Walter Wanderley

Walter Wanderley /ˈvɒndərleɪ/ (born Walter Jose Wanderley Mendonça, 12 May 1932 – 4 September 1986) was an organist and pianist, best known for his lounge and bossa nova music.

Wanderley was born in Recife, Brazil. Already famous in his native country by the late 1950s, he became an internationally renowned star in the mid-1960s through his collaboration with the singer Astrud Gilberto. He recorded six albums on the Verve label between 1966 and 1968. Three of those albums, Rain Forest, Cheganca and Astrud Gilberto's A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness, were with a trio consisting of Wanderley, Claudio Slon (drums) and Jose Marino (bass) and were produced in the United States by Creed Taylor, who initially brought the trio to the U.S. to record at the persuasion of Tony Bennett. Wanderley's U.S. recording of Summer Samba reached No. 26 on the Billboard charts in the summer of 1966. Another album recorded during that period was Popcorn, in collaboration with the Brazilian singer-guitarist Luiz Henrique Rosa.

After the trio disbanded (though they were briefly reunited in 1971 for "The Return of the Original" on Canyon Records), Wanderley himself continued to record albums on Verve, A&M/CTI, and GNP Crescendo. During that time, he also made numerous personal appearances, including a concert tour of Mexico.

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