Wow, Scott, this is a very insightful review! I had no idea about the history and Stan Getz's down period. Thank you for the shoutout :)

A little update - I've now heard an early Verve pressing, possibly original first but not confirmed. Despite being a bit noisy, the music really sounded much fresher and more vibrant than any of the other pressings. I also heard a DCC Steve Hoffman cut and it definitely has a more lush tube sound than either of the later ones. Less clarity than the recent one, which I still recommend. But locating an original might be advisable in this case as an alternative.

There's a Steve Hoffman cut all tube remastering DCC release from 1995 that should also be considered in the 33rpm versions to seek out.

Scott: I just got done listening to my copy of the new Verve Acoustic Sounds series Jazz Samba LP and I think you nailed it. Thanks for providing the back story behind this LP, as I wasn't aware of it. I followed up this LP by listening to my copy of Getz / Gilberto which came out two years ago on this same series. This new Jazz Samba LP brings up one of my biggest pet peeves with many of the gatefold releases coming out lately. Since the end of 2022 some, but not all, of the gatefolds have jackets that are about 3/8" taller than normal. I have been putting all of my gatefolds in the beautiful Vinyl Storage Solutions gatefold outer sleeves. Prior to this 100% of my gatefold LPs fit into the gatefold outer sleeves with no problem. Starting in late 2022 jackets from Acoustic Sounds for their various reissue series, the Blue Note Tone Poets and several Craft Records releases are all "super-sized". Other gatefolds, from other labels such as Speakers Corner are still standard size. Why the change? Who asked for this? My copy of Getz / Gilberto from this same series, but issued in 2021, fits the VSS gatefold sleeves. Arrrggh. I mentioned that I played Getz / Gilberto immediately after playing Jazz Samba and this yielded quite the surprise for me. I found I liked the Jazz Samba LP better than the more well known Getz / Gilberto. Both are generally smooth easy listening type jazz and I love samba. I found that for me, Jazz Samba had a bit more of a mainstream jazz sound to it. I like the fact that the songs were all instrumentals, which let me focus more on the music. I found that with Getz / Gilberto the vocals were a bit distracting because they were mixed more forward and sometimes overpowered the instruments. Don't get me wrong, I love Astrid Gilberto's beautiful voice. Often hearing Joao Gilberto's vocals with the the instruments back in the mix tended to take me out of the moment. It wasn't til I played this the Jazz Samba back to back with Getz / Gilberto that I noticed this. Probably I am the only one who feels this way, but no accounting for taste.

I'm not sure how many people who watch this channel are advanced audiophiles. I'm sure Scott would rather spend his money on vinyl than market research. But for those of you who have turntables and tonearms good enough for a top flight cartridge; go for it if you can afford it. I have been spending my afternoons listening to a cartridge which I lucked into finding along with a turntable extraordinaire. I haven't really been using lps to listen to music, which is ironic. But isn't that the way it usually goes. It's a cartridge which is way more than I would have ever paid retail for; even during my vinyl heyday days. A top class cartridge can make your whole lp collection a new experience. Its been uncomfortably warm inside the last 3 days. But my experience was so intriguing that I listened through all the sweating. Does it sound as good as a pro reel deck on factory prerecorded tapes? In ways it does. Transparency above it, if you don't pro rate the warmth of reel to reel. Warmth is always battling transparency in sound reproduction. Does a cartridge like this beat a cd player that is every bit as good as the source? I think I hear just a perceptibly more bit of air between the instruments. The cd wins for channel seperation, and purity, but as we all know, purity varies with lp pressings. With a better lp pressing it could be closer on that. The expensive cartridge wins on vocal smoothness a tad, until the cd player is warmed up about an hour and a half and then it's close. The dynamic range of lps is surprising, against cds which have the technical capability of trouncing them. I was playing a recording by a conductor known for his dynamism; Sir Alexander Gibson. I have a certain title on lp and reel tape. The lp sounds whiter anytime you compare. That's the way it is with lps. You don't notice it unless you A/B with a factory recorded reel tape. Do yourself a favor; get the best cartridge you can afford that will be compatible.

Jazz Samba is one of my favourite albums, jazz or otherwise. I have the 2x45 from AP and it sounds wonderful

Looks like I'll be hearing these two pressings against the DCC version in the next few days! I'll be sure to update if there's any surprises!

Mr Wilson… I think the new AS jacket is 3/8” taller. Good video / good intel / ‼️‼️ Keep up the good work bro. JD

Please if any viewer has the 45 and the new edition, I'd love to hear from you about any differences you hear.

Coincidentally I found a mono club edition recently at an estate sale for $1 and it plays great. 🤗 I was always curious about this album.

Ooh ooh it would have been great to also include the "Vacuum Tube Mastered" DCC Jazz Samba which I have of course!!! LOL

I have 1st press mono, the AS 33 and the AP 45 the AP is richer and fuller than the AS version but it's close. Whilst not comparable as my original is mono there is a life, crispness and vibrancy about the original not found in either of the re-issues. I find that there is not really a "best" here as the sound is different. The AS 33 is perhaps nearer the original whilst the sound stage and depth on the AP 45 is huge, personally I enjoy them all and have no plans on parting with any copy as they are all very good. On a bang for buck basis I suggest the AS 33 version

You’re right. I have the George Marino 45 RPM and it is unequivocally one of my best sounding records, if not THE best sounding. I also have the SC and the Waxtime as well and, believe it or not, even the Waxtime sounds good! But there is something about the vibrancy of Marino’s effort that outshines them all. This used to be the record I used first to demonstrate to visitors who rarely listened to vinyl. The response was usually amazement. Ultimately, I got a little tired of pulling the same record out each time, so I’ve varied my choices somewhat.

I have to make a recommendation. Along with the Petrushka I found a Van Gelder stamped VG+ copy of Gabor Szabo Spellbinder. Please give it a stream and tell me what you think. Pardon the lyrics in the first track. The records is sooo dynamic. Its like Gabor is in my room.

I own an original Verve copy in excellent shape and I always felt that the original pressing is a bit (but only a bit) dark. Maybe the reissues are better

Off topic, Scott what are the books on your desk next to the records, part of another collection? I noticed them behind you in another video and meant to ask then. Back then they reminded me of some of my PG Wodehouse ones 😊

Charlie Byrd did so many recordings, Scott. Good ones. He even released a Christmas recording with an Annapolis (Michigan) Brass Ensemble. It's really great, and it was the first time I really found perfect synergy with my tube amplifier. That evening might have been the first time I achieved class A sound in my home. Stan Getz played with so many great musicians also. That was a good album. Anyone who liked that album, I think would also like the lp Ruby Ruby by Gato Barbieri, and some other albums by him. Stan Getz made a recording for a Jazz label that only lasted 7 years, despite great artists. I think Charlie Byrd made a recording for that label too. Along with Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Donald Byrd, Sadeo Watanabe and Tom Scott and others. They did some Latin influenced music too. Can you guess the label?

I have an original. The cover could have faded, but it looks really clean. The art on the cover is lighter than both of your review examples. The white on the original is an off white. Less white than either of the review samples. Never white white. The inside cover image on the right is even lighter, more faded on the original and it is cropped just slightly more than the middle photo, showing Charlie Byrd's entire head and just a slight bit less of the Sax as shown in the middle photo. It just happens that I listened to this a few days ago. The original sounds real good. I won't get multiple pressings of it, as it's not on my list of top favorites and one is enough for me. I do have three pressings of Kind of Blue, and four of Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue. I really couldn't tell you which ones sound better than the other, but the original Kind of Blue sounds great.

I saw in the news that Astrud Gilberto had died yesterday at the age of 83.