20,000 vinyl LPs 394: Laurindo Almeida ~ The Best of Everything

 

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Gian Carlo Menotti  ~ The Coach with the Six Insides

vinyl LP front cover 

 cover photo by 

photo of album cover by Styrous®

Today is the birthday of Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music, Laurindo José de Araújo Almeida Nóbrega Neto aka  Laurindo Almeida. He was born on September 2, 1917, in the village of Prainha, Brazil near Santos in the state of São Paulo. He was the first guitarist to receive Grammy Awards for both classical and jazz performances. His discography encompasses more than a hundred recordings over five decades.       

 

My favorite cut from the album has to be his cover of the Concierto de Aranjuez by Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. At over twenty minutes it's a tour de force!

 

Almeida was a self-taught guitarist. During his teenage years, Almeida moved to São Paulo, where he worked as a radio artist, staff arranger and nightclub performer. At the age of 19, he worked his way to Europe playing guitar in a cruise ship orchestra. In Paris, he attended a performance at the Hot Club de France by Stéphane Grappelli and famed guitarist Django Reinhardt, who became a lifelong artistic inspiration.      

 

When he retured to Brazil, Almeida continued composing, performing and became known for playing both classical Spanish and popular guitar. He moved to the United States in 1947; a trip financed when one of his compositions, a song known as Johnny Peddler became a hit recorded by the Andrews Sisters. In Los Angeles, Almeida immediately went to work in film studio orchestras.              

 

   

Tracklist:
       
Side 1:

        

A1 - Love Theme From "The Godfather"
A2 - Aranjuez, Mon Amour
A3 - Fool
A4 - Sleepy Shores
A5 - Theme From "Nicholas And Alexandra"
A6 - Without You

       
Side 2:
       
B1 - I Was Born In Love With You
B2 - Theme From "Summer Of 42"
B3 - Hello Forever
B4 - Brian's Song
B5 - Love
        
Companies, etc.
       
    Marketed By – Polydor
    Printed By – E.J. Day Group
    Recorded At – RCA Studios, Hollywood
        
Credits:
       
    Arranged By, Conductor – Oscar Castro Neves*
    Art Direction – Ken Kim
    Artwork [Cover] – Peter Lloyd (4)
    Engineer – Mickey Crofford
    Liner Notes – Pepper Prothro
    Producer – Sonny Burke
        
Notes:
       
DR2013 appears on front sleeve; DR-2013 is on center label.

Original Cat. No. DR 2013

 

Laurindo Almeida – The Best Of Everything
Label: Daybreak Records – DR2013, Daybreak Records – DR-2013
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1972
Genre: Jazz
Style: Bossa Nova 

        
       

         

Viewfinder links:        

         

Laurindo Almeida           

the Andrews Sisters         

Stéphane Grappelli        

Django Reinhardt          

Joaquín Rodrigo          

        

Net links:        

        

         

        

        

         

        

        

YouTube links:        

         

Laurindo Almeida ~ Aranjuez, Mon Amour (20 min., 55 secs.)  

Andrews Sisters ~ Johnny Peddler (I Got)         

        

        

         

        

        

        

Styrous® ~ Tuesday, September 2, 2025        
       

 

 

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