A brilliant follow-up to the first Brasilianos set from Hamilton De Hollanda – one that's even more dynamic than the first, and which comes with a bonus DVD as well! The group is awash in warm acoustic sounds – Hamilton on 10-string mandolin, Daniel Santiago on acoustic guitar, Gabriel Grossi on harmonica, Andre Vasconcellos on bass, and Marcio Bahia on drums – all working in ways that link the best Brazilian jazz modes of the 70s and 80s with some of the tones of the American acoustic underground! The use of harmonica is especially nice – played with a rich chromatic flair in ways that are similar to Mauricio Einhorn – and titles include "Ano Bom", "O Mundo Nao Acabou", "Paz Paes", "Ajaccio", "Carolina De Carol", and "Rafaela". Also features a bonus DVD – with a live performance! CD

A very unique little album from Lisa Ono – one that has her taking on a number of themes from American country music, but in a way that mixes plenty of bossa styles into the sound! The "country" here should really be in quotes – as many of the tunes are less strict country numbers than just country-flavored ones from the history of American pop – but they're united nicely here in an approach that really makes tremendous use of Ono's gentle vocals and sprightly guitar, set to slightly jazzy arrangements penned by Ono, Dori Caymmi, and Yoshihiro Arita. The end result is far nicer than you might expect – and titles include "Jambalaya", "Stay All Night", "Gentle On My Mind", "Crazy", "I've Just Seen A Face", "Take Me Home", "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon", "I'm An Old Cowhand", and "Old Fashioned Love/You Are My Sunshine". Japanese version also features 2 bonus tracks – "Morning Sun" and "Fascination (album mix)". CD

Killer work by Astrud Gilberto – very different than her Verve sides of the 60s! The album was produced by Astrud, arranged by Deodato – and has that wonderful warm full jazz feel of her classic album on CTI, but also a bit more like some of the funky work of Jorge Ben at the time – choppy at the bottom, with a sound that's a bit samba, and a bit funky at times. Mike Longo and Deodato play keyboards on the session, giving it an electric groove that works perfectly with Astrud's soaring vocals – and the whole album really holds together wonderfully! There's a nice bit of funk on the cut "Take it Easy My Brother Charlie" – and other tracks include "Zigy Zigy Za", "Baiao", "Gingele", "Bridges", and "Where Have You Been?" DVD side features include linear notes, artist photos plus the whole album in 5.1 surround sound!. CD