Cannonball Adderley recorded this nice little groover in 1962, when American musicans were just getting on the bossa tip, and still keeping things pretty authentic. The record was cut in New York with Sergio Mendes' early Bossa Rio group – the legendary Brazilian jazz ensemble that featured Paulo Moura, Dom Um Romao, and Durval Ferreira. The mixture of tight bossa rhythms and Cannon's soulful sax is totally great – and it's only because the Riverside label was folding at the time that the record never got bigger fame. Includes the cuts "Joyce's Samba", "Clouds", "Minha Saudade", "Corcovado", "Batida Diferentes", and "Sambops". (Jazz, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest Airto records ever – a really overlooked record cut for the mostly-Latin Montuno label in the 80s! The album's quite spare, and almost more in a Latin mode at times – given the harder percussion on the set, and the firey recording style given to the set by Montuno – but it also echoes some of the great spare styles that Airto used in his first American recordings, too – the sessions he cut for Cobblestone/Buddah right at the start of the 70s. Airto plays a range of percussion instruments, and Flora's on the set adding in some vocals – and the record also features great keyboards from Jorge Dalto, whose sound really ties thigns together nicely. Includes the classic "Samba De Flora", plus "Yahna Amina", "El Fiasco", "Dedos", "La Puerta", "Parana", and "Latin Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning celebration of one of the greatest pairings in Brazilian music – and in American music as well, given that both Airto Moreira and Flora Purim recorded plenty of these cuts up in our neck of the woods! Airto's percussion is the stuff of legend – a key force in Brazilian recordings in the late 60s, and then equally important in American jazz – in famous recordings with Miles Davis and other artists, and plenty of great records on his own! Flora's vocals are equally crucial – a soaring, fluid approach that forever changed the way that female singers approached jazz – bred in 60s bossa, but instantly something new by the time the 70s came along – especially when Airto was supporting her with great grooves! This huge package brings together material that both artists recorded – often under the name of one or the other, but often with the other artist present on the recording – with a heavy batch of work from the 70s and 80s, but also crucial cuts from other years too! 5LP set features 37 tracks and a really great package – with titles that include "Love Lock", "The Happy People", "Hungry On Arriva", "The Road Is Hard", "Samba De Flora", "O Canto Da Sereia", "Jeito Bom De Sofrer", "Papo Furado", "Xibaba", "Back Streets Of Havana", "Vera Cruz", "Flora's Song", "When Angels Crie", "Celebration Suite", "Casa Forte", "Black Narcissus", "A Secret From The Sea", "O Cantador/I Just Want To Be Here", "Jump", and "Hot Sand". LP, Vinyl record album

Guitarist Laurindo Almeida returns to a bit of his roots here – but he also shows off a lot of the jazz experience he's picked up along the way! The album features Almeida working solo on acoustic guitar – although possibly overdubbed alongside himself at times – and while the set begins with the serious title composition, things never get too much in the realm of classical guitar – and instead have Almeida skirting many different styles, including a bit of bossa guitar – and working with this uniquely echoey recording style that makes each note resonate with a richly expressive sound! Titles include "Cool Cat Keeps Coat On", "Holiday For Strings", "Songs From Black Orpheus", "The Summer Knows", and "Star Dust". (Jazz, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique album from Yugoslavian group Angel's Breath – one recorded in Brazil, which might come as no surprise, given that one of the members of the duo is Mitar Subotic Suba – who you'll also know from his groundbreaking album Sao Paulo Confessions! Suba got his start in Serbia, but was crucial in the Brazilian advances in the 90s before his too-early death in 1999 – and the record's definitely got some of the same appeal as the best music of the scene from Chico Science or Arnaldo Antunes – especially in the way it uses offbeat guitar lines, crispy electronics, and unusual rhythms next to lyrics that often feel as poetically experimental as they are tuneful! The whole thing's very difficult to describe, but that really gives it a hell of a lot of charm – and if it were not for the turmoil in Yugoslavia at the time, the set might have seen bigger global attention from the same cultural scene who were embracing Brazilian experiments of the period. Titles include "Madalena", "Velvet", "Caura", "Assassino", "Aplauzi", "40 Seconds Of Love", and "Metak". (Rock, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet 80s groover from the mighty Azymuth – a set that's early in their run of albums during the decade for Fantasy Records, and one that offers up a nice adaptation of the groove from their early Brazilian classics! Tracks are nice and lean, and acoustic percussion is blended with keyboard work at a level that really opens up the sound – and which makes Azymuth so different from so many other fusion outfits recording in the US during the time – as does the occasional use of wordless vocals, and that really special sense of rhythm that the group deliver so well! The set includes the classic ten minute "Last Summer In Rio" – a great Fender Rhodes number that was once a huge steppers cut in Chicago – plus the great tracks "The House I Lived In", "What Price Samba", and "May I Have This Dance". LP, Vinyl record album

A really wonderful album – timeless in sound and style, and a set that almost takes us back to the warmth of some of our favorite Brazilian records from the 70s! Bala Desejo have a way of mixing harmonies with lead vocals that's completely sublime – often set to light percussion, acoustic guitar, and other spare instrumental touches that glow as nicely as the vocals! If you've heard some of the 70s material from Quarteto Em Cy, you'll know part of the vibe here – but there's also maybe a more contemporary sense of songwriting too, which really keeps things fresh – on titles that include "Lua Comanche", "Nesse Sofa", "Chupeta", "Faixa Tecnica", "Chronofagia", "Muito So", "Dourado Dourado", and "Lambe Lambe". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastically soulful album from Jorge Ben – one of his greatest records ever, and a key part of Brazilian music in the 70s! The album marks an earthier shift for Jorge – a sound that's still rooted in the samba influences of the 60s, but which also takes on a bit more soul at the bottom – thanks to rhythmic contributions from Trio Mocoto, who work here famously to help Ben shape the overall feel of the set! There's still a bit of larger orchestrations at moments, but these are used sparingly just to sweeten the sound – leaving the main force of the music to come from Jorge's guitar, and the cuica, percussion, and tamborim of the trio. The vocals are wonderful too – slightly raspy, and with a bit more feeling than we ever remember Jorge having on record – sometimes a bit intimate, yet always with an undeniable presence throughout. One of those records that still sends chills up our spines, year after year – with tracks that include "Oba La Vem Ela", "Ze Canjica", "Pulo Pulo", "Apareceu Aparecida", "Terezinha", "Mulher Brasileira", "Forca Bruta", "O Telefone Tocou Novamente", and "Charles Junior". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic early album from Jorge Ben – and one that's also a bit obscure, given that it was one of the few that he didn't cut for Philips Records during the first decade of his career! The album's one of Jorge's most upbeat, most lively – with the kind of ebullient mix of samba and soul influences that he brought to his first big hits – but recorded here in a way that's maybe even more frenetic, especially when piano lines spin out quickly next to his incredible vocals – with a style that's almost soul jazz at times! The whole thing's wonderful – a record that matches, if not tops any of his other 60s albums – and titles include the killer "A Jovem Samba" – worth the price of the album alone – plus "Nascimento De Um Principe Africando", "Menina Gata Augusta", "Si Wanda", "Rosa Mas Que Nada", "Amor De Carnaval", and "Todo Colorida". LP, Vinyl record album

A crowning classic from maestro Waltel Branco – a Brazilian talent who could be smooth and sophisticated, but also pretty darn funky too – especially on this famous album from this 70s! The set takes off in a large ensemble vein of Brazilian grooves from a few years before – kind of more of a kick to the Blue Brazil/Odeon generation, as Branco works with a large string and horn section, but also ensures lots of tightness in the rhythms, and sweet electric touches on keyboards. There's a bit of Brazilian percussion at times – which let you know you're not in familiar CTI territory – and as with so many other great Brazilian albums of the time, the production is superb – really different than on American records of this nature. Titles include "Lady Samba", "Jael", "Satiricon", "Walking", "Luar Do SErgao", "Petit Fils", and "Zoraia". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album of jazz tracks by one of Brazil's greatest reed players of the 70s – the mighty Victor Assis Brasil – a free-thinking spirit who really took Brazilian jazz in bold new directions at the time! The record shows Victor absorbing a lot of post-Coltrane influences, and blending them with a tight approach to rhythm – laid down here by Dom Salvador on piano (and organ), Edison Lobo on bass, and Edson Machando on drums. The group is completed by Helio Delmiro on guitar, and Claudio Roditi plays trumpet on one track – but the real highlight is the amazing reed work by Brasil, which is filled with soul and warmth, plus a deep sense of exploration. The whole session was put together by Roberto Quartin in 1970 – and it's still extremely fresh today. Titles include "Children", "Gingerbread Boy", "Senegal", and "Marilia", which is a bonus track that wasn't on the original LP. LP, Vinyl record album