Laurindo Almeida ‎– Virtuoso Guitar (White Vinyl)

Audiophile Half Speed Recording (White Vinyl) Still in Shrink

A recent recording of mine that came out very well is a 45 rpm direct- to- disc album on the Crystal Clear label, called “Virtuoso Guitar”. They claim the sound is better at 45, you know. The first side is in popular idiom, with “Yesterday” by Lennon and McCartney, and two of my compositions– one of them written jointly with a guy who was born in England, Leonard Feather, who lives there in the Valley. The other musicians with me on these are Clare Fischer on piano, Chuck Domanico on bass, Chuck Flores on drums, Emil Richards on vibes and marimba, and Aime Maurice Vereeck on percussion. On the second side I recorded the Sonata For Guitar And Cello in three movements, again by Radames Gnattali. The cellist was Frederick Seykora; I wrote some percussion effects to be played by Chuck Flores in addition– a little cymbals and things here and there.

The direct- to- disc thing is very difficult to do, because it’s not done on the tape– it’s done on the disc. You start each side from the beginning, and if you make a mistake you’ve got to start the whole thing all over again. It’s very, very demanding.

By Laurindo Almeida