For many North American music fans, Stan Getz was the figure associated most closely with the Brazilian jazz craze in the early 1960s. Unlike classic albums like GETZ/GILBERTO, however, 1962's BIG BAND BOSSA NOVA sidesteps the delicate, airy quality of traditional bossa nova for a fusion music that folds in the bold, brassy sound of a large jazz ensemble. Bossa nova purists may take issue with the fusion, which loses something of the form's elegance in translation, but there's still plenty to appreciate here. Tight, swinging arrangements, Getz's superb playing, and an excellent selection of tunes (Luis Bonfa's "Morning of the Carnival" and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "One Note Samba" are highlights), make this a thoroughly enjoyable listen.