Solo, Sublime Gilberto Amid Bumper Crop of Latin Alliances

It’s not too much of a stretch to think of guitarist-singer-composer Joao Gilberto as Brazil’s Charlie Parker. Like the enormously influential alto saxophonist, Gilberto transformed the music of his country. His approach to rhythm, his integration of voice and guitar, the harmonic implications of his chording, all took existing elements and molded them into a new form of musical expression.

Guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves, who was present in Rio in the late ‘50s when Gilberto made his first recordings, is one of many musicians who have noted the Parker similarity: “That’s exactly what it was. It was a completely new way of dealing with the samba, and we all had to figure out how he did it.”

Since that time, of course, when the bossa nova wave hit the U.S. in the ‘60s, Gilberto’s innovative style has been assimilated everywhere--not the least of which in jazz. And simulations of it can be heard in cocktail lounges and bars in every part of the world.

But none--even 40-plus years later--is quite like the original. And Gilberto’s first studio recording in nearly a decade, “Joao Voz e Violao” (****, Verve), reveals why. As the title explains, this is Gilberto in his most pristine setting, singing with only his guitar for accompaniment. Produced by Caetano Veloso, it includes a program that embraces such bossa nova classics as Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Desafinado,” “Voce Vai Ver” and “Chega de Saudade,” as well songs by Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Ernesto Lecuona and others.

These are performances with no frills whatsoever. Gilberto simply sings and plays his guitar. But the combination is utterly magical and completely symbiotic, with his voice sometimes filling in notes in the harmonies, his vocal rhythmic phrasing countering and supplementing the guitar accents. And all this happens, somehow, in an airily floating rhythmic time suspended above the songs’ basic meter. What a shame that Gilberto (born in 1931) and Parker (born in 1920, died in 1955), never had the opportunity to share their adventurous ideas.

This week, area jazz fans have the rare opportunity to experience two other Latin jazz alliances in the appearances of pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s trio at Catalina Bar & Grill (Wednesday through Sunday) and Jane Bunnett & the Spirits of Havana at the Jazz Bakery (Tuesday through Sunday).

Bunnett arrives on the very day that her “Ritmo + Soul” (*** 1/2, Blue Note) will be released. The group that performs at the Bakery will be essentially the same ensemble that appears on the album--a rarity these days. More to the point, the CD--featuring group regulars pianist Hilario Duran, bassist Roberto Occhipinti, percussionists Ernesto “El Gato” Gatell, Dafnis Prieto and veteran bata master Pancho Quinto, as well as Bunnett’s husband, trumpeter Larry Cramer, and singer Dean Bowman--dips deeply into the well of Afro-Cuban jazz.

Bunnett’s world-class soprano saxophone and flute playing course through the rhythm in consistently creative fashion, her intelligence and imagination as an improviser serving as the perfect match for her continuing explorations of the many ways in which jazz and Afro-Latin music can share their common roots.

Arriving from yet another direction is a fascinating encounter between jazz pianist Michel Camilo from the Dominican Republic and Spanish flamenco guitarist Tomatito. “Spain” (***, Verve) presents this remarkably--if a bit surprisingly--empathetic duo in a program ranging from Chick Corea’s title track and the classic “Besame Mucho” to an excerpt from Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez,” originals by both participants and a pair of tunes by Argentine guitarist Luis Salinas.

Both players make some concessions to come together musically. But, in the process, they make some compelling discoveries as well--Tomatito via his jazz-like chording, and Camilo via his adaptation to the flowery phrasing of the flamenco style. Since the album was recorded after nearly 40 duo concerts, the interaction between these artists is extraordinary. Like the Bunnett album, “Spain” is an impressive example of the powerful linkages that jazz is capable of making with other musical forms when the right players, with the right receptivity, are present.