Includes some of his gems for CTI – and titles include "Tombo In 7/4", "Creek", "Flora's Song", "Romance Of Death", "Lydian Riff", "Stanley's Tune", "Hot Sand", and "Branches". CD

Gilberto Gil's still got a nicely sharp edge here on this great set from the late 80s – a record that broke bigger than most of his others from the decade, at least on a global scale – and an album that showed the world that Gil still had plenty of energy and new ideas to offer! There's a nice current of funk going on here, but at a level that's toned down a bit from some of Gilberto's late 70s work – almost pan-global in its approach to some of the rhythms, which seem to take a samba soul mode a few steps further – and the production by Liminha avoids any of the creeping world music cliches of the time, and allows for a great focus on Gil's wonderful vocals. Titles include "Neve Na Bahia", "De Onde Vem O Baiao", "Madalena", "Parabolicamara", "Um Sonho", and "O Ser Teu Funk". CD

Tremendously beautiful work from one of our favorite-ever artists – performing here in a genre unto itself! We've always loved Seu Jorge's own work – the funky samba tunes and mellower guitar work that have made him one of the most exciting talents from Brazil in recent years – but his performance in Wes Anderson's film The Life Aquatic opened up a whole new side of his talents, an ability to perform in a solo acoustic setting that's even more stripped down than the barest work on his album Cru! In the film, Jorge performs a series of David Bowie tunes translated into Portugese – sung as if they're folksy ballads penned by the singer himself, and done with loads of jazzy inflections that really transform the songs from their original recordings. And while David Bowie doesn't seem too hot on the idea himself (at least according to his "damning with faint praise" quote in the notes), we're really stunned at how beautiful this work is – not a gimmick at all, but really personal, honest interpretations of the tunes that make them Jorge's own through his unique performance. The CD brings together 14 tracks from sessions recorded for the film – many of which were never presented in their entirety on screen, and which were not included at all on the official soundtrack for the movie – which only had 4 Seu Jorge songs in all. Really great stuff throughout – with titles that include "Life On Mars?", "Queen Bitch", "Five Years", "Suffragette City", "When I Live My Dream", "Quicksand", "Oh You Pretty Things", "Changes", and the original "Team Zissou". CD

Extremely early work from the great Milton Nascimento – one of his first albums ever, and oddly recorded in America, not Brazil! The set was done in the A&M studios, with production by Creed Taylor – but has a spacious, soulful sound that's a lot like Milton's first few records from Brazil. The album is a huge meeting of talents – and features Herbie Hancock and Deodato on keyboards, plus a host of excellent other jazz players who give Milton's music a nice lyrical edge. The record features that classic Nasicmento mix of soulful vocals, baroque songwriting, and incredible jazz-tinged arrangements – and a few tracks have lyrics in English, too! Tracks include classics like "Bridges", "Vera Cruz", and "Gira Girou" – plus "Tres Pontas", "Rio Vermelho", and "Catavento". CD

Beautiful stuff – and a record we never tire of hearing! This album's a sublime extension of the earlier Brazilian style of the Tamba Trio – in a set that has them adding a fourth member, and picking up some cool new sounds from producer Creed Taylor! The set brings the group's earlier blend of bossa jazz and vocal harmonies into play with Taylor's spacious sensibilities in the early days of CTI – that stretch when the label was partnered with A&M Records, in a mode that also echoes some of the best studio qualities of that imprint too! The songs are longer than usual – nicely stretched out in a beautiful blend of jazz, bossa, and voice – and tracks include a classic reading of Luiz Eca's "The Dolphin", a great take on "Canto De Ossahana", and the tracks "Flower Girl", "We & The Sea", and "Lemanja". CD