Song: Loie
Artist: Ike Quebec
Album: Soul Samba
Ike Quebec is an American-born jazz tenor saxophonist. Born in Newark, NJ, he was an accomplished pianist and dancer who switched to the saxophone in his early twenties and quickly gained recognition as an accomplished player.
He recorded and played with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Frankie Newton, and Hot Lips Page to name a few. Hampered by drug addiction and the decline in popularity of swing music, Quebec didn't record much in the 50s, but did play regularly. In 1959 he started a comeback with several releases on Blue Note. Soul Samba, from 1962 would be his last recording. Released in October of '62, he would be dead from lung cancer in January of '63.
Soul Samba was released at the height of the Samba/Bossa Nova craze and is notable in that none of the musicians on the album were known for Brazilian jazz prior, and not one of the tracks was written by Tom Jobin. (Who wrote "Desafinado.")
This is the first Samba album I got and the one that started the kick for me. It's a warm, sexy blend, of guitar, sax, and Bossa Nova groove that I really fell for. Really just gorgeous.
Soul Samba was the third album Quebec released in 1962, the other two are also highly recommended, but are not Samba. Blue and Sentimental is probably his best known and regarded, but Easy Living is pretty amazing as well. What a year!
This might be my favorite of the Samba records I've heard... but you never forget your first right?
Enjoy.
Loie
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