Jazz — LPs  

Includes tracks by Philippe Brun with his swing band and orchestra, Arthur Briggs & his orchestra, and Alix Combelle with his swing band, orchestra, and Le Jazz De Paris.

Despite the title of the album, the group's a sharp-edged fusion combo – one that hails from late 70s Japan, and who works here in the best mainstream fusion mode of the time! The tunes are mostly jazz funk with a bit of polish – heavy on guitars from Kazuo Takeda, who also takes off on some pretty nice solos – and also featuring keyboards from Hisao Sakurai and tenor from Mitsuru Kanekuni. The record is never too jamming, nor too smooth – but one number does feature some unfortunate blues vocals from Takeda. Titles include "Spinning Toe Hold No 2", "No Problem", "Wild Cat", "Swamp Boy", and "Fou Fou Gun Gun".

Spare duets between these two Brazilian jazz giants Cesar Camargo Mariano and Helio Delmiro – but great work throughout, and filled with a lot more soul and energy than you'd expect! Mariano plays mostly electric keyboards – but not in a way that overrides the acoustic guitar of Delmiro – and the set's got a lot of the same elements of the best jazzy backing that Mariano provided for Elis Regina in the 70s, that great sense of darkness at the bottom – plus all the tight solo moments of Delmiro's own work from the 80s. Titles include "Curumim", "Samambaia", "Ninhos", "Choratta", "Emotiva No 4", and "Milagre Dos Peixes".

Although Herbie and Joao are listed together in the artist credits together for the record, they don't really play together on the record – as did Joao and Stan Getz on their album together. Instead, they trade off tracks of bossa nova material, recorded with Jobim in Rio – Joao's by EMI/Odeon, Herbie's by Atlantic. The set includes a host of great light breezy bossa stuff – like "Amor Em Paz", "O Barquinho", "Bim Bom", "Bolinha De Papel", and "Deve Ser Amor". Not totally over the top, but a very nice batch of breezy bossa tracks with lots of light flute and guitar lines floating around!