Upbeat soul from Sergio Mendes – but a record that's still got a Brazilian heart beating underneath! The sound of the set is very much in the best mainstream soul modes of the time – never too electric overall, but put together with a nicely warm groove that continues the legacy of R&B-influenced music that Sergio first started in the 70s. Vocals are by a variety of singers – including Gracinha Leporace, Carol Rogers, Leza Miller, Geoff Lieb, and others – and just when you think the whole thing's more LA than Rio, Sergio has a nice way of throwing in a slight Brazilian touch to remind you of his roots. Titles include "My Summer Love", "Carnaval", "Never Let You Go", "Voodoo", "Si Senor", and "Life In The Movies". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal funk by one of Brazil's greatest groups! Earth Wind & Fire had nothing on Banda Black Rio – as the Brazilian combo mixed together smooth jazz funk, soulful vocals, and great production, into a sound that rivaled any of America's best mainstream funk acts of the 70s! This album's easily their best – and is filled with tight jazzy groovers that we come back to again and again over the years, digging them for their great rhythms and tight instrumentation, never noticing the fact that the lyrics aren't in English! Includes the cuts "Chega Mais", "Tico Tico No Fuba", "Danca Do Dia", "Vidigal", "Gafiera Universal", and the totally great "Cravo e Canela", one of the sneakiest guitar groovers you'll ever hear! LP, Vinyl record album

A really lovely little record – one that feels like an instant classic in the world of MPB – the sort of long-overdue new release by a Brazilian artist that we hope we'll be hearing plenty from in years to come! As with the elite list of our Brazilian favorites of the past 20 years, Bruno's got a way of reaching into the past to grab just a bit here and there – then folds things together with a style that's crispily fresh, and very much his own – soulful, yet not mainstream soul at all – electronic at times, but with a warmly beating acoustic heart – and the kind of music that will grab you instantly upon first listen, at a level that our words could never hope to convey! Titles include "So Nois Dois", "Some Nyame", "Quero Dizer", "Ate Meu Violao", "Virginia Talk", "Sereno", "Arraiada", and "Beat 1". LP, Vinyl record album