With his thick, engaging sound and elegant romanticism, it only made sense for
Ike Quebec
to try his hand at the
bossa nova
boom
Stan Getz
kick-started in 1962, and that's what he did with
Soul Samba
. However,
Quebec
makes the session much more than mere bandwagon-jumping. He takes some chances with the repertoire and consciously adds a heavy
blues
inflection that makes
one of the more unique interpretations of the
style. It's also one of the more sensuous, thanks in part to the combination of
's natural tendencies and the soft, light style itself, but even more so with the extra bit of meat added via the
. The music is warm and danceable, yet with a late-evening hush that's more suggestive of winding down and getting cozy with someone.
's choices of material are never obvious -- the Brazilian selections do not include any
Jobim
standards
, for one thing, and both
and guitarist
Kenny Burrell
(absolutely stellar in support) contribute original material that ranks among the album's best performances (particularly
's
"Blue Samba"
and
Burrell
"Loie"
). What's more,
adapts some unlikely sources -- the
traditional
standard
"Liebestraum"
and the
Dvorak
theme
"Goin' Home"
-- into surprisingly effective
samba
pieces. The whole project is thoughtfully conceived and beautifully executed, treating
as a new means of personal expression, not just a fad to be cashed in on. Sadly,
was
's final album, but at least his career ended on a high note. ~ Steve Huey