CD of the Day - "Pat Thomas: Desafinado"

CD of the Day
Pat Thomas: "Desafinado" (Universal) 2008

Produced by Creed Taylor
Arranged & Conducted by Lalo Schifrin
Featuring: Rudy Collins, José Paulo, Carmen Costa et al.
The first CD reissue ever of Pat Thomas' first album for the MGM label (the CD came out in Japan, of course...), "Desafinado," recorded in 1963, was devoted to "exciting bossa nova stylings", like its subtitle says. It means it includes the first bossa tunes to become hits in the USA, such as the two Luiz Bonfá tunes for the "Black Orpheus" soundtrack: "Manhã de Carnival" (retitled "Carnival" with a strange set of English lyrics that I had never heard before; and no one takes the credit for this mess...) and "Samba de Orfeu", heard in a wordless version, as also happens to Djalma Ferreira's "Recado" (mistitled "Ricardo Bossa Nova" and with the name of his partner Luis Antonio nowhere to be found).
For music historians, it will be a delight to listen to the original English lyrics written by Jon Hendricks for "Desafinado" ("Slightly Out of Tune") and "One Note Samba". Both would be later unauthorized by Jobim.
There also the seldom heard English lyrics to Ary Barroso's "Bahia" (registered in the USA as "Baia") and "É Luxo Só" ("Soft Nights"). Lalo prepared unhinged bossa scores to the French classics "C'est Si Bon" and "Que reste-t-il de nos amours? ("I Wish You Love"), achieving better results in two songs by Margo Guryan: "Could Be" (co-written by the genius Gary McFarland) and "To Welcome The Day".
The late Brazilian singer Carmen Costa, by then living in the USA, appears on percussion, alongside her husband at that time, José Paulo.