Dionne WordPress Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • The Weekend Stream
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

Él is Flying High with Ennio Morricone and Joao Donato

March 27, 2013 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Ennio Morricone - PopsCherry Red's Él Records label is going 'round the world with a pair of recent releases.  Morricone Pops focuses on an oft-overlooked part of Italian composer Ennio Morricone's ouevre:  that of his early sixties arrangements not just for film, but also for pop singers.  Él also turns its attention to a favorite country, Brazil, for Sambou, Sambou, a collection of two albums of tunes by composer-pianist Joao Donato.

With a staggering body of work including more than 500 films and television shows, 84 year old Ennio Morricone has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the greatest of all movie composers.  Yet before he teamed with Sergio Leone to define the sound of the spaghetti western with scores for films like The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Morricone was finding steady employment as an arranger in the Italian music scene.  He arranged and even ghost-wrote hundreds of songs in the 1950s and 1960s, working for the Italian RCA label, among others.  One such song - an arrangement of Woody Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty" as sung by American vocalist Peter Tevis - attracted the attention of director Leone, an old schoolmate of Morricone's.  Leone hired Morricone to write the score for 1964's A Fistful of Dollars, and well, the rest is cinema and music history.

Fistful wasn't Morricone's first motion picture; that honor went to 1961's Il Federale.  But it was his breakthrough.  "Pastures" is just one of the 29 tracks on Morricone Pops.  Among the other notable songs here are Gianni Morandi's 1962 "Go-Kart Twist," Jimmy Fontana's "Twist No. 9" and "Nicole," and Luigi Tenco's "Quello Che Conta" and "Tra Tanta Gente."  American jazz vocalist Helen Merrill's RCA EP Sings Italian Songs (1960) is included, too,   with four choice Morricone arrangements.  Pops also includes highlights from early Morricone film arranging credits such as Il Rosetto (1960) and I Generale ½ (1961).  The CD stops short of including Morricone's "Ogni Volta (Every Time)," the 1964 San Remo Music Festival entry sung by Paul Anka, but touches on the highlights of the early part of a legendary career.  As such, it's sure to fascinate those only familiar with later, more mature works like Days of Heaven, Once Upon a Time in America, and The Mission - not to mention The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

After the jump, you'll find details on Joao Donato's Sambou, Sambou, plus order links and track listings for both titles!

Joao Donato - SambouBrazilian pianist and bandleader Joao Donato, born in 1934, was in on the ground floor of the bossa nova revolution.  Donato's first album, 1956's Chá Dançante, predated bossa nova, but was helmed by a young producer by the name of Antonio Carlos Jobim.  Within a couple of years, Jobim was at the vanguard of the bossa nova movement along with another Donato friend, Joao Gilberto.  In 1958, Gilberto and Donato teamed up to pen some songs together, and Donato was able to spread the gospel of Brazilian music via travels to the United States.  In the U.S., he worked with artists including Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria and Tito Puente, and headlined performances in concert.  Yet his own music wasn't strictly bossa nova; Donato absorbed the sounds of North America into his 1962 album Muito A Vontade, included in full on the new Él CD.  For his part, Donato considered his music "jazzier" than straightforward bossa.  For Muito, Donato at the piano was joined by Milton Banana on drums, Tião Neto on bass and Amaury Rodrigues on percussion.  Muito is today recognized as one of the stone-cold classics of Brazilian instrumental music, and in 1965, it was reissued on the U.S. Pacific Jazz label with the artwork and title utilized for this reissue.  It's joined here by a number of bonus tracks including the 1962 set Bossa Nova Carnival, on which vibraphonist Dave Pike's band (including Kenny Burrell on guitar and Clark Terry on flugelhorn) surveys eight songs written by Donato.

Joao Donato returned to the United States after recording Muito and its follow-up, A Bossa muito moderna de João Donato, and spent the better part of a decade there.  Over the years, he would collaborate with Americans Nelson Riddle, Chet Baker, Bud Shank and Herbie Mann as well as fellow Brazilians Eumir Deodato, Marcos Valle, and Sergio Mendes.  He still resides in Brazil today.

Both Joao Donato's Sambou, Sambou and Ennio Morricone's Morricone Pops are available now, and can be ordered at the links below!

Ennio Morricone, Morricone Pops (Él ACMEM244CD, 2013)

  1. La Donna Che Vale - Alberto Lionello
  2. Arianna - Nora Orlandi
  3. Cicciona Cha Cha - Edoardo Vianello
  4. Qualcuno Ha Chiesto Di Me - Dora Musumeci
  5. Caffe a Camomilla - Dora Musumeci
  6. Chiudo Gli Occhi - Enrico Pianori
  7. Stelle e Sogni - Barbara Baldassarre
  8. Nello Sguardo - Barbara Baldassarre
  9. Notte Infinita - Peter Tevis
  10. Pastures of Plenty - Peter Tevis
  11. Perdono - Catherine Spaak
  12. Lungo Treno Del Sud - Tony Del Monaco
  13. Paura - Miranda Martino (from Rosetto)
  14. Un Generale e Mezzo - Edoardo Vianello (from I Generale E ½)
  15. Faccio Finta di Dormire - Edoardo Vianello (from I Generale E ½)
  16. La Tua Stagione - Tony Del Monaco (from La Voglia Matta)
  17. Viva Il Jump Up - The Flippers (from La Voglia Matta)
  18. Go Kart Twist - Gianni Morandi (from Diciotenni Al Sole)
  19. Donna Da Morire - Tony Del Monaco (from Diciotenni Al Sole)
  20. Twist No. 9 - Jimmy Fontana and Gianni Meccia (from Diciotenni Al Sole)
  21. Nicole - Jimmy Fontana and Gianni Meccia (from Diciotenni Al Sole)
  22. Twist Del Vigili - Edoardo Vianello (from I Motorizzati)
  23. Corri Corri - Gianni Morandi (from I Motorizzati)
  24. Nun e'Peccato - Helen Merrill
  25. Estate - Helen Merrill
  26. Nessuno al Mondo - Helen Merrill
  27. S'e' fatto Tardi - Helen Merrill

Joao Donato, Sambou, Sambou (Él ACMEM242CD, 2013)

  1. Muito A Vontade
  2. Tim-Dom-Dom
  3. Pra Que Chorar
  4. Sambou, Sambou
  5. Jodel
  6. Vamos Nessa
  7. Minha Saudade
  8. Naquela Base
  9. Olihou Pra Mim
  10. Tema Teimoso
  11. So Se For Agora
  12. Caminho de Casa
  13. Sambolero
  14. Sono
  15. Serenidade
  16. Carnival Samba
  17. Philumba
  18. Melvalita
  19. Ginha
  20. Sausalito
  21. Mambinho (Little Mambo)
  22. Minha Saudade
  23. Eu Quero Um Sumba (I Want a Samba)

Tracks 1-12 from Muito A Vontade, Polygram 2493.104, 1962, reissued as Pacific Jazz ST-90, 1965
Tracks 13-20 from Bossa Nova Carnival: Dave Pike Plays the Music of Joao Donato, New Jazz NJ-8281, 1962
Tracks 21-22 from Dance Conosco (Dance with Us), 1958
Track 23 from single with Os Namorados, 1953

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Jazz, Soundtracks Tags: Ennio Morricone, Joao Donato

Avatar photo

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others. Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

Connect With Joe: FacebookTwitter

You Might Also Like

  • Few Dollars More packshotAn Ennio Morricone Score Expansion Worth 'A Few Dollars More'
  • record store day logoThe Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day 2024: Our Essential Picks
  • Ennio Morricone Orca(Can't You) Trip Like I Do: Craft Recordings' RSD Slate Includes Collective Soul, Bill Evans, "Reel Cult" Soundtrack Series Launch, More
  • Naked Gun RWSoundtrack Watch: Intrada, Quartet and Varese's Last Batches for 2023, 'The Naked Gun' Gets Solo Shot

Comments

  1. DUANE YAISER says

    March 27, 2013 at 2:31 pm

    The timing of this post is great, I've been on a bossa nova kick lately, it's driving Laura crazy.

    • Joe Marchese says

      March 27, 2013 at 2:50 pm

      Brilliant! You can't go wrong with Donato. I've also been doing a lot of listening to Marcos Valle's early seventies albums as just reissued by Light in the Attic - really creative, inventive music that melds funk and R&B with pure bossa nova. It's great stuff!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Elton John Rainbow Theatre Ray Cooper
    Live From The Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper
    Elton John
    July 25, 2025
    US UK
  • Version 1.0.0
    Dizzy: The Medicine Label Anthology
    Green Apple Quick Step
    July 25, 2025
    US UK
  • More Songs About Buildings and Food deluxe
    More Songs About Buildings and Food: Deluxe Edition
    Talking Heads
    July 25, 2025
    US UK
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,683 other subscribers

Popular Posts

  • Most Commented
  • Most Viewed
  • Brian Wilson At My Piano Promo ShotIn Memoriam: Brian Wilson (1942-2025)
  • McCartney SHM splashPaul is Live (on SHM-CD): Five New McCartney Titles Follow Nearly a Year of Additional Discs
  • Johnny Mathis ProgramI Get Misty: A Personal Reflection on Johnny Mathis' Final Concert
  • John Williams Anthology 1Mondo Maestro: New John Williams Box Set Series Announced, Plus 'Star Wars' Re-Recordings on Vinyl
  • Frank Zappa Cheaper Than CheepWowie Zowie: Frank Zappa's "Cheaper Than Cheep" Premieres Lost Concert Film, Soundtrack
  • The B 52's boxRoam Around the World: Rhino Readies Nearly-Complete Albums Box for The B-52's

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popdose
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2025 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy