album rating: ★★★★☆
a) Genre
Bossa nova / Easy listening / Exotica. Rain Forest is Walter Wanderley's US debut album and is primarily an organ-led bossa nova record. Wanderley's Hammond B3 organ replaces the acoustic guitar as the lead melodic instrument, giving the standard bossa nova repertoire — songs by Antônio Carlos Jobim, Marcos Valle, Roberto Carlos, and others — a distinctive lounge and exotica quality that proved immediately successful with American audiences. The album is often cited as a gateway record to the exotica genre, as well as a foundational document of the organ-driven bossa nova style.
b) Release
Original US release: Verve Records (1966; catalogue V-8658 mono, V6-8658 stereo), a division of MGM Records. The original mono and stereo editions were released simultaneously. A UK edition was also issued by Verve. The album has been reissued on CD multiple times; a digitally remastered CD was released by Verve/Polygram. A 1996 CD reissue appeared on Basta (Netherlands, catalogue 30-90312). The original vinyl edition was packaged in a distinctive cover designed by Acy Lehman; the liner notes were written by Tony Bennett, who had been instrumental in bringing Wanderley to Verve's attention. Engineering credit is shared between Rudy Van Gelder (engineer, also credited for vinyl mastering) and Val Valentin (Director of Engineering).
c) Production
Produced by Creed Taylor. Taylor (born 13 May 1929, Lynchburg, Virginia, USA — died 18 October 2022) was one of the most influential record producers in the history of jazz and bossa nova in the United States, known for his impeccable taste in repertoire selection and recording environments. He founded CTI Records in 1970 after years at Impulse! and Verve. It was at Tony Bennett's personal urging — following Bennett's discovery of Wanderley during a Brazilian tour — that Taylor agreed to send contracts to Wanderley and his trio for an initial single. The success of that recording led immediately to the Rain Forest album sessions.
d) Recording
Recorded at Van Gelder Studio (Rudy Van Gelder's private studio facility), 155 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA, in 1966. Van Gelder Studio was the pre-eminent jazz recording facility of the era, used by Blue Note, Impulse!, and Verve for much of their key catalogue. The recording ensemble comprised Walter Wanderley (Hammond B3 organ; piano on track 'Rain / Chuva'), Cláudio Slon (drums), and José Marino (bass), supplemented by Bucky Pizzarelli (guitar), Joe Grimm (flute), Urbie Green (trombone), and Bobby Rosengarden (percussion).
e) Reception
Rain Forest was a substantial commercial success. Billboard reviewed the album in its 3 September 1966 issue, writing that the 'young Brazilian organist plays superbly' and predicting that 'Summer Samba has the power to pull this delightful package right up the LP chart.' The single 'Summer Samba (So Nice)' reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and radio stations were playing it four or five times per hour at its peak. The album itself reached number 22 on the Billboard Top LPs chart. It was certified platinum (one million copies sold) within two years of release. In Sheeps Clothing HiFi praised 'Wanderley's lush Hammond B3 organ' and described the album as 'an easy listening classic that has become something of a gateway record to the exotica genre.' The Skeptical Audiophile review called the original stereo Van Gelder pressing 'White Hot! Amazing!' while acknowledging that the mono version loses 'all the space and ambience.' Some reviewers noted that track lengths rarely exceed three minutes, limiting jazz improvisation — a critical point noted in the Amazon editorial review. Despite those qualifications, Rain Forest remains a beloved classic, with original stereo pressings commanding significant collector premiums.
Walter Wanderley
Walter José Wanderley Mendonça (born 12 May 1932, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil — died 4 September 1986, San Francisco, California, USA, of cancer) was a Brazilian organist and pianist, one of the most internationally successful Brazilian instrumentalists of the 1960s. He was already famous in Brazil by the late 1950s as a pianist and television personality. He first came to international attention through his collaboration with singer Astrud Gilberto, and it was Tony Bennett who — having encountered Wanderley's playing during a Brazilian tour — personally recommended him to Verve producer Creed Taylor. He recorded six albums for Verve between 1966 and 1968, including Rain Forest, Chegança, and the Astrud Gilberto album A Certain Smile, a Certain Sadness (1966), all with his trio of Cláudio Slon and José Marino. After the trio disbanded, he continued to record for A&M/CTI, GNP, and other labels, amassing over 46 solo albums during his career in Brazil and the United States. At the height of the lounge revival in the 1990s, his recordings were repackaged and reissued widely; The Skeptical Audiophile notes with some regret that this revival, while extending his audience, also reduced him in popular perception to a 'mere lounge player', obscuring the fact that his organ-bossa approach was innovative and revolutionary in its original context. He died in San Francisco in 1986.
This text was generated by Claude (Anthropic). It may contain errors or inaccuracies.
