A beautiful take on the compositions of Milton Nasicmento – performed by guitarist Ricardo Silveira and pianist Luiz Avellar. Given the majesty and ambitious production styles often used with Nascimento's own recordings of his tunes, this stripped-down set is a very different take on the material – one that gets at the deeply personal spirit of the tunes, and which moves past the original lyrics into some introspective musical territory. We're surprised at how much we like the results, and we really enjoy the album's versions of "Para Lennon E McCartney", "Vera Cruz", "Cravo E Canela", "Travessia", and "Nuvem Cigana". CD

A great mix of contemporary acoustic and Brazilian jazz modes – heard here on an album recorded in Rio, but with a fair bit of American guitar influences as well! The production is great, and really gets at the rich sound of Ricardo Silveira's guitar – and backing ranges from acoustic bass and drums on some numbers, to slightly fuller backings with a bit of piano, saxophone, or clarinet. Most tunes are originals by Silveira, penned with a deeply poetic feel – and titles include "Outro Rio", "Melhores Tempos", "O Monstro E A Flor", "Dia Bom", "Lembrancas", "Viver Em Paz", "Monnlight In Rangiroa", "Chuva De Manha", and "O Sol Na Janela". CD

Randy Brecker on trumpet, Teco Cardoso on soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone, and flute, Andre Mehmari and Gilson Peranzetta on piano, Paulo Calazans on piano and keyboards, Ruria Duprat on piano, keyboards, fender rhodes, clavinet, and voice, Ricardo Silveira on acoustic and electric guitar, Rogero on acoustic bass, Sizao Machado on acoustic and electric bass, Edu Ribeiro and Robertinho Silva on drums, and Da Lua and Joao Parahyba on percussion and timba. CD