“Samba De Elencia”
Song by Ray Charles
Alf Clausen’s jazz instrumental “Samba De Elencia” is the second of two songs by the television composer to appear on Ray Charles’ 1975 LP My Kind Of Jazz Part 3. It’s the second song on Side 2 of the album; the other number of his is Side 1’s “For Her”.
“Samba De Elencia” belies Clausen’s main profession: it has all the brainless cheerfulness of a TV commercial. It does indeed sound like something one might hear in the background of a network show circa 1975. Were it led by a piano it might slot perfectly into a Vince Guaraldi-scored Peanuts special.
Which is not to put Ray Charles’ “Samba De Elencia” down. Clausen’s composition is played with a crisp urgency on this record, retaining all the poppy happiness inherent in the piece but showing off the jazz orchestra’s deft chops as well.
Ray himself plays electric piano, but is often indiscernible amid the mix of merry musicians. There is a saxophone solo, followed by a trumpet solo; curiously, while soloists on some of the album’s other performances receive explicit (and for Ray rare) credit on the album jacket, those on “Samba De Elencia” do not.
At any rate, betwixt those delightful solos the band either keeps up the song’s 1-2 beat with a series of pungent horn stabs which come at quick intervals and offset the smooth, orange-sunset trumpet, or they embark on their own intertwined interplay, layering textures like molasses over the whole.
Thus do the members of Ray’s mid-1970s jazz ensemble give “Samba De Elencia” the dynamics it possesses, whatever ebb and flow is encouraged to pop out of the record grooves at the relaxed, toe-tapping listener.
Original copies of Ray Charles’ My Kind Of Jazz Part 3 album, which would end up being the final jazz LP of his career, can be found used from online sellers. The price should not be too high. Although the album was not a big seller, lucky buyers may even locate a still-sealed copy of the record for sale.
At any rate, the historical importance of the album and the clean, professional, engaging and masterfully-mixed music contained within, as heard on tracks such as “Samba De Elencia”, mean it comes highly recommended to any fan of Ray and/or jazz music.
Listen to “Samba De Elencia”
Songs on My Kind Of Jazz Part 3