By the time From All Sides arrived in 1965, Vince Guaraldi had already scored a pop-jazz hit with “Cast Your Fate to the Wind,” and Bola Sete was gaining recognition as a singular voice in Brazilian guitar. The duo had already developed a strong musical rapport the previous year by performing together at the Trois Couleurs nightclub in San Francisco during a sixteen-week residency. They had also released their first album in Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete and Friends that same year. Together, they carved out a sound that felt effortless but quietly daring, West Coast cool filtered through samba phrasing and nylon-string warmth. From All Sides captures that balance in full, and the tracklist shows just how fluidly they move between Brazilian forms, pop standards, and Guaraldi originals. As part of Craft Recordings – Original Jazz Classics series, From All Sides is being reissued on 180-gram vinyl from lacquers cut from the original stereo tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
“Choro” sets the tone immediately. Sete establishes a clean, steady rhythmic pattern while Guaraldi states the melody clearly and sticks close to it. The playing is tight and economical. “Menino Pequeno De Bactéria” leans deeper into Brazilian phrasing, driven more by groove than solos. The rhythm section keeps things steady while piano and guitar trade short, direct phrases. “Ginza Samba” has more forward motion. Guaraldi leans into sharper chord accents, and Sete responds with precise single-note lines that cut through without overpowering the arrangement. On “The Girl From Ipanema,” they avoid overplaying. The melody is presented simply, with Guaraldi’s phrasing staying relaxed and Sete keeping the rhythm grounded and consistent. “Little Fishes” brings some lightness. The melody is compact, and the rhythm has a subtle bounce. It’s one of the more concise tracks on the album. “Mambeando” closes the record with a stronger rhythmic push, giving Sete space to emphasize the groove while Guaraldi locks in with supportive chord work and clean melodic lines.
Across the album, the key strength is balance. Guaraldi doesn’t treat Sete as a sideman, and Sete doesn’t function as background texture. The arrangements are straightforward, the performances controlled, and the focus stays on tight ensemble playing rather than extended solos. For listeners who know Guaraldi mainly from his Peanuts work, From All Sides highlights his interest in rhythm and collaboration. At the same time, it showcases Bola Sete’s ability to shape an entire session through feel and precision. The result is a direct, well-constructed record that still holds up on the strength of its playing alone.
