Samba Elegante – Ray Bryant

As elegant as the title implies, this song has a classic Brazilian sound but with Ray's distinctive melodic and rhythmic flair. Ray opens this live version by playing the whole head in a relaxed, semi-rubato style clip, then the drums & bass enter to play the melody with Ray again, in tempo. Our audio clip starts with the drums setting up the rhythm section entrance.

This live concert performance demonstrates Ray's enjoyment of performing; his solo performance of the melody, in a conversational, investigative style, sets the mood for the exuberant ensemble. The format, with the Interlude E - F used between soloists, ending with E - F and the addition of letter G to end, seems improvised on the spot. Though not actually borrowing from it at any point, this song has a notable stylistic resemblance to the Antonio Carlos Jobim classic Chega De Saudade (No More Blues). The use of both minor and major tonalities in Samba Elegante is particularly reminiscent, though in the Jobim song only the parallel minor and major are used without also the relative minor.

This version in the key of E♭ (starting in C minor) has an accompanying four-horn arrangement. The horns play a four-measure intro without the rhythm section; this is notated in the Minus You part except for the pitches of the bass clarinet bass line. Also notated in the part are some notable rhythm section figures; the horn backgrounds are not notated but the words "ensemble fill" appear when there is a line that fills around the melody. The last flute line at the 2nd ending is notated.

This version differs further from the original trio version in some of the melodic articulations; often the offbeat figures in the melody are notated long where Ray played them short, or even in some places vice versa.