Brazil — LPs  

Warmly mellow grooves from Azymuth – a set that nicely lives up to the "Flame" in the title – and which shows the strengths the trio picked up during their years in the US! The sound here is round and soulful – a great fusion of the group's roots in the 70s Brazilian fusion scene, and some of the smoother styles of the California one – never in a way that's too soft or commercial. As usual, there's a heavy emphasis on the keyboards of Jose Roberto Bertrami – who also sings a bit in a wordless, scatting sort of way. Flora Purim joins in on vocals on the cut "The Textile Factory" – and other titles include "Tamal Vista Boulevard", "Rapa Poeira", and "Flame (O Amor E Chama)".

One of her better albums of bossa nova stuff, given a bit of a 70's twist, and with the kind of percussive edge that you might expect from a title like "A Bahia". Mike Ribas arranged, and with performance by Sebastio Tapajos and Pedro Dos Santos. Tracks include "Ossain", "Carinoso", "Joao Valentao", "Que Locura", and "De Donde Vienes".

The best work so far from Rosalia De Souza – a session that features production and guitar from bossa legend Roberto Menescal, and a sound that's deeper and even more classic than any of Rosalia's other work! Most of the instrumentation here is in an older acoustic mode – piano, percussion, and horns arranged by Menescal with that beautifully lighter than air style that he first pioneered in the 60s – an approach that lets Rosalia's vocals drift along on wonderfully gentle rhythms, and dominate the record even more than before. Given that the set's on Schema, there's still a nicely rhythmic component to most numbers – but overall, the record's a bold step forward even for the label – similar to the all-acoustic move made by Nicola Conte in his own recordings! Marcos Valle joins in on vocals on "Que Bandeira", and other tunes include "Onde Anda O Meu Amor", "Voz Da Lapa", "Jogo De Roda", "Rio De Janeiro", "Mar Amar", "Um Novo Dia", and "Vivo Sonhando".

Breezy bossa from late 70s Paris – a rare European session from Rio ex-patriots Erica Norimar and Chiquinho Timoteo! The record's got a warmly jazzy glow that takes full advantage of the vocals of both artists – trading them back and forth on the more lively tunes, in a way that's clearly inspired by the older Brasil 66 style of the 60s, but reworked here into a slightly hipper 70s sound. Instrumentation is mostly acoustic, with a lot of percussion and guitar that give the tracks a samba-styled groove – but a few tracks also feature a bit of keyboards, plus some occasional sax, flute, and trumpet. Titles include "Forro", "Dodo", "Hein", "Nega De Obaluae", "Gota D'Agua", "A Filha Da Chiquita Bacana", "De Frente Pro Crime", "Kid Cavaquinho", "Ligia", and "Vatapa".

Excellent 70s electric album by Joao Donato, with a funky samba groove that sets it apart from the earlier Quem E Quem, recorded around the same time. Joao handled all the arrangements, and played some nice electric keyboards – and the rest of the instrumentation includes flute, sax, and percussion, plus drums by Wilson Das Neves. Features the funky classic "Bananeira", plus "Patumbalacunde", "Lugar Comum", "Tudo Tem", and "Naturalmente".

Gal Costa runs through a set of Dorival Caymmi's classics, with a good set of 70's arrangements, and some excellent accompaniment by Joao Donato, Roberto Menescal, and Antonio Adolpho. Donato also did a number of the arrangements, and the tracks include "Sao Salvador", "Vatapa", "Nem Eu", "O Vento", and "Pescaria".