"Baah!" "That's enough!"

January 18, 2023 2:25 AM

Caterina Valente shows Dean Martin how to sing the one note samba. An utterly charming performance.
posted by Zumbador (20 comments total)

Utterly charming.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:17 AM on January 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

That was delightful. Thanks for sharing!

Late night TV needs more hammocks.
posted by Mchelly at 4:31 AM on January 18, 2023 [5 favorites]

I just realized I quoted the description in the post without realizing it. It’s testament to how damn charming it really is. I’m binging Caterina Valente clips on YouTube now.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 5:15 AM on January 18, 2023 [3 favorites]

I've been on a real bossa nova kick for the last couple months, and any recommendations are super welcome, smarter friends! This was nice and it's cool to see a big band that's so on the ball and ready for silly flourishes.
posted by lauranesson at 6:12 AM on January 18, 2023 [4 favorites]

Loved this. Charming, delightful, all the adjectives are true. Now following AlonzoMosleyFBI's lead.
posted by martin q blank at 6:32 AM on January 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Ba!
posted by donpardo at 6:58 AM on January 18, 2023 [4 favorites]

That was utterly charming. It's true.
posted by metametamind at 8:01 AM on January 18, 2023

That is simply wonderful. The King Of Cool with a stunning singer. Utterly delightful.
posted by davidmsc at 8:59 AM on January 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Some more info about Ms Valente
posted by davidmsc at 9:07 AM on January 18, 2023 [4 favorites]

Lovely. I love that song and this is utterly charming.
posted by supermedusa at 9:37 AM on January 18, 2023 [3 favorites]

I swear to doge I wrote 'utterly charming' without having looked at any other comments. it just happens to be the exact best phrase to describe this delightful, playful performance, as we all apparently know.
posted by supermedusa at 10:04 AM on January 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

We have a big ole box set of the old Dean Martin show on DVD that we break out periodically and it's amazing how "effortlessly" charming he was as a performer. (and unlike Frank, generous to his stage mates) Of course it helps when your stage mates are talented and charming as well.

(Just wish that DVD set had full episodes instead of clipping it all out into bits.)
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:20 PM on January 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

Thanks for posting, this was...so feckin charmin'.
posted by winesong at 2:23 PM on January 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Also, I was looking up a song I like, for another thread, and whaddya know, Deano did a great version.
posted by winesong at 2:29 PM on January 18, 2023

I've been on a real bossa nova kick for the last couple months, and any recommendations are super welcome,

Oh, lauranesson, here ya go! You may like this new favorite of mine that shows why old guy musician accompanists tend to live so long --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh0LqsSupDg

Such a happy little video.

My local singer of songs Brazilian informed me that the lyrics relate how jazz is destroying samba. The musicians donʻt seem to mind.
posted by Droll Lord at 3:50 PM on January 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Per davidmsc's wikipedia link, Ms. Valente turned 92 years old just 4 days ago. And I learned that the Bongo Cha Cha Cha sound that's used in a lot of TikToks is her song as well.

Thanks for the clip and introducing me to her!
posted by hydra77 at 4:58 PM on January 18, 2023 [3 favorites]

Lovely! Happy belated birthday to Ms. Valente!
posted by vespabelle at 7:09 PM on January 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

No one can be sad when playing the One Note Samba. As proof, here is the Stereolab + Herbie Mann version.
posted by credulous at 8:38 PM on January 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

pffffff. Exceptional. Thank you
posted by From Bklyn at 4:01 AM on January 19, 2023

@lauranesson: If you've been really into bossa nova lately you might enjoy these somewhat-adjacent playlists by luanda baldijão. They what got me into bossa nova back in the day, and they're generally a similar kind of mix lounge/jazz/world, though more varied than even those broad labels would imply.

I first heard about them on the blue almost exactly 10 years ago (nearly to the day, on review) and I still recommend them whenever I get a chance (which is not often). Sadly, it looks like one of my favorites called "Spazio per Fiori" and ending in a rendition of perfidia by Phyllis Dillon is not up any more (lost forever to time?).

I feel like curated playlists/mixtapes are kind of a lost art in the spotify age of massive, computer generated playlists always played on shuffle. But that only makes the rare finds more special.

There used to be a site called songza with a bunch of great (hand-picked) bossa nova playlists, but sadly it was eaten by the big G and shutdown years ago. Some of the playlists survive on google music (or random incomplete archives), but I remember searching for some specific ones and not being able to find them.

And even though I was disparaging spotify just two paragraphs ago (it was more the era than the site), I will say it's nice you can just type in "bossa nova" and be set for the morning.

Another name you could look into is Tom Ze who I feel like was rediscovered a few years ago (also 10? yes, I guess all three of my musical touchstones in this comment are 10 years old) and is heavily bossa nova influenced. This is what I've been listening to writing this comment.
posted by Flaffigan at 10:07 AM on January 19, 2023 [3 favorites]