From the crates

La Voglia La Paia - Ornella Vanoni, Vinicius & Toquinho - 1976
Anema E Core - Ornella Vanoni, Vinicius & Toquinho - 1976

As promised, I'm going to start posting more of my vinyl to mp3 transfers. The latest comes from a rare collaboration with Italian diva Ornella Vanoni and the songwriter-guitarist duo Vinicius de Moraes & Toquinho.

When they recorded this one-off bossa nova album in 1976, Vanoni was already a big pop star in Italy. She had acted in a few Bertolt Brecht plays, appeared on TV variety shows, and was a hit performing romantic slow burners like this. Vinicus meanwhile was well-known in Brazil for his poetry and for writing the lyrics to bossa anthems like "Chega de Saudade" and "Girl from Ipanema." Later on in his career, he collaborated with Toquinho, a classically trained guitarist who worked with him on 16 albums total, usually in a supporting role where the two of them backed up a female singer, as they did in this Roma session with Vanoni.

For her part, Vanoni plays the breezy Astrud Gilberto role quite well. The arrangements are also great, especially the opening bars of "La Voglia La Paia" where they introduce with trumpet and flute, and Toquinho's driving guitar. If this is something you dig, I recommend checking out the Ennio Morricone-Chico Buarque record "Per un Pugno di Samba." Maybe you already know it.