Brazil — All Formats  

An amazing early album from Brazilian guitar virtuoso Luiz Bonfa – originally recorded by the audiophile Cook Laboratories on a Nagra recorder – in a spare, stripped-down, "in the field" sort of style! There's an intimacy here that's missing from some of Bonfa's studio sessions from the same period – and Luiz responds wonderfully by playing some of his most intricate lines on guitar – all recorded here with amazingly precise sound. Despite the lack of a proper studio, the fidelity is superb – and honestly, the album's got a quality that ranks it with Bonfa's best records ever! Titles include "Luzes Do Rio", "Shearing", "Murder", "Variacoes Em Violao", "Seringueiro", and "Song De Orpheo". Plus, the CD features 14 bonus tracks, great remastering, and a wonderful 32 page booket!

An excellent record of Hermeto's from the 80's, and one that captures all of the fantastic moments of his 70's work. Hermeto's reeds are incredible, and he plays here in a way that never goes that far "out", but which still manages to hit these very edgey moments. The arrangements are totally unique, and although they're based in jazz, they have lots of strange off-kilter passages, but also never lose their groove. We're kind of at a loss to describe this properly, but trust us when we say it's the kind of fantastic album you've been looking for by him, and it's on the hard-to-find Som Da Gente label from Brazil. Tracks include "Intocavel", "O Correio", "Viagem", "Zurich", and "Suite Mundo Grande".