Mostly latin, obviously done in a live setting. It's also obvious that the musicians and audience are having a very enjoyable time. Nothing intrusive, just plain ol' good musical music.

12 MP3 Songs
LATIN: Latin Jazz, JAZZ: Cool Jazz

Show all album songs: Live in Amsterdam Songs


Details:
THE GROUP

Daniella de Laurent - flute
Maria de la Torre - congas
Nils van Åarsdale - vibes
Stefano Ricci - keyboards
Johan Essbjörn - bass
Phil Ødegård - drums
Bob Burford - guitar

ABOUT THE GROUP

This is an international group of friends who have at least one thing in common: a lifelong love of jazz.
No one on this CD is a professional musician. Thatâs not to say that, individually, we havenât played professionally, though. But playing a casual job occasionally a career does not make. The makeup of the group includes an orthodontist, an attorney, a university professor, a private investigator, an oncologist, an architect, and owner of a delicatessen. We gathered in Amsterdam from all four corners of the globe. And, of course, we invited our friends (both real world and internet) and families to join in the fun. Little did we know that the total number of people who would actually show up would number in the hundreds! Needless to say, it was a most memorable weekend of food, fun, games and, most importantly, the music we love. Thanks to the internet, as a cursory listen to this CD will attest, we were able to work out the musical arrangements quite nicely before ever leaving our homes. Just listen to how music transcends the barriers of language, culture and stereotype. Hopefully, a listen to this CD will give the listener a better understanding that the brotherhood of man truly is singular, and music is its universal language. Enjoy!
Bob Burford
January 2008


ABOUT THE ALBUM

This is an easy-listening jazz album. Mostly latin. The septet consists of guitar, vibes, keys, flute, upright bass, congas and drums.
(Total time: 55:04)

This music is very much in the West Coast Cool Jazz mode, i.e., a minimalist, less frenetic, calmer style than the East Coast hard bop, more heavily arranged, and more often compositionally based. My formative years were the fifties, listening to just about everyone who recorded on the Pacific Jazz and Contemporary labels. Guys I was influenced by were the ones I thought got it right -- Paul Desmond (alto sax), Jimmy Giuffre (clarinet), Red Mitchell (bass), Shelley Manne (drums), Billy Bauer (guitar), Chet Baker (trumpet), Gerry Mulligan (bari sax), Pete Jolly (piano), Don Elliott (mellophone), Lennie Tristano (piano) and Cal Tjader (vibes), to name just a few of the many.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Bob Burford is a self-taught finger-style jazz guitarist who grew up with a guitar in the house. He was surrounded by uncles on both sides of the family who played Texas Swing and Hillbilly (that was before the term "Country & Western" was coined). He started playing in clubs at the age of 15 in the resort area of southwestern Michigan in the early 1950s. At age 17 he began working with show bands playing rhythm and blues and jazz. Later, he studied privately with renowned guitarist Charlie Byrd who, with tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, introduced bossa nova to North America with their âJazz Sambaâ album in the early 1960s. Byrd introduced him to John Marlow at American University in Washington, D.C., with whom he studied classical guitar. From there he went to Las Vegas where he worked for Al Ramsey who contracted a stable of musicians who backed all of the casino headliners. Ramsey later became director of entertainment at Caesarâs Palace. Burford's claim to fame comes more from who he did not work with rather than who he has worked with. He got the call from Ramsey's office to work the Sinatra show but he missed that date because his answering service failed to give him the message until 26 hours later. He is most proud of his two-year association with legendary guitarist George Barnes (Chet Atkins' favorite guitarist) at Concord Jazz in California. That collaboration produced what came to be known as âthe Concord Sound.â Burford is semi-retired now but still owns a private investigative agency in Nashville where he is actively involved in the music scene.

ABOUT THE TUNES