong order, among them "Lover, Come Back to Me," "Bernie's Tune," "They Call the Wind Maria" "Tickle Toe," and "Nature Boy," to name just a few. There are also a number of then-current Brazilian pop tunes, though none of them have made a lasting impact in jazz repertoire. This is an enjoyable reissue project that deserved to be produced with a little more care.