Two younger Brazilian music serve up a tribute to the music of older Brazilian giants – the guitarist Guinga, and sublime composer/multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal! Yet the setting here is quite different than you might expect – at least for the music of Pascoal – as the duo work with just the harmonica of Gabriel Grossi, and seven string guitar of Felix Junior – but in a pairing that still manages to open up with all the complexities of the songs! Grossi's an especially great discovery – blowing with all the vivid tonal depth of some of our few favorite Brazilian harmonicists from the past – and in a legacy that might well put him up there alongside Toots Thielemans and Mauricio Einhorn, for his ability to create sounds with the richness of a reed instrument. The set includes a few Pascoal compositions – "Balaio", "O Farol Que Nos Guia", "Suite Norte Sul Leste Oeste", and "Fatima" – plus Guinga tunes "Exasperada", "Baiao De Lacan", and "De Menor" – and originals by the duo, very much in the right spirit for the setting – with titles that include "Senhorinha", "Domingo Pascoal", and "Selva De Pedra". CD

A great 70s album from this excellent Brazilian harmony group! Their sound is a different from that of Quarteto Em Cy or Tamba Trio, and their singing is less filled with straight jazzy harmonies than it is some off-kilter vocal lines that weave together and challenge each other throughout the tracks – in a really beautiful way. While they're best known for their groundbreaking work from the 60's, this LP's a good batch of tracks from the 70's that still retains the feel of the group. Cuts include "Fantasia", "Angelica", "Nascente", and a cover of Caetano Veloso's "Tropicalia"! LP, Vinyl record album

A lovely little record from Ceu – a record that balances the Brazilian singers' vocals with a great sense of space in the instrumentation – just the right use of acoustic rhythms, keyboards, and other elements – never as electronic as other albums on the Six Degrees label, in a way that let's the more gentle, subtle aspects of Ceu's vocals really come through beautifully! The record starts with a spare number that only features cavaquinho behind the lyrics – and although other tracks expand the sound out a bit more, that spare mode of the start still holds on nicely. Titles include "Rosa Menina Rosa", "Grains De Beaute", "Nascente", "Cangote", "Sobre O Amor E Seu Trabalho Silencioso", and "Ponteiro". CD

Bossa jazz from the French scene of the 60s – an ultra-hip album issued on the legendary Saravah Records label – and one that's one of the best illustrations of the label's way of blending together jazz and other global styles! The group here is a trio, with Fernando Martins on some wonderfully bold piano – working with bassist Edson Lobo and drummer Nelson Serra – in a groove that's rooted in older Rio bossa jazz modes, but also has a slightly more powerful quality, too – that special sort of late 60s flowering that Brazilian music had when it hit the very receptive European scene. The trio have a nice rolling sound that might be compared to some of the MPS jazz/Brazilian crossover sessions – and titles include "Upa Neguinho", "Nascente", "Bia", "Noa Noa", "Samba Novo", "Berimbau", "Nao Tem Solucao", and "Muito A Vontade". LP, Vinyl record album