Marcos Valle - Samba '68 (LP)

'Samba '68', released on Verve in 1968, introduced Brazilian singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Marcos Valle to a wider international audience.

Already established in Brazil through songs such as 'Samba de Verao' ('Summer Samba'), Valle worked with producers Bob Morgan and Ray Gilbert on a recording that pairs Brazilian rhythmic forms with contemporary American studio orchestration. The sessions include vocals by Anamaria Valle and arrangements by Eumir Deodato, whose writing places Valle's guitar and voice within settings for strings, brass, and rhythm section typical of Verve's late-1960s productions.

The repertoire features English-language versions of compositions co-written by Valle - including 'So Nice (Summer Samba)', 'Chup Chup, I Got Away', and 'Safely In Your Arms' alongside additional material that reflects his economical writing and feather-light rhythmic approach. The album documents a meeting point between Brazilian popular music and international pop-jazz studio practice at the end of the 1960s.