Search - Gene Ammons :: Bad Bossa Nova

Lay down a cool funky groove

Jonathan J. Casey | the twin cities | 02/23/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Gene Ammons does not showcase a lot of fireworks on this album, in fact, his soul-jazz style playing here is a little bland at times, but the songs are so catchy and the groove is dead-on all the way through that it ends up being a nice record after all. "Anna" has a rollicking pop start to it, thanks to the acoustic guitars of Bucky Pizzarelli and Kenny Burrell. Hank Jones sets the slinky tone on "Moito Mato Grosso," and Al Hayes' bongo playing throughout makes "Bad! Bossa Nova" a lot of fun, even if it's more of a latin/soul fusion than a true bossa nova album. It's clear they were tying to cash in on the craze of the time, and Ammons served a 5 year jail sentence for heroin possession not long after this was recorded, but still and all it is a record worth picking up."